Quitting work

[Book_Worm5]

Unsure of the purpose of this post but I guess if it helps someone else then that’s it! Well I finally had to quit my job aged 35 - my symptoms have become incompatible with it and I cannot keep calling in sick, nearly having accidents on the commute, sweating when someone is taking ages in the only bathroom at work and generally heading towards mental burnout due to the stress of it all.

I’m in the lucky position where we can survive on my partner’s wage for a few months so I’m treating it as a career break to prioritise mental health, exercise and a healthy diet and see if I can get this shit back on track. I hope it doesn’t make going back into work even harder but it felt like the only option I had just now.

Has anyone else done something similar?

[Luisa22]

I am sorry. This is so hard for you. All I can say is beware "a healthy diet". Especially if you have IBS D.

I guess you 've been diagnosed with IBS?

If you're new to it , it might seem like a great idea to start eating healthily (lots of yummy fruit and veg, whole grains "eat a rainbow and more than 5 a day" etc) and thinking that way there is healing.

Yes you may need to adjust your diet. and it will probably be helpful to manage IBS. But it could be a low fibre diet might help you more rather than all those wonderful high fibre foods? I don't know. I'm just saying.

In 2020 when IBS started, I had to switch from my usual healthy high fibre diet which I had eaten for more than 25 years. That helped me to manage my situation, and gradually I did also manage to get back to some healthy veggies gradually, but it's a balancing act.

Have you tried the Low FODMAP diet? It can help some people. At least you might be able to tell which foods cause upsets?

It didn't help me 100% but it was worth doing the trial, (and re-introduction phase which is still on-going now and is a work in progress!) I did the trial for 8 weeks then gradually re-introduced high FODMAP foods one at a time to see if any of those triggered my upsets.

A dietician is better, if you can get help from one.

[xjrs]

It's good that you are prioritising your health. I ended up doing the same, though I am older than you and saw it as early retirement. Having a career break is perfectly acceptable. The latter part of my career, I ended up working on non-permanent contracts anyway, which meant that I would have months of gaps between work. Explaining to your next employer that you'd taken a break should be fine. You don't have to explain why.

In terms of getting control of IBS, I've found Alflorex probiotic has been a game changer for me. I've tried many over the years. Others get on well with Symprove. I would try something like that (that has been well studied - Alflorex has been scientifically studied for IBS) first, before trying any elimination and reintroduction diets since they may make you more tolerant to a wider range of foods.

Good luck with it all.

[Hopetobewell]

Good luck. Wishing you all the best