Full time work/career

[pajohns]

Hello I'm having a flare up at the moment. I struggled on at work all week last week but today I decided to call in sick. I'm just wondering how other people deal with ibs and working. I imagine some have had to give up work? I'm a teacher and really love my job, hate to even have a day off but I'm hoping a couple of days rest and I can start to get back to normal?

[Linley]

Well I understand your predicament as being a teacher you can't just say "excuse me I have to have comfort break". For me I was an international credit controller and I had a sympathetic manager. I could get up and leave my desk and go to the loo several times therefore the anxiety level was low. I am now retired but in the last year of my working life I had to take two days off due to IBS, not bad really considering other IBS sufferers are far worse off. Suggest you contact the IBS network to see what the working law is regarding time off because of IBS. Good Luck!

[SophieC22]

I am a student nurse-I work full time for about 10 weeks (these are my placements- then when the 10 weeks I’m back in lectures) and I struggle so much. 13hour shifts destroy my tummy!! I qualify in a year and have no idea how I will cope full time and seriously considering part time as I feel like my ibs simply can’t take the stress of 3 13hour shifts a week. It makes me feel like such a failure and it gets me very low. I also have to do night shifts-atm I can avoid with a occupational health report but I know when I qualify I will have to do them. Dreading it. I completely understand where you’re coming from and I’m so sorry for us all whose IBS is undermined by work-no one knows how debilitating it is unless they experience it themselves.

[Mkimber1]

I havent been able to work for years, ibs-d, pretty constant nausea and pain. I also have permanent gastritis just to add to the fun. I got sick in my 20's (I'm in my 50s now) , it has all pretty much ruined any chance I had for a normal life.

[Merth83]

Do you have IBS-D or C? My IBS-D definitely makes working difficult. Earlier this year I had my worst bout of it ever. I went from only having to take Imodium a few times a week to basically taking at least 1-2 every single day. I would feel fine then out of nowhere I would feel a gurgle in my lower belly and within a few minutes I would have to run to the bathroom. And the D seemed to almost always happen at work (I work a 9-5 office job), and once it started it usually took the Imodium at least 30 minutes to kick in, so I'd end up going to the bathroom 3-5 times in an hour. The Imodium is definitely something I could not live without, but I recently started taking Calcium Carbonate and the changes have been kind of amazing. I was skeptical about it, seemed like it was too easy a fix. I bought a generic brand from the drug store and have been taking just half a pill at bedtime with my multivitamin and vitamin D. Within a few days I started noticing that when I'd go number 2, it was almost always normal. Not even just normal for me, but normal for me before my IBS first appeared four years ago. I was hesitant to believe such a small change could have such a big impact but it really has. The only bad days I have now usually occur after I've made some horrible food choices. Otherwise, for over a month now I've been almost normal. I still take Imodium occasionally because my anxiety makes me nervous about flareups, especially at the office. But I'm hoping to soon stop the Imodium and see what happens. Not saying this will help you, I have read that some people's stomachs can get upset from the Calcium. But it's an expensive option that might be worth a try!

[pajohns]

Mostly it's ibs d. It's early morning (4am) every morning. After a few hours the d goes away and I just feel nauseous and completely drained. I really enjoy my job so I need to find a way so I can continue. Imodium does nothing but makes the nausea worse, buscopan does very little same with mebevrine. Thought I'd had some success with probiotics but that seems to have stopped helping. Feeling very down about it all. I just want my life back. Sorry I've just had a big moan there.

[Merth83 in reply to pajohns]

I've tried so many probiotics and none have done anything. Have you ever tried taking a calcium carbonate supplement? I posted above about my success with that.

[Merth83]

I've kept a pretty bland diet during work hours for a while now. I typically have an Activia yogurt and a hard boiled egg or two for breakfast, a baked potato with butter or chicken noodle soup for lunch. I try not to snack much during the day but will sometimes have crackers or a granola bar or something. To drink I stick with water or caffeine free tea. I have heartburn and reflux too, haven't gotten any relief from it since taking the Calcium. I usually take Zantac and/or Alka Seltzer chewables to help with that.