IBS at Work

[JayJJ23]

I am terrified to go back to work after having a IBS flare up. We only have 2 toliets for at least 20 staff members and they are close to where we work. I don't know what to do. It was awful and it's not the first time it's happened. I literally feel my stomach bubble and its 20 seconds or less till touch down. What do I do? Actually considering leaving my job and finding a remote job 😔

[Mifford]

do you have a line manager you feel comfortable talking to about your concerns? It may be that they can come up with a solution to make you more comfortable or can facilitate you working from home more? Also if you are comfortable discussing needs with work then have a look at the Access To Work scheme. If you qualify they will assess your work place and help come up with plans or suggestions of equipment or procedures to put into place to help you

[JayJJ23 in reply to Mifford]

I do yes. I was signed off for 2 weeks and didn't intend on using it however once I mentioned it to them I had to get a new one to go back to work on Monday. I'm debating to have the 1 week off and get another note to go back after 1 week.

[Luisa22]

I guess you have tried Immodium? (Loperamide) I'm not talking a "complete block-you-up" dose, but perhaps work out a maintenance dosage that might help bowel control and firm things up slightly? That may take some experimenting with until you get the happy medium, or you could ask your doctor what they recommend?

If you've already tried that and it doesn't work for you then ignore the above!

The anxiety about the situation is also putting pressure on and may be triggering the IBS! like a catch-22 situation. Anxiety is definitely an enemy of a calm tummy with IBS.

Then another possibility is you may need to be very boring with your diet to see if that helps. Are you eating stuff that might be irritating your tummy? That could be anything (gluten, lactose, sugar, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, alcohol, fats) depending on if you have sensitivities to those things or not.

Bland food might help. I mean, really bland, sort of "white" boiled or steamed everything with any veggies that are OK for you. And work out which vegetables cause less upset, or not at all. Fruits, fibre, cereals, wholegrain food, additives, sauces, spices, fried food, potato skins,.....all those things can set it off.

[JayJJ23 in reply to Luisa22]

I have been prescribed loperamide, mebeverine and something for the nausea as well. I actually bought white cod today so it looks like that's my diet from now on. I'm avoiding everything with any kind of flavour and spicy things. I don't have a clue what triggers it food wise.

[Luisa22]

White cod, yes I have that too, and Tesco's do really nice frozen Hake fillets. Sometimes I get the haddock steaks too. They can be a bit pricey, 5 pieces for over £4, but worth it as they help my gut. I also eat eggs for protein, usually just boiled or poached. I only use salt for seasoning. I got used to eating plain like that.

Now, I am usually okay with most tinned fish too which gives a bit more variety.

Peeled potatoes are sometimes ok, and white rice, pasta, toasted ciabatta, spinach, green beans, and oddly....sugar snap peas but those are high Fodmap veg. But they suit me.

But there are times when I can eat safely and still get a bad belly. Then my tum will settle down for a while, sometimes weeks, and I can introduce some different veg and more fibre in my diet.

But like you, I don't find it easy to know what happens when my gut flips, or why.

Have you tried the low Fodmap diet?

monashfodmap.com/

It's not supposed to be done without a dietician. If your doctor can refer you to one, that's best. I didn't get one though so worked it out myself. It soon became obvious I couldn't eat all the low Fodmap foods and I tried it strictly for 8 weeks. Then I found out some of the "high" Fodmaps were fine for me anyway, so tailored my diet to suit me after that.

[xjrs]

Have you tried Alflorex probiotic? Many people's IBS is due to a gut bacterial imbalance and it might help you to get your symptoms under control.

White jasmine rice with protein can initially block you up since both will be digested in the small intestine. You then may be OK to add in cooked carrots. When in your situation I even used to eat gluten free pasta for breakfast. When eating like this it's probably best to be on a RDA level multi-vitamin/mineral supplement until you can eat a more varied diet. I also took Imodium.

I would discuss these fears with your line manager. They should be making reasonable adjustments at work like being able to work near to a toilet.

[Whitesugar]

Has Bile Acid Malabsorption been ruled out? You describe symptoms exactly how it presents i.e gurgling in the large bowel followed by diarrhoea with no other warning. It is a poorly recognised condition, but can be managed with medication. You are so young and shouldn’t have to suffer like this. It’s just an idea for you to look into. Have a look at bad-uk.org and gutscharity.org.uk and see if you recognise your symptoms. Don’t expect a GP a to be fully aware, many have not heard of it, but you can get factsheets from the websites. Good luck and I hope this is helpful. I assume you have had all other investigations to eliminate any other cause. A diagnosis of IBS should not be assumed.

[JayJJ23 in reply to Whitesugar]

It hasn't however I do have Colestyramine which is used to bind to the bile acid as well. Looking at it it may be that. Because I could literally feel a liquid go through my intestines then i was running TMI sorry. So will start taking that again. I officially have a cocktail of drugs for this now. Will also be trying a FODMAP diet as well. Thank you for the information!

[Whitesugar in reply to JayJJ23]

That's great that you have been given colestyramine. Don't try everything at once would be my advice or you won't know what works. I had BAM for 40 years undiagnosed so you can imagine the many horrible times I had. Since taking one sachet of colestyramine at night I have never had the unexpected diarrhoea again. Be careful to allow 4 hours before taking any other medication or at least 1 hour after.

[Sparrow58]

Going out to work can be an anxious time for an IBS sufferers. Working from home with your own toilet close by was great. I have been more anxious about my IBS since Covid and lockdown. It's horrible when you get the "got to go now" experience. Good idea to talk to your line manager and explain you have stomach issues. The trouble is if they have no experience of IBS it hard for them to understand.

I wish you all the best x