What Is It like to Have IBS?

It’s hard for people who don’t have IBS to know what it feels like, so here’s a little exercise to help anyone who doesn’t have IBS understand what it’s like for the rest of us.

Talk a walk in our shoes

Remember a time when you had a gastro bug and couldn’t stop going to the toilet, where your belly was in so much pain, cramping up and making you wish it would be over. Where you were afraid to leave the house because there had to be a toilet close by or there may be a serious problem. And then once it was finished, you were left feeling exhausted and drained and sore all over.

Now, think of a time when for some reason your system got really blocked up and you weren’t able to go to the toilet when you wanted to. Maybe you couldn’t go for a day or two and were left feeling like if you could just get something out, you’d feel better. Or maybe you could go, but could only get something out when you strained so hard it felt like something was going to break.

Next, think of a time that you ate everything at a big buffet or celebration dinner (like Christmas or Thanksgiving). Where your belly was so full, yet you kept eating and made it even more full, so you had to loosen a notch on your belt in order to feel comfortable. Then sitting down, rubbing your belly and knowing the only thing that was going to make your huge, full belly feel better was time.

Lastly, think about a time when you had gas that you struggled to hold in, making you feel like you were going to burst if you didn’t let it out, but knowing that if you did let it out, it would be a ripper that would be so loud or would smell so frightfully awful that everyone would know about it. Perhaps the gas was due to something unusual you ate or maybe it was connected to one of the other times described above, but if you held it in, it made your belly feel so sore.

Now, imagine experiencing all of this in the space of 1 or 2 days. Being blocked up one minute and unable to go, then running to the toilet the next and feeling like the world might end. Having your belly so full and huge, although this time not from too much food, with so much pain that even loosening your belt doesn’t help. And over the top of all that… gas, so much of it that holding it in is next to impossible, and so terribly pungent that it could almost fell an ox. And then trying to keep everything hidden from the people around you so they don’t know what’s going on because it would be so terribly embarrassing if they did.

Now you’re starting to understand.

One foot in front of the other

But when you have IBS, this doesn’t just happen for 1 or 2 days and then get better once the bug or other cause of your uncomfortableness has passed. It lasts. Forever. Unless you’re able to work out what triggers your symptoms and get it under control. But even if you do, there will still be bad days because you can’t keep things under control all of the time.

Everyone understands that we all get sick, eat too much, or just have bad days when the body does funny things, because everyone has experienced that at some point. But if you don’t personally have IBS, please try to understand that this how we feel far too often. This is what we hide from the world while we do our best to put one foot in front of the other and appear like everyone else.