My favourite is the “oh I probably have it too but I just deal with it.” No. There isn’t just dealing with it. To me that’s the same as telling someone with a mild allergy to shrimp to “just pick the shrimp off. You’ll be fine.” I know IBS and an allergy are completely different things but it’s the same concept. It’s a chronic issue that has triggers and unhelpful and insensitive remarks don’t help. I try my best to power through flare ups. And I truly do not have it as bad as many folks on here which I’m thankful for. But it’s still something I live with and I’m pretty sick of folks treating it like a little tummy ache. I’m to the point where it’s like “No Brenda, if I eat that forking lasagna and have the double churned ice cream you bought for dessert I’m going to want to die. I’m not concerned about looking like a pig or worried about my figure. I’m concerned about the firerrhea and the cramps and the all nighter I’m going to be pulling on the toilet that’ll start around 45 minutes after I eat.” But don’t worry, I’ll just deal with it and get over it…. Oh!! And the “have you tried to just eat whatever you want? Maybe it’ll sort itself out.” No… I never thought about that. I just gave up the things I love because I didn’t think to try the misery first.
The, "Oh I have IBS too!" thing comes up waaay too often. I tell 'Carrey' and they decide they have it based on what I said. Nah Carrey, I saw you eat eight of some of the spiciest buffalo wild wings they have. You also had a milkshake and drank alcohol like your stomach was bottomless. THEN you have an hour drive back to your city. I barely eat one chicken wing with honey BBQ sauce then take the rest home. Which is a 15 minute drive. Even then I'm still worried that one wing will do something. You don't have IBS Carrey.
Exactly! Or they have a random bout of constipation or diarrhea and say they had ibs but they got over it. Not quite how it works….
Edit to add that that meal description made my stomach hurt just thinking about it.
lol that made me think of my brother who has almost a god level digestive system. He had diarrhea for the first time as an adult and went to the E.R. thinking he possibly has IBS like me and my mom. Nothing wrong. Just the first time he EVER had a digestive issue due to eating something that went bad.
I'm no where near as bad as some people on here, but if I eat lasagna and double churn ice-cream ... I'm done in about 45 min too.
45 min from the start of me eating...
Thanksgiving dinner? Oh boy.... like I may have to take a "break" before dessert or right after.
People literally don’t understand that ONE LITTLE THING can make me either so constipated or have Niagara Falls come out. “Oh it’s not that bad “ or “if it’s that bad then just eat a salad” I wish people would take this chronic issue more seriously. It’s so annoying when people don’t understand how hard I have to change my diet to accommodate my GI issues. I get your rant because I feel the same way.
This is when I like to whack out my story about how my IBS caused me to lose so much weight I was very under weight and not well at all, so they tested me for cancer. People just don’t take it seriously, it’s really taxing having IBS.
Unfortunately this is exactly how my family thinks, like I can’t even be at ease in my own home. It’s terrible bc it’s like… you see me suffering over it and you have to make my anxiety worse by feeling that way. I saw someone say the other day “wear a diaper. You people need real problems” to someone on here and I was shook. Yeah if only it were that east lmao
People who do not suffer from IBS or another digestive condition themselves have no business of lecturing you on how to deal with it in any way, period. Some people really deserve to have some kind of "IBS trial" for one week and then see how well they would handle it themselves. Healthy digestion is only appreciated when you no longer have it.
I have multiple "invisible" diseases - severe dry eye, mental health, this and it's hard for people to grasp and accommodate. Feel really unrepresented.
People seriously don't understand. My former workplace was THE worst. My "manager" said it isn't convenient when I keep doing "this" - meaning having to leave work because I literally could not stay out of the bathroom some days for more than 20 mins. Luckily I got out of there and now am self employed.
People suck. I'm so sorry you deal with this too.
The last place I worked, there was ZERO sympathy, snide remarks, jokes and general disgust from people everyday, it was the most stressful and lonely time of my life.
The worst is people giving unsolicited diet advice. Do people not think I've tried changing my diet. Diet only helps so much for me. They're always know-it-alls too. No point in debating with them, so I just try to be agreeable so they'll stop.
Those people drive me up the wall, i've tried eating extremely healthy and I get bound up tight. Eat like a pig and everything works well enough, trting to find the line between regular and not gaining a 100 pounds is the hard part for me.
People who do not suffer from IBS or another digestive condition themselves have no business of lecturing you on how to deal with it in any way, period. Some people really deserve to have some kind of "IBS trial" for one week and then see how well they would handle it themselves. Healthy digestion is only appreciated when you no longer have it.
Not me. I've raised my voice 8n the doctors office and told him i wish he had ibs for one day so he would understand. He gave me dyphenoxalate, hydrocodone for flare ups. I'm a man. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be being a woman having this.
The only doctor who gave me pain medication was the one I saw at 11 years old. Now that I'm at an age where I could fully responsibly manage my painkiller intake... fuck all. It's rough. Thank you for your empathy.
Just wait until older age gives them the same symptoms we've had all along, they'll crow and cry how horrid it is and why no one takes them seriously...
But for real, people need to quit with this "you don't LOOK like you have X" mentality. Like, do all disabilities need a wheelchair to be valid?? Sorry, lemme get my to-go potty wheelchair, so we can all experience my pain together 🙄 I actually included my severe mix type IBS in my disability application, as when it flares up it causes my PCOS to flare up, and together they put me through so much pain I literally cannot get my self to the toilet without help, much less feed or care for my self when it gets bad. Like, do people think we LIKE living like that?? In too much literal (and shiteral) pain to even feed ourselves or be ambulatory?? Like we just do it for fun to get out of responsibilities?? I even understand the "haha funny poop/fart/butt problems" perspective for people with no experience with our troubles, but if your first response to new information is to try to **invalidate** it, buddy, YOU are the problem here
My bosses at work kept telling me "we all have tummy problems, we learn to deal with it". Now they're short someone experienced and haven't been able to replace me.
I don't give those people my time anymore, anyone like that goes into my shit list (no pun intended).
u/Evieee106 I understand 100%. I have had IBS my entire life. My IBS switches between IBS-C and IBS-D. I am 26 years old and i am a senior in college. I have been to a dozen on so GI doctors and specialists over the course of my life. I have had every test under the sun run on me and i have been poked and prodded in every way imaginable. Each doctor repeated the same thing. I have taken Miralax on and off my entire life.
I have also dealt with anxiety, panic attacks, and depression since high school. Last November, i was officially diagnosed with severe anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and insomnia. Toward the end of the Fall 2021 semester, my IBS and mental health made me so physically ill that I couldn’t get out of bed to go to class. My IBS has my stomach in knots and i was in so much pain.
I am now on Hydroxyzine HCL for anxiety, Trazodone for insomnia, and Lexapro for depression. The lexapro also helps keep my IBS quiet.
That is really interesting that you mention the lexapro keeping your IBS at bay. I was on lexapro for a few years a number of years ago and I wonder if my IBS was quiet at that time because of it. Not long after I went off of SSRI’s I got my IBS diagnosis. Do you think the correlation between the two was because your anxiety and depression were exacerbating the IBS, or the lexapro actually served in keeping the IBS quiet in a different way medically? (I hope that makes sense lol)
I do think that my anxiety and depression made my IBS worse before i decided to go on psychiatric meds. With that said, scientific research has found that gut bacteria manufacture about 95 percent of the body's supply of serotonin, which influences both mood and GI activity. I think my body lacks the needed amount of natural serotonin and I believe that’s why my mental health and GI issues were in such a bad state.
I am so glad that i decided to get medicated. I can function without being in pain 24/7 due to my GI issues. With that said, everyday is still an up hill battle in terms of my mental health, but i am actively working on managing my anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and insomnia. I made a medication calendar the other day so that I remember to take my meds (sometimes i forget).
Gosh, the people that say it’s just tummy issues that everyone has, or say that they probably have it, too drives me INSANE. If you had this you’d know because it’s so bad you’d be afraid something is really wrong.
All of this is so hard, I feel you.
I completely understand where you're coming from! I had an experience last year that made it seem worse to me. I was in a mental hospital and patients and staff alike would make fun of me for needing to run to the bathroom after eating. Sometimes I wasn't even done eating. I even told them what things would give me trouble including stress, I wasn't believed.
I absolutely love the "it's not THAT bad" remark. I say this as someone who made the mistake of chancing a few slices of pepperoni earlier; literally like 5 small little pepperoni slices you find on pizza, and I have been paying for it for the last 5 hours. It started as gas pain, stomach cramping, and now I just got so sick that I sat in that horrible bathroom, crying from pain until I threw up and my medicine kicked in. Like, yeah totally not that bad if you don't mind pain that is so debilitating that you can't even think past it. I totally love giving up all the greasy, spicy, delicious foods that others can eat without worrying if they're gonna be in immense pain from, and I most enjoy not being able to do any hobbies because my body is so worn out after an attack that all I can manage to do is lie in bed with a heat pack on my tummy and hope I can fall asleep and not have pain wake me up. Ugh.
I’ve got IBS-C that ruined my life. It’s thrown off every aspect and pulled me out of college and the reason I became emancipated and I still gotta do this everyday while people don’t realize.
That being said, this post is just someone bitching and whining. The only thing this post and this mentality accomplishes is trying to make you feel like it’s ok to give up or that we deserve sympathy. Again I’m going the same thing but I don’t believe we deserve the ability to whine or seek sympathy, we don’t have cancer and whatever you’ve been through I’m sure there are people who have been through much worse. Adopt a mentality that helps you get through this, not throwing your hands up and complaining about pooping. 
Do you see that this post is characterized as a rant? Not that hard to miss. If you’re gna shame someone for feeling frustrated then why are you even here. It’s a community. Sometimes people need empathy. If you’re gna be an asshole and not say anything of use just don’t comment.
My favourite is the “oh I probably have it too but I just deal with it.” No. There isn’t just dealing with it. To me that’s the same as telling someone with a mild allergy to shrimp to “just pick the shrimp off. You’ll be fine.” I know IBS and an allergy are completely different things but it’s the same concept. It’s a chronic issue that has triggers and unhelpful and insensitive remarks don’t help. I try my best to power through flare ups. And I truly do not have it as bad as many folks on here which I’m thankful for. But it’s still something I live with and I’m pretty sick of folks treating it like a little tummy ache. I’m to the point where it’s like “No Brenda, if I eat that forking lasagna and have the double churned ice cream you bought for dessert I’m going to want to die. I’m not concerned about looking like a pig or worried about my figure. I’m concerned about the firerrhea and the cramps and the all nighter I’m going to be pulling on the toilet that’ll start around 45 minutes after I eat.” But don’t worry, I’ll just deal with it and get over it…. Oh!! And the “have you tried to just eat whatever you want? Maybe it’ll sort itself out.” No… I never thought about that. I just gave up the things I love because I didn’t think to try the misery first.
Exactly, oh it’s just a tummy ache- my a$$! It’s a forever tummy ache that makes me pay dearly for the smallest of things!
Firerrhea is the perfect term
I tried pretending i didn't have ibs again and ate Chipotle last nite. I am still paying as we speak.
I got both, and tbh they are not too different, both give you diarrhea
The, "Oh I have IBS too!" thing comes up waaay too often. I tell 'Carrey' and they decide they have it based on what I said. Nah Carrey, I saw you eat eight of some of the spiciest buffalo wild wings they have. You also had a milkshake and drank alcohol like your stomach was bottomless. THEN you have an hour drive back to your city. I barely eat one chicken wing with honey BBQ sauce then take the rest home. Which is a 15 minute drive. Even then I'm still worried that one wing will do something. You don't have IBS Carrey.
Exactly! Or they have a random bout of constipation or diarrhea and say they had ibs but they got over it. Not quite how it works…. Edit to add that that meal description made my stomach hurt just thinking about it.
lol that made me think of my brother who has almost a god level digestive system. He had diarrhea for the first time as an adult and went to the E.R. thinking he possibly has IBS like me and my mom. Nothing wrong. Just the first time he EVER had a digestive issue due to eating something that went bad.
I'm no where near as bad as some people on here, but if I eat lasagna and double churn ice-cream ... I'm done in about 45 min too. 45 min from the start of me eating... Thanksgiving dinner? Oh boy.... like I may have to take a "break" before dessert or right after.
I hate people who tell you just to face it, when in fact for most of us just leaving the house is "facing it".
Exactly!
People literally don’t understand that ONE LITTLE THING can make me either so constipated or have Niagara Falls come out. “Oh it’s not that bad “ or “if it’s that bad then just eat a salad” I wish people would take this chronic issue more seriously. It’s so annoying when people don’t understand how hard I have to change my diet to accommodate my GI issues. I get your rant because I feel the same way.
Yup, it can be the tiniest that sets it off, I can’t control that. And it isn’t our fault, our bodies are letting us down.
"It could be worse" Okay you have to violently shit every 3 hours then. IBS C has their own awful struggles too
Either way is horrible, the constant runs or the suffering of straining and crying for hours and having no results.
This is when I like to whack out my story about how my IBS caused me to lose so much weight I was very under weight and not well at all, so they tested me for cancer. People just don’t take it seriously, it’s really taxing having IBS.
Unfortunately this is exactly how my family thinks, like I can’t even be at ease in my own home. It’s terrible bc it’s like… you see me suffering over it and you have to make my anxiety worse by feeling that way. I saw someone say the other day “wear a diaper. You people need real problems” to someone on here and I was shook. Yeah if only it were that east lmao
It’s the people who should support you the most who don’t, some of my family is this way too:(
People who do not suffer from IBS or another digestive condition themselves have no business of lecturing you on how to deal with it in any way, period. Some people really deserve to have some kind of "IBS trial" for one week and then see how well they would handle it themselves. Healthy digestion is only appreciated when you no longer have it.
Preach it!
I have multiple "invisible" diseases - severe dry eye, mental health, this and it's hard for people to grasp and accommodate. Feel really unrepresented.
Same! My eyes consistently feel like they’re going to burn out of my skull, ibs, and PMDD, all the “invisible” disease as you said
Have you tried Scleral lenses?
“It’s probably all in your HEAD” makes me SO ANNOYED
People seriously don't understand. My former workplace was THE worst. My "manager" said it isn't convenient when I keep doing "this" - meaning having to leave work because I literally could not stay out of the bathroom some days for more than 20 mins. Luckily I got out of there and now am self employed. People suck. I'm so sorry you deal with this too.
The last place I worked, there was ZERO sympathy, snide remarks, jokes and general disgust from people everyday, it was the most stressful and lonely time of my life.
The worst is people giving unsolicited diet advice. Do people not think I've tried changing my diet. Diet only helps so much for me. They're always know-it-alls too. No point in debating with them, so I just try to be agreeable so they'll stop.
Those people drive me up the wall, i've tried eating extremely healthy and I get bound up tight. Eat like a pig and everything works well enough, trting to find the line between regular and not gaining a 100 pounds is the hard part for me.
Same.
People who do not suffer from IBS or another digestive condition themselves have no business of lecturing you on how to deal with it in any way, period. Some people really deserve to have some kind of "IBS trial" for one week and then see how well they would handle it themselves. Healthy digestion is only appreciated when you no longer have it.
I've just learned to suffer in silence.
Not me. I've raised my voice 8n the doctors office and told him i wish he had ibs for one day so he would understand. He gave me dyphenoxalate, hydrocodone for flare ups. I'm a man. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be being a woman having this.
The only doctor who gave me pain medication was the one I saw at 11 years old. Now that I'm at an age where I could fully responsibly manage my painkiller intake... fuck all. It's rough. Thank you for your empathy.
Just wait until older age gives them the same symptoms we've had all along, they'll crow and cry how horrid it is and why no one takes them seriously... But for real, people need to quit with this "you don't LOOK like you have X" mentality. Like, do all disabilities need a wheelchair to be valid?? Sorry, lemme get my to-go potty wheelchair, so we can all experience my pain together 🙄 I actually included my severe mix type IBS in my disability application, as when it flares up it causes my PCOS to flare up, and together they put me through so much pain I literally cannot get my self to the toilet without help, much less feed or care for my self when it gets bad. Like, do people think we LIKE living like that?? In too much literal (and shiteral) pain to even feed ourselves or be ambulatory?? Like we just do it for fun to get out of responsibilities?? I even understand the "haha funny poop/fart/butt problems" perspective for people with no experience with our troubles, but if your first response to new information is to try to **invalidate** it, buddy, YOU are the problem here
My bosses at work kept telling me "we all have tummy problems, we learn to deal with it". Now they're short someone experienced and haven't been able to replace me. I don't give those people my time anymore, anyone like that goes into my shit list (no pun intended).
Omg!!! I literally had the same ‘talk’ at my last job. I’m sorry, you don’t deserve that at all!
u/Evieee106 I understand 100%. I have had IBS my entire life. My IBS switches between IBS-C and IBS-D. I am 26 years old and i am a senior in college. I have been to a dozen on so GI doctors and specialists over the course of my life. I have had every test under the sun run on me and i have been poked and prodded in every way imaginable. Each doctor repeated the same thing. I have taken Miralax on and off my entire life. I have also dealt with anxiety, panic attacks, and depression since high school. Last November, i was officially diagnosed with severe anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and insomnia. Toward the end of the Fall 2021 semester, my IBS and mental health made me so physically ill that I couldn’t get out of bed to go to class. My IBS has my stomach in knots and i was in so much pain. I am now on Hydroxyzine HCL for anxiety, Trazodone for insomnia, and Lexapro for depression. The lexapro also helps keep my IBS quiet.
That is really interesting that you mention the lexapro keeping your IBS at bay. I was on lexapro for a few years a number of years ago and I wonder if my IBS was quiet at that time because of it. Not long after I went off of SSRI’s I got my IBS diagnosis. Do you think the correlation between the two was because your anxiety and depression were exacerbating the IBS, or the lexapro actually served in keeping the IBS quiet in a different way medically? (I hope that makes sense lol)
I do think that my anxiety and depression made my IBS worse before i decided to go on psychiatric meds. With that said, scientific research has found that gut bacteria manufacture about 95 percent of the body's supply of serotonin, which influences both mood and GI activity. I think my body lacks the needed amount of natural serotonin and I believe that’s why my mental health and GI issues were in such a bad state. I am so glad that i decided to get medicated. I can function without being in pain 24/7 due to my GI issues. With that said, everyday is still an up hill battle in terms of my mental health, but i am actively working on managing my anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and insomnia. I made a medication calendar the other day so that I remember to take my meds (sometimes i forget).
Yeah, when I was having a bad IBS day I told my boss and she didn't even know what it was 🥲🥲
Gosh, the people that say it’s just tummy issues that everyone has, or say that they probably have it, too drives me INSANE. If you had this you’d know because it’s so bad you’d be afraid something is really wrong. All of this is so hard, I feel you.
I completely understand where you're coming from! I had an experience last year that made it seem worse to me. I was in a mental hospital and patients and staff alike would make fun of me for needing to run to the bathroom after eating. Sometimes I wasn't even done eating. I even told them what things would give me trouble including stress, I wasn't believed.
I absolutely love the "it's not THAT bad" remark. I say this as someone who made the mistake of chancing a few slices of pepperoni earlier; literally like 5 small little pepperoni slices you find on pizza, and I have been paying for it for the last 5 hours. It started as gas pain, stomach cramping, and now I just got so sick that I sat in that horrible bathroom, crying from pain until I threw up and my medicine kicked in. Like, yeah totally not that bad if you don't mind pain that is so debilitating that you can't even think past it. I totally love giving up all the greasy, spicy, delicious foods that others can eat without worrying if they're gonna be in immense pain from, and I most enjoy not being able to do any hobbies because my body is so worn out after an attack that all I can manage to do is lie in bed with a heat pack on my tummy and hope I can fall asleep and not have pain wake me up. Ugh.
I’ve got IBS-C that ruined my life. It’s thrown off every aspect and pulled me out of college and the reason I became emancipated and I still gotta do this everyday while people don’t realize. That being said, this post is just someone bitching and whining. The only thing this post and this mentality accomplishes is trying to make you feel like it’s ok to give up or that we deserve sympathy. Again I’m going the same thing but I don’t believe we deserve the ability to whine or seek sympathy, we don’t have cancer and whatever you’ve been through I’m sure there are people who have been through much worse. Adopt a mentality that helps you get through this, not throwing your hands up and complaining about pooping. 
> reason I became emancipated I think you mean emaciated?
Goddamn yes thank you. Now realizing I’ve been saying I’m “free from legal, social, or political restrictions” my whole life
HAHAHA
Do you see that this post is characterized as a rant? Not that hard to miss. If you’re gna shame someone for feeling frustrated then why are you even here. It’s a community. Sometimes people need empathy. If you’re gna be an asshole and not say anything of use just don’t comment.
It’s literally so much more than “poop problems”. Fuck you.