16 just been diagnosed, scared!

Hello!

I know you posted this a few months ago so im not sure if you will get this but but i just wanted to say i am 20 and last autumn i started having exactly the same problems you are describing. I was living in london and it all came as a bit of a shock and i can honestly totally sympathize with how your feeling.

I also started getting panicky and it started affecting my life as i was worried to go places. I just didnt feel right in myself overall and it all started making me quite depressed. I moved home and went to my local GP who diagnosed me with anxiety disorder. Basically what happens is your nervous system takes over and you cant control how your body works, i had developed a bit of depression from the whole situation too and couldnt see my life getting better!

But my doctor was an amazing help and i worked through therapy with her, she prescribed me some medication which blocks too much adrenalin moving around your body and also is a anti-depressant. A year on and with a lot of rationalizing self help i have come so far and actually have a good life back. And i honestly believe once you can start relying on helping your mind you will be starting to get back on track, i find the medication has just been a bit of support but i needed to do the therapy to really sort everything out.

Unfortunately my bowels werent immediately cured but the urgency to go was, my doctor did think it would all settle down once i got my body back on track which sometimes it does but i do still get diarrhea just not really bad, so i went back to the doctors last week and she prescribed me this mebeverine also. Im not sure how well it works yet but if you have been on it a while i hope its working for you as i want to find a cure also?!

Anyway i basically wanted to say you will get through this, if your still having problems it might be worth talking to someone about anxiety problems, it is very common in young girls. I hope something works out for you!

I am a lady in my mid fiftees and started with irritable bowel syndrome like yourself in my middle teens, I too was scared always planning my life and daily routines around this problem, ie; looking where the nearest toilet was and watching what I ate, trying not to get too stressed out by things and people, and over the years I have learnt to cope and deal with it. It can be managed by lifestyle changes without tablets but if you feel medication will help, then see your G.P. if not already .

It can affect your life, but only if you let it.

POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE is what is needed . LIFE IS GOOD ENJOY IT. Hope this helps you chin up and go for it.

Hi,

I am 23 and have been suffering similarly. Around 2 years ago a number of things happened within my family and then when I moved to a new job 6 months later it seemed to be one stress too much and it triggered a really bad episode of IBS. Although I had had small bouts of it previous to this, these had been far less severe and had disappeared on their own. I have now been suffering for a year and a half and I feel like my symptoms are just getting worse and worse. It has taken over my life and has affected me at work and socially. Every day is a struggle to get to work and make it through the day and I have also had to have quite a bit of time off which makes me worry even more as I am scared that I will lose my job. I no longer can enjoy lunches with my friends and feel like I am constantly saying no to people. I have a fairly new boyfriend and, although he is very understanding, I feel so humilated by this illness and worry so much about being ill that I now plan when I see him so that I dont have to eat when I am with him (as I worry I will then be ill) and make sure that if he stays there is a reason he has to leave fairly early (as it is always really bad in the morning). I have tried everything from taking golden linseeds in the morning and evening, buscopan, mebeverine, peppermint oil capsules, following the FODMAP diet, Cognitive behavioural therapy, hypnotherapy, the list goes on and on. This has now consumed my life and I no longer feel like I am enjoying myself, I am just coping and barely doing that. I know that IBS bad patches come and go and that hopefully mine should improve within time but right now I dont see how this is going to happen to me as it is constantly on my mind and I know this probably only makes it worse. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have found it really helpful reading through this page as it is so difficult for people that havent suffered with it to understand how truely debilitating and upsetting IBS can be.

Thanks

hi

Was really interested to read of your experiences as they really mirror mine. I am going through a bad bout at the minute which shows no sign of easing. To give you a bit of background, my problems started 3 years ago (aged 39) when I woke one morning with terrible nausea and loose motions. I thought it was just a bug but it continued over the next year or so with usually 3 weeks out of 4 being really bad. As a mother of 3 young children I wanted to get it sorted so after various gynae examinations which showed up nothing I was referred to a gastroentrologist who after barium enemas and camera tests diagnosed a functional bowel disorder. I was prescribed imipramine to ease the nausea in the mornings and mebeverine tablets (although I wasnt really bothered with bloating or running to the toilet all day) all symptoms of IBS. I queried food intolerances and recently have suffered EXTREME

sorry just to finish the above - fatigue and migraines. My dr has now recommended seeing a dietitian re the Fodmap diet so perhaps that is the way to go. I would just love to be able to lead a normal active life as I used to instead of feeling so ill all the time. Good luck and hoping we feel better soon.

Hey, i am 24 and digestive.... issues run in my family i.e. coeliac disease, ibs and crohns so when i noticed about ten yrs ago that first thing in the morning and just after meals i would have to run to the loo and wait for my guts tk sort themselves out.... sometimes my temperature would spike aswell so my mother would find me passed out on the loo.... finally went to doc about a yr ago tested twice for coeliac disease kept a food diary and figured out that i am lactose intolerant and that my guts dont like pasta although i am ok with bread... prescribed mebeverine still have problems but i have learnt ways around it i.e. its worse in the summer so i adjust my eating and dietary habits accordingly and luckily i have a very understanding boss.... so will see whats gonna work out