I don't normally post on sites but have found myself in a rather precarious situation and hope that someone might have a suggestion for helping me.
medical background - I attempted suicide in 2001 which resulted in a traumatic brain injury and destroyed my short term memory as well as making it very difficult to commit information to my long term memory. As a result of the hardships involved in overcoming this, my depression has been difficult to overcome. I luckily (at least I thought) found myself working a lucrative graveyard position for the last 4 1/2 years. The overnight work is a lot slower than daytime work and pays more as well so up until now, it's been a win-win for me. I know graveyard work is vrey bad for your health (especially for depression) though so I constantly have to evaluate which is more important: having a job or having my health. Since job market is poor, I've stayed at my job up until now.
Because of my poor memory, I've always found the work itself extremely challenging but have been able to make do with the use of a notebook and the assistance of co-workers. Unfortunately, my company has out-sourced jobs overseas and my nightshift which numbered 8 is down to 3 as of tomorrow. With less people being present, more work is required of me and I have less people available to rely on for questions and assistance.
Back in March or April, I found that when my boss was out of work and left me in charge, occasionally I would find myself with an upset stomach which often led to diarrhea. It was not constant and when he was in the office it was generally better. As the weeks went by, I found my stomach problems more and more consistent, until now, when they've become a nightly occurence (every 45min to 1 hour).
problem - if I eat anything, or drink anything (especially carbonated beverages) I usually have loud stomach rumblings which lead to diarrhea within 30-45min of eating. The problem lasts until I get home and clear up shortly thereafter. I've tried taking pepto bismol which has had little or no effect. I'm currently taking welbutrin for my depression and started lexapro for anxiety, but decided to stop taking that after reading how addictive it is and difficult it is to stop taking.
issue - I would like to find a product that can be taken (perhaps in addition to the welbutrin) which will reduce or eliminate the diarrhea I have everytime I come to work. It's embarassing, is effecting my productivity and am afraid it may lead to more serious medical problems. I would rather not ask my company to put me on dayshift (since there may not be position open right now) but if that is only way of fixing this problem then I may have no choice.
Any assistance that any of you can provide will be very much appreciated. I really hope someone has an idea.