Olivia’s Personal Story: “I’m sorry for all your silent suffering, I know it’s so debilitating and depressing.”
Hello, I’m 25 female, I’ve had Ibs mixed for about 6 years now. It began at uni with a combination of work and social anxiety. For 2 years I had constant loose stools (7-17 times depending on anxiety levels) , bloating, gas and flare ups. Eventually after uni this turned into chronic constipation (longest 3 weeks) with bloating, gas and flare ups (with occasional bouts of diarrhoea when triggered by work/social anxiety). This has been the last 4 years-during which I’ve had all the tests and scans and tubes. The things that have helped me the most have been cutting out gluten (helped bloating, gas and flare ups but didn’t effect constipation), eating less (whatever your normal meal size is – half it… But try to not trigger an ed), not eating for at least 5 hours before sleeping, having a regular routine and sleeping/waking at the same time and getting enough sleep (if I am sleep deprived all my symptoms get worse). Sometimes when I’m doing all these things successfully I am actually able to get into a routine and go to the loo once a day. I’m not free from digestive issues, but I haven’t sobbed on a toilet seat in a really long time. I’m sorry for all your silent suffering, I know it’s so debilitating and depressing.
