Skip to Accessibility Menu Skip to Login Skip to Content Skip to Footer

New Member in the IBS Sufferers' Club

ollivier71's avatar image

By ollivier71

2 min read

Hi,

I'm Olivier, I'm 35 years old, I'm french, I live in france.
And you know what? It's during a trip to the USA that I've discovered what is IBS.
Indeed, I was watching TV early in the morning, thanks to the jet lag, when I discovered this ad for medication (Viberzi) on TV.

The situation described in this advertising, reminded me what I usually feeling at work just before going to a meeting, or after lunch feeling bloating and needing to find the restrooms quickly...

I just realised, that I've felt these symptoms since my teenage years... But I never really knew what it was, I didn't think that it could be illness, and that's the way it is.

I've always had diarrhea, bloating, gas and all those awkward symptoms that we usually don't talk about. Even when I was a teenager, I had embarrassing noises in my belly (gas) during classes, I felt so embarrassed... And today, I still have those noises in stressful situations (like meetings, and obviously when there isn't any other noise in the room ! ) I feel so ashamed at those moments.
I also have some food allergies (uncooked carrots, uncooked celery, uncooked soy and many more) And it's often when I'm eating vegetables (like mushrooms, tomatoes) that I have a bellyache.
I noticed that stress increased the symptoms.

By providing your email address, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I've always been looking for the restrooms when traveling, or at the restaurant, in the malls, at the train station and everywhere else.
I thought I was going crazy with this... I was avoiding going out with friends/colleagues to the restaurant.

More recently, I was in the subway in Paris, I felt the early signs of a diarrhea, I thought I would never find the restrooms before it's too late, I was traumatized... Hopefully, I found the toilets, but I've never felt serene since then, and it's so awkward to talk about this...

So, I finally decided to go to the doctor. He prescribed me a colonoscopy, I was anxious, but I was so tired of those symptoms that I agreed.

I had this colonoscopy two weeks ago, and irritation had been found in my bowel, but nothing more too serious (hopefully), He concluded that it is a colopathy.

My doctor confirmed that I have IBS - D (also called colopathy). Now, I know what I suffer. He prescribed me a treatment to avoid diarrheas, and confirmed that I have to be careful what I eat too.

I like reading stories about IBS on the web, and also watching videos on youtube about IBS like these : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTn5TSKjTq9S7aFi7ZFzBgA

I wanted to share my little story with you.

I feel less alone now lol

Excuse me for grammar errors...

Olivier

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The IrritableBowelSyndrome.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.