I want to talk about something that I suffer with that many do not understand and quite frankly feel as though it is something to laugh about. Honestly, if you felt the pain I have to deal with you may have a different outlook. I am talking about IBS.

I was diagnosed back in the late 90's (best estimate is maybe 1997) when a simple plate of salad at a wonderful restaurant had my gut so wrenched up with pain, I laid on my bathroom floor naked, shaking from chills while sweating profusely and unable to throw up or go to the bathroom. Not sure as to the cause then, I thought the usual- maybe something in the food preparation, maybe I had the stomach flu, maybe... I had no idea. My then husband called 911 when I couldn't resolve the pain, which was so intense it was much like the worse labor pains imaginable. By the time the paramedics came, I was able to use the toilet and felt some relief. To their encouragement I went with them to the hospital, which was a good decision because in route I was in agony again. When I reached the hospital I was producing a stool that was liquid and bright red with nothing but blood. The nurse attending me was shocked! It wasn't till the next day when they had me see a Gastroentrologist and after a colonoscopy and biopsy I found I had IBS. In some ways I was kind of relieved because he had pre-warned me I could have Crohn's disease and it was horrible from what I understood.

Now I had been told by my pediatrician when in Jr. High School that I had a "nervous stomach" for the pain and problems I was having and I now believe it was probably the start of IBS. I don't know, but believe the medical community had little to know info/knowledge of IBS much like Asthma. I was only told that if I didn't learn to settle down that I would end up getting an ulcer!

The reason I think people find it funny or just don't talk about it comes down to old childish behavior. The attitude that "pooping" is funny, or you just don't talk about it in any way. For me, it's not what goes into the toilet but the horrible pain in my gut that I have to just deal with any day (it has no commonality or schedule). I have had to stay away, for the most part, from the things I love the most; all green veggies! I LOVE broccoli, Brussels sprouts and more but if I have it more than 1x a month and more than about a cup full I will end up in agony. I haven't had a plate of salad in years and that is sad. Stress really kills me and my favorite pop plays hell with me many times; though I recently found I have had a hard time dealing with drinking water. I mean, I don't really like water like some do but it gave me such stomach pain because I couldn't burp, I was just as miserable.

I am currently in my 3rd study related to the treatment of IBS and today I am finding myself miserable. I am using this moment to distract myself away from the horrible pain I am feeling. I can't even bring myself to make dinner at the moment because the thought of food is beyond me; not to mention the pain doesn't allow me to move much. Curling into a ball is usually how it goes when it is this bad. I think to myself, after so many years of having no contact with my fathers family, only to be brought together a couple years ago I hear that several persons on his side have many intestinal problems. A couple of my cousins have Crohn's disease and have even had much of their digestive system removed!

I can only describe to you the pain that comes with this affliction with a scene in the movie Alien when that thing bursts through the mans stomach; but it's more like something moving through your large intestine with extreme force that you feel. Along with pain that equals labor, feeling as though someone giving you a stomach upper cut would actually improve the way you feel. Then add in the bloating that makes me, all 110 lbs of me feel as though I just gained 10+ pounds in little time. Yes, I get horrible gas (the horn on a turd, the husband calls it) and all the pain that goes with that as well.

It was difficult for my job, when I was working to understand what I would go through. Making fun of me, making it out as though I was using the restroom to get out of work. Even worse is that I would get punished by Giant Eagles system of points for being late when many times on my long 45 min drive into work I would be in horrible pain and have to stop at many restrooms on the way to work. Working retail, it was torture to assist the customer, keep a happy face and wretch in agony. I wish there was more understanding in people about this affliction, along with what my family has endured with Crohn's disease.

I end this with some info from the medical community.
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ibs_ez/