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Having a really hard time accepting Ibs!Help please!

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 9/14/2011 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone!

I'm a 21 year old girl and I was diagnosed with IBS-A only 4 months ago.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis,a chronic bladder condition in which the bladder gets irritated by food and many other things (it works the same way as IBS) and I had to start following a really strict diet and ended up giving up almost all the food I liked (mainly junk food).I was suffering so much at the time,going to the toilet all the time,not being able to sleep because of my frequency,the terrible pain...I have to say that before all this happened I already suffered from extreme anxiety and started having panic attacks after someone who was really close to me died.I couldn't handle my anxiety so I started binge eating,looking back I cannot believe how much food I ate at once,it's incredible how I didn't gain any weight.Well,food was where I found comfort when something went wrong,when I was anxious,well,all the time.I loved eating.Now,years later and after having recovered from a terrible depression that developed after the Interstitial Cystitis diagnosis and the diet that made me feel miserable I'm in the same exact situation but now I'm not so sure I'm going to overcome this.Food is not here anymore to help me and I feel desperate,food is now an enemy.I started having IBS symptoms last year but they weren't that bad and disappeared in a few days.Then,months later,I started to have diarrhea more often,I found it weird but after days eating a bland diet I would be ok.Then it would come back again and it was then that I decided to go to a doctor.Now,here I am,diagnosed with IBS as many of you and I don't know what to do.My diet is already really strict because of my bladder condition,there's no need to say that now I can eat almost nothing.I lost so much weight,I'm only skin and bones now,I don't look healthy and I'm so tired of not being able to eat.I try to avoid trigger foods all the time but then I get constipated,days later I cannot take it anymore and I end up eating something I shouldn't to get rid of the constipation,then the diarrhea comes,it's a cycle that doesn't stop!I'm getting so depressed again,all I can think is about all the food I can't have,all the fun I'm loosing,I can't get out of bed,I spend all my days crying,right now I can't work or study,I even lost all my friends because I'm not able to go out,I feel like it's not worth living anymore,my life is ruined...How do I deal with is?Food is what makes me suffer the most,I dread eating,but at the same time I used to love it so much,it made me feel so secure and now I feel lonely,I don't have food anymore to help me go through bad things.When I feel ok (it doesn't happen often) and I go out I feel miserable,I look at all the people being healthy and eating everything they want and it makes me want to cry.I even have to avoid the restaurant area at malls or i'll breakdown.How do I stop this feeling??I feel like this is getting my IBS worse but I have no control over it.

Posted 9/14/2011 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Annie, it sounds like you are having a lot of feelings - anxiety, sadness, anger. Perhaps you can find a person to talk to, face to face, to help you understand your feelings better and get more control over your life.

IBS is not a disease. It's not going to cause you harm other than the misery of having diarrhea - which is a psychic harm, I guess, but will not shorten your life or injure you or cause you to bleed or anything else. It's called a functional bowel disorder because your body is absorbing nutrients, etc., but for some unknown reason you're having diarrhea or constipation or whatever. Personally, I do not like the IBS diagnosis - it is something that indicates "nothing" is wrong. A lot of DRs give that diagnosis because they don't know what else to say, I think, and they don't see that any invasive testing is warranted (scopes, blood, stool samples, etc.). So go ahead and eat what you want if that will make you happier. But I guess then you'll be making a choice to have diarrhea.

If you feel better when you eat a certain way, then you also have the choice to follow that path. Every day you can make a different choice. We all do that, for whatever reasons we each have.

I recently adopted a gluten free diet. I thought about it for years. Within two weeks of making this change I felt a lot better. I was really, really excited about it. That was 3.5 months ago. Am I sad about not being able to eat foods made from wheat, barley or rye? You bet. Am I going to eat those foods? I might. But then I'd have to live with the consequences. Sometimes it's worth it.

If your "bad" foods are all junky processed things, then count yourself lucky. You are going to be years ahead of your friends, who will realize as they get closer to 30 that it is super hard to maintain your good looks when you are eating that way. A diet of whole foods will keep you healthy and happy. Maybe you should learn how to cook really good food - then you can please your palate and your friends and your belly.
Posted 9/20/2011 7:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hello, I want to tell you that I have suffered just like you have and that I seeked help for my anxiety and depression thinking that there was no way that all of this could be something functional. I had D, cramping that lis fierce joint pain, eye pain, hemmerhoids, and to top it off burning when I urninate. I also found outt I possibly cant even have children. I have been diagnosed with IBS and I was like you..I cried everyday and I stayed in my room and I didnt want anyone to come near me because I was just soo depressed. I am not talking about this happening years ago this happened in May and June. I was in pain everyday and I started to exercise and drink loads of water. Some days I wouldnt even eat. I started with CBT therapy (cognitive behavioral therapy) and I quit school and work. I am so sorry you are having such a rough time what I am trying to say is that I was falling in a very deep hole of pain worry, more pain and worry. It was a viscious cycle. I overcame it with a load of medicine and my own spirit to just say to myself that i control this. It is very hard to just stop catastrophic thinking especially when you have trained your mind to do just that. My story is soo long but I want to let you know that it gets better,please believe it. I know right now you may not believe it but it will. I am not 100% better but I would say I am 80% better. I went back to school and I take all of medicines everyday. I take one three times a day. I exercise as well. I don't really know how to approach this because i dont want you to think I am saying all of this is in your head because I know it is not. I have been recently diagnosed with somatization disorder which also includes a burning feeling in the rectum and chest pain. All of which I have. I live my life and yes I have bumps in the road and sometimes i go off my diet and exercise routine but in a weird way I have turned this around to benefit me to give me more drive and motivation. I am crying as I write this because I was were you are now and I can understand the pain you are feeling but please know that theres help out there for you. Please, if you have any questions ask and I will answer. I am here for you.
Posted 10/6/2011 12:23 PM (GMT 0)
oh bless you annie, we all get day's when we are fed up of eating a bland diet, but it's better than having the pain, have you tried aloe vera tablets you can get them from a health food store, I find they slow down the amount of time you have to go to the toilet, they also help with bloating, I know you are young but your friends are not really friends if they don't stand by you. keep your head held high and try and think positive, it will all come good.
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