Living with IBS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBS, is a stomach-related illness that results in intense "attacks" of abdominal pain. It's a quite common affliction that can affect anyone at any age. One of my near and dear friends endures the disease as best as she can. I've seen her deal with countless attacks that have caused negative changes in her daily life, and even more terrible, have taken a toll on her self confidence. I asked her to answer some of my questions for this article in order to raise awareness as well as provide support to anyone who also has to bear with the effects of IBS. I hope you guys learn something new and possibly find some help here.

1. How long have you had this illness for?
I have had IBS for about 9 and a half years, including when I was a baby.

2. What age were you when you started experiencing symptoms of IBS?
My parents told me I had IBS when I was still in diapers, then it went away, but the symptoms of IBS came back when I was 9.

3. How long did they take to diagnose you?
I had seen countless doctors that all assumed it was IBS, but I was finally told when I was 16 that it was definitely IBS.

4. Have you been satisfied with how doctors have assessed your illness?
Well it took a very, very long time, but yes.

5. In your own words, how would you describe IBS?
I would describe IBS as a very painful, annoying illness that no one should go through.

6. What caused it with you?
With me it was triggered by stress and anxiety, mostly worry about going in to high school.

7. Is there a cure?
No not really. You just have to work on handling stress and what to do in different situations and pain meds help, but of course not overdoing it.

8. What medications do you take, if any?
If and when I do have an attack Tylenol 3 helps me; also for the last year and a bit I have been getting acupuncture for which has helped greatly.

9. How has IBS affected your life?
At the beginning, and still now and then, it can kind of take over. I will get a thought in my head that will just grow and grow to the point where I am actually scared to leave the house.

10. How do people react when you tell them you have IBS?
I personally only tell people I completely 100% trust, and when I have they have been more than understanding.

11. Do you feel like your illness is misunderstood? If so, how?
Sometimes I do when someone says, "It's all in your head. You just need to control it," or something dismissive like that. It's like, yes I do partly agree, but the pain, anxiety, and everything else comes with it is all very real.

12. How supportive have your family and friends been with this issue?
Very, very supportive. I am very lucky to have the people I do in my life.

13. What kind of other support do you receive to help you deal with this illness?
Besides acupuncture, I will soon be seeing a naturopathic doctor to see if there is anything they can do.

14. What causes your attacks?
Stress, anxiety, and the unknown, like not knowing what's going to happen when I go out to do something.

15. How long do your attacks last?
A couple hours to all day, it all depends on what situation I'm in.

16. How would you describe an attack?
Just very stressful, wanting it to be over, not knowing when it will stop, and of course very painful.

17. What helps the pain and/or cures an attack?
Nothing really anymore, but deep breathing has always been a big one to ease it a bit.

18. What do you do to prevent attacks from happening?
Try and not eat the wrong foods.

19. Are you dealing with an attack at the moment? If so, how long has it lasted so far?
No, but I can feel one coming on after thinking about everything again.

20. Have you endured any other illnesses or injuries as a result of IBS?
Nope.

21. What advice would you give to other people who suffer from the same illness?
Don't be scared to talk to someone you trust about it. You're not the only one dealing with it.

22. Has this illness affected you in a positive way at all?
Not yet, well, no, I have met some very good people through all of this.

23. What do you want people to know about IBS?
That you're not alone. There is help out there, you just have to ask.