I'm a 47 year old man who teaches PE and outdoor education to teens with SEN. It looks like I've been naturally dealing with IBS most of my life but it has gotten worse over the past few years and only recently officially diagnosed. On Sunday I had a major toilet emergency while on a walk near my house, I had a one-off extreme bout of diarrhoea (just made it home!) and this is followed by days of cramps/stomach pain - moving makes it feel worse but sitting still is fine (and then I feel like a cheat and a charlatan). It's day 4 now and I've not been in work. The docs have previously said to take Buscopan so I do, they offered no other advice after blood tests came back saying I have no intolerances. My general diet stays the same so I don't think it's anything I eat that sparks my flare up although I have watched what I eat during this flare up and am eating quite blandly. Has anyone got any advice as I want to/need to work?!
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Pastyboy
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Hi! PastyboyYou do a wonderful job but am sure it has its stressful days, that's when IBS sees its chance to make things worse. Thats the joy of IBS it's so unpredictable. Know how you feel with iminment attacks, I am surprised I was not caught for speeding in a Sainsburys car park when one attack was iminment a few weeks ago. The only suggestion I have for you if you feel these sudden attacks maybe with you for the duration is to get a radar key and can't wait card from the IBS network. Being female I also take an emergency kit with me in a med size make up bag but don't know if its practical for a male. Take care and carry on with your amazing job👍
Thank you, your reply made me feel glad that I joined this forum (my first forum). I had not heard about the key and card before, so will look into it.
Hi Pastyboy. Try not to get too down about things. I have had IBS for 20 yrs and I am sorry to say it is all trial and error. What works for one of us is not the same for another. My go to for my IBS d is Imodium you can take it as and when needed also as a precaution. Believe me you name it I have tried it and stress is not helpful teaching is a fantastic job and a rewarding job too but it comes with its stresses and strains. I must just add that I was recomended reading a book by Professor Peter Whorwell called Take Control Of Your IBS. Purchased from Amazon last week and for me it answered so many questions. Amazing book. Good luck to you and hope you get back to work soon Pollyboo
Any kind of stress can definitely spark a flare up. Sometimes the stress isn't even obvious. Just some change of routine, something in the background nagging your mind, late night, not enough sleep, even a 'fun' kind of stress can set it off.
Some people cannot tolerate coffee or alcohol, even in small amounts. Some are OK with those things. Sometimes too much exercise can place sufficient stress on the body to cause a flare.
Or maybe it was the half dozen Olives or something we ate two days ago and can't even remember!
It's hard to know. This is an exercise in getting to know your body's 'hissy-fits'.
Honestly, my gut behaves like a toddler with the Terrible Two's sometimes.
But IBS can come and go on a whim and a fancy of its own, and sadly, even trying to be a super detective with the food diary doesn't always produce any clues. So I have found, anyway.
Mine is stress related too. This also includes getting overtired. I've come to the conclusion its my body telling me I need to slow down for a few days and put me first. I find for cramps sometimes heat works so I sit with a hot water bottle on my tummy. I also use immodium for a bad flare up and buscopan. Definately trial & error but don't feel guilty if you need time to recover from a flare up. It takes times to figure out what works and sometimes as people say what works on one flare up may be diferent for a different flare up.
Hiya. Sorry to hear about your problems. There is little the GPS can do about IBS. It is a catch all term and they know very little. You can be prescribed Loperamide (Imodium) to help with the dreaded diarrhoea. I find it helpful when I have to go out when it's happening to me. I find that the older I get, the more painful it has become. At the moment I am trying a dose of Aloe Vera juice each day as have heard it is good for all auto-immune illnesses which includes IBS. I am also prescribed laxatives because very often it is a build up of faeces blocking movement and an overflow happens which is completely uncontrollable .I am hopeful about aloe vera and will post results, giving it a couple of months trial.
I wish you well and hope you can find a solution and some relief.
Hi. My food triggers are rice (any rice protein containing), high fibre and caffeine but the big one is stress. If I get stressed or anxious I flare up, look pregnant and have D. I find peppermint tablets or peppermint tea help some of the symptoms
Hi Pastyboy and welcome. You could ask your GP for a referral to a gastroenterologist. It took quite a while for my GP practice to take my symptoms seriously. I used to drink strong coffee, but found it triggers my bowel, and have been a lot better since I swapped to tea. My son has found the same, he is your age. Eventually, I had a colonoscopy (no where near as bad as you might imagine) and a biopsy revealed I have microscopic colitis. Only diagnosed through looking at the sample under a microscope. Meanwhile, it might help to keep a food diary to see if anything triggers you. I find taking a Loperamide the day before is helpful if I need to go somewhere. Same as Immodium but generic and therefore much cheaper.
Hi Pastyboy. Welcome to our forum. If you haven't yet had a endoscope or colonoscopy ask your gp for a referral to a gastroenterologist. Keep us informed. Good luck
I think fellow sufferers have covered most things. Download FodMap App on your phone, it is free, and see if there are any foods that you haven’t thought of that maybe irritating your intestines. Keep smiling.
Natural sugars in foods but not cane sugar can trigger toilet problems, I try to do a low fodmap diet and it helps me, stay clear of onion, garlic and leeks they ate bad triggers but please get a colonoscopy. Good luck.
Stress is an under rated trigger for IBS, as is a lack of sleep or non caffeinated/fizzy fluids; address these and things will hopefully get better. Gut pain can be controlled with Citalopram which obviously also benefits stress levels. You may find cutting out cows milk, sugar and wheat products also helps (change to oat products). Your GP should also request a colonoscopy to rule out any nasties.
Since there is no test for IBS, diagnosis is by exclusion; your GP should do one as a matter of course to rule out any potential nasties. However, if your GP doesn't mention one then you should request that one is carried out.
I agree with everything people have recommended. Loperamide/Imodium is the most reliable for me, half a tablet at a time so as not to cause constipation, and also as a preventative before travel or when visiting friends overnight, also, being watchful about what you consume in food, caffeine, alcohol and stress, and avoid any triggers in that regard.
There is one thing no one has mentioned which I am finding helpful, and that is a product from the US called IBsolutions. It’s a herbal product in tablet form which one takes twice a day. If you adhere to your diet, it seems to firm up the stool and make one regular. I’m closer to feeling normal than I ever was. Hopefully, as time passes I’ll feel even more confident. It’s worth reading some reviews.
Although IBS is non life threatening, unfortunately, it isn’t curable up to now. one has to manage it and learn to live with it, but you aren’t alone. Best of luck in your progress to better health.
Thank you Arkus. Like you said, it's learning to live and manage it - generally I'm OK, but this week was tough.
Lots of good advice here - but like others have said I would counsel getting thoroughly checked for other conditions too (not as scary as it sounds - my IBS turned out to be Bile Acid Malabsorption for which there are meds which make a huge difference). Ask your GP to refer you to a gastroenterologist, make sure you are tested for coeliac (also turned out to be the case for me). If you're diarrhoea is often bright yellow (sorry tmi...) ask to get tested for bile acid malabsorption. And very good luck - it's tough enough with a desk job, it must be really hard in yours.
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