Why a dirty secret?
If you are reading this and you have IBS, you know why IBS
is a dirty secret. Irritable bowel syndrome can be an unwanted and frequent
visitor to migraine, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, TMJ, chronicpelvic pain, menstruation, or even panic disorder. We are about to get to know
each other up close and personal, very personal.
The effects of having an irritable bowel (spastic colon) are things we don’t
want to talk about. Those of us with it know there is a great deal more to it than
pain, abdominal cramping, gas, and water loss diarrhea. We can be awakened from
a dead sleep, spend hours (literally) sitting on a toilet, or we can simply be riding
in a car when out of the blue, our bowels move faster than the speed of light,
severely limiting the necessary amount of time for our intestines to extract nutrients. Then as the
attack intensifies, an explosion occurs with the force of an atomic bomb, or so
it seems to us.
What should be staying in the small bowel to help with
digestion makes it way out of our body causing our surrounding area to become inundated
with gases that would have animals scurrying for cover. Yes, that is where the
foul odor, and I mean foul, comes from. It comes from the small intestine,
which is rich with important enzymes to aid in digestion. It is NOT supposed to
leave the area. but in IBS, it does. Next comes the after effects.
Digestive enzymes extract nutrients for cellular strength, and our electrolytes, which are necessary for maintaining physical balance in the body are gone too. All the friendly stuff that keeps us out of harm’s way is suddenly in the wrong place at the wrong time. We are without sleep, disrupted from a normal life, drained (quite literally), and embarrassed. We are robbed of healing capabilities, and our social life is affected.
Digestive enzymes extract nutrients for cellular strength, and our electrolytes, which are necessary for maintaining physical balance in the body are gone too. All the friendly stuff that keeps us out of harm’s way is suddenly in the wrong place at the wrong time. We are without sleep, disrupted from a normal life, drained (quite literally), and embarrassed. We are robbed of healing capabilities, and our social life is affected.
Coming clean
Accidents are embarrassing and are probably our best kept
secret. After all, who wants to talk about losing control of your bowels in a
public place? For those without IBS, they would only think that is accidently
having a normally formed stool in their underwear that can be dumped in a
toilet, evidence thrown in the trash, and no one knows. For those of us with
severe IBS, it is much different. I won’t go into extreme details, but I think
the first part of this blog pretty much spells, and smells, out what it would
be like to be in a public place when this happens. I think most people would be
embarrassed to have to tell a friend or relative driving somewhere that you
must stop at the gas station on the corner NOW!
Those of us with irritable bowel syndrome have learned to accommodate the
unwanted nature of such an important body part. We always know where the
bathroom is when we enter any building. I carry a coffee can and roll of toilet
paper in my car and have for years. I have used that coffee can many times, but
other than my husband, no one knew until now, not even my co-workers, not even my doctor. After
all, who would really want to hear such a story?
I suppose I should have been this graphic with my doctors,
because they really don’t seem to understand the implications of this “functional”
bowel disorder. It’s not a disease so it can’t be that bad, right? WRONG!
So, to all my fellow IBS friends, when you tell me you have
irritable bowel syndrome, I know exactly what that means. After two recent embarrassing
episodes, and many years down the road, with symptoms now exacerbated by
diverticulosis, I decided it was time to come clean on this dirty little
secret.
You can read more on IBS and things you can do that might
help on my website at the link here.
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All answers and
blogs are based on the author's opinions and writing and are not meant to
replace medical advice.
Celeste Cooper is
a retired RN, educator, fibromyalgia patient, and lead author of the Broken
Body Wounded Spirit: Balancing the See Saw of Chronic Pain devotional series
(coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD), and Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia,
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection
(coauthor, Jeff Miller PhD) She is a fibromyalgia expert for Dr. Oz, et al., at
Sharecare.com, here, and she advocates for all chronic pain
patients as a participant in the Pain Action Alliance to Implement a National
Strategy, here. You can read more educational
information and about her books on her website, http://TheseThree.com
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