IBS: My New Life Journey

Everyone uses the restroom. It is a fact of life. But if you have to go many times a day and it appears like your life revolves around it, something is wrong. During college, this was my life.

Freshman year, I was mainly fine and could eat whatever I wanted (and I ate a lot–hello freshman 15). This was great because I am a foodie! I always thought I was lactose intolerant, so I mainly stayed away from large amounts of dairy back then. However, sophomore year, my classes got tougher and anytime I had some big event/presentation, I would get excruciating stomach cramps and spend a lot of time in the bathroom every time I ate food. This translated from school events to social events after COVID. My stomach pains and aches were a daily occurrence in my life. I’m a big researcher, so I figured I had IBS and I scheduled a visit with a gastroenterologist my senior year (I know, this is a little late).

My Gastroenterologist Visit for IBS

My doctor verified that I shouldn’t have to use the restroom after every meal and that something was certainly wrong with my digestive system. She couldn’t technically diagnose me at that point, but she stated I probably had IBS.

IBS is an abbreviation for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It’s a long-term disorder in which your intestines have difficulty digesting food. This causes bloating, cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and other symptoms. These symptoms differ from person to person, and an individual may experience one or more of them. According to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders, between 25 and 45 million people suffer with IBS in the US.

Following that doctor’s appointment, I had a good idea of what was making me unwell but no definitive solutions. Most IBS patients need a battery of tests to ensure that the symptoms aren’t caused by a food intolerance or another condition. Getting an official IBS diagnosis generally requires a lot of trial and error. This is what happened when I went to the doctor.

Blood tests, food modifications, and a visit to the gastroenterologist all took place over the course of the following few months. I am not officially diagnosed yet as I haven’t been home in NJ that much after school to see my doctor. However, hopefully later this summer I will get the official diagnosis.

The Aftermath

Now, I’m taking IBgard, which has helped a lot. I used to rely on Pepto every day (I still keep a travel-sized bottle in my purse and car as a comfort thing for me). Just when I start to think I got the hang of how to deal with the pain, I’ll have a really bad bout of gastro issues–about once a week. However, this is better than every day. IBS isn’t an easy lifestyle adjustment and obviously I’ll continue to figure things out. All I know, so far, is that mine is very connected to anxiety and stress.

Although I haven’t fully adjusted my diet yet, sometimes when my anxiety kicks in, I tend to avoid dairy. If I’m at home or close to home, especially with family, I will eat dairy. I’ve learned that I feel better when I eat half of my food in the restaurant and the other half as leftovers. This makes me really think that the issue is more with anxiety (or portion size) rather than the actual food since it’s very random. Sometimes, I’ll have my intense gastro issues with any food, not specific patterns that I’ve noticed. One day, I had pizza and ice cream and I was totally fine. Later that week, I had a gluten-free and lactose-free day and I had a huge attack.

I know that I should track what I eat and when I go to the bathroom, but this seems so daunting, so hopefully I start to do this soon as I will need to track other things as an adult anyways, such as expenses 😉 I plan to post more on this as I continue my journey and find new tips to dealing with this, especially managing my stress (my main trigger). I always have a bad stomach when I’m at an event or in class by thinking about how I could deal with the potential for an attack, which would trigger the bad stomach ache.

My Reality

I’m not going to lie, IBS still embarrasses me. I’m surprised I’m writing about it right now. Whenever I go out to eat with people or do any activity that is new, I always get anxious and embarrassed about the potential of using the bathroom for a long time and not in the comfort of my own home. I hate when people have to wait for me or interrupting events when I have to run to the bathroom all of the time. 

For example, when I went to Hawaii with my boyfriend and his family, right at the end of the trip we took a long drive to see these pretty trees in a forest. We went right after we had lunch and I had one bite of my boyfriend’s chicken parm (my favorite) and my caesar salad. As soon as I started thinking about the long drive, I immediately knew there would be trouble. I had to ask if his brother could speed up and if there would be a bathroom. My worst nightmare came true: I had to use a disgusting Porta Potty. I was there for 30 minutes and I missed seeing the trees because we had to catch our flight. I was mortified, but they were very understanding.

So, during my trip to Europe with them, it happened twice. It was embarrassing, but again they understood. Sadly the second time it happened, we had to change our plans around. I felt guilty for missing one of our activities, but we got to spend time sitting down and still enjoying the city.

My Message to Others

IBS is not a simple condition to deal with, and I occasionally get excruciating cramping. I believe the one aspect of IBS that makes it so challenging is that you don’t notice it until it’s extremely awful. It might be simple to overlook your health as a college student when you spend all day working on projects and attending classes or are a young adult working.

So my advice would be to pay more attention to your health and set aside a few minutes each day to listen into your body. Additionally, you might want to investigate it if you frequently find yourself rushing to the restroom just after eating. I’m by no means a medical professional, but I do remember how I felt at the start of my IBS journey.

Keep happy and healthy 🙂