Work and ibs

[antitaank]

I have suffered with ibs d for over 10 years ,now wake up every morning with stomach ache ,which is relieved once I've been toilet several times. My question is how many of you have been forced to give up work because of ibs . As being a gas installer I get stressed at the smallest of things because I feel off colour 95% of the time.

[Linley]

Difficult as you are a mobile worker but to reduce stress suggest a portable loo you can put in you van, contact your GP ask for an antispasmodic and ask if you can take immodium regularly. I am female and had Endometriosis followed by IBS d for 30 years but kept on working as we needed to pay our mortgage. Wish you well

[Equilibrated]

Not me, I go to work padded every day just in case.

[Dollymae06]

I know it's awful when you are working with Ibs but it is not recognised as a disability . if your company don't pay sickness you can claim it off Government it's statutory but its not much. No cure for Ibs either and it is so disabilitating and stressful I suffer the same I'm very anxious when I have to go out I have had fecal accidents aswell so embarrassing . What are you taking for it?x

[SingC]

I have IBS-C. I had so much gas and bloating when I was first diagnosed that I couldn’t concentrate on anything complicated. That was a problem as my job was pretty much to concentrate on complicated things. On diagnosis, I was warned off gas-forming vegetables and my health was transformed. If I had not found that solution, I would have been managed out of my job, as I was not able to perform it. Twenty years on, I now have to avoid lactose and wheat as well as gas-forming vegetables, but I’m coping.

Anxiety is the enemy, isn’t it? It can make your condition worse. So, if there’s something you can do to lessen the anxiety, it’s worth it. I tried CBT and found there are some ideas in there that could help me. Or your doctor can prescribe low-dose amitripyline.

Hoping you find a solution that works for you.

[Edgar77 in reply to SingC]

I was prescribed a low dose amitriptyline for fibromyalgia and it has helped my IBSC. Killing two birds with one stone. It can make C worse but the right a.ount of fybogel is also needed to get the balance right in my case. Too late for me as I had to give up work 3 years ago at 59 and I can't go back.

[JayJJ23]

I haven't been forced to leave my job however I've had to leave multiple times and it's starting to look bad. I can't help it, I went to hospital because I was in so much pain last February. Just don't know what to do. It's all good my keeping a food diary then going to work getting stressed and it triggering it again.

[Pinkpop21]

Hi, sorry you are going through this. It makes life difficult. Have you tried peppermint oil capsules or tea for the ache?

I have similar issues, I take Imodium rarely or Codeine Phosphate (can’t take all the time) prescribed. This helps me go to meetings and calms me down, feel less anxious and stops me needing the loo.

Different things work for different people. Have tried changing your diet? Low Fodmap?

Hope you can find something that makes it better .

[Novak23]

You are not alone. I 've lost hundreds of shifts, and abandoned 4 jobs, just because i couldn't cope with at the time.

The only thing that soothes my bloating & discomfort, is a warm bath or a warm towel wrapped around the whole belly.

Have you researched your diet habits? Any specific triggers? 1 to 10 how stressed are you in average?

[Glutenlover in reply to Novak23]

Omg. A warm bath is one of the things that helps me. I have to take a tablet to relieve the D and then i can lay in bath and it stops altogether normally. If only i could jump in bath at work ahaau

[Mosey1702]

Sorry hear your predicament. I feel for you. I managed to get a job working from home which is great as my study is right next to the bathroom. I realise that it is not possible for you, so when I need to go in the office, I take buscopan, codeine and Windeze (simeticome). Makes me more confident. Good luck.