Serious anxiety due to your condition!?

[katie_fitch]

Hi everyone,

So I've been diagnosed with UC this February 2012. I've had symptoms before the diagnosis, I just never knew.

Insane BMs (very "loose" to keep it clean), horrible bloating/gas, that feeling of passing out when you're having a BM (anyone know what that is called?), constant grumbling in the stomach, blood in the stool, and the list goes on and on..

I am terrified to go out of my house. I am 18 years old and just starting college. I have the runs too often, like once I need to go, I NEED TO GO! It is so embarrassing, not to mention the sounds I can make. If I am at the mall and need to use the public bathroom, that is a living nightmare for me. :angry-banghead: Or when I am at a friend's house and I need to go. I have so much panic inside of me 24/7. I am deadly afraid that if I am on the bus or on the subway, I will need a bathroom.. One day I just know I will crap my pants and I'm so young and a woman! This isn't quite a feminine condition...

I am lucky that lately it has really calmed down. I have actually only had 4-5 bowel movements within 5 days which is a first for me, I'm not quite sure if that's normal.

I just want others to share their anxieties as well, I'll greatly appreciate knowing I'm not the only one like this! :frown:

 

[ontariomom]

no you arent the only one. I have been dealing for a year and half with no treatment yet. I am still waiting on a colonscopy so they can pin point how far my crohns go before they treat me. The most i have right now is Tylenol 3. I must say the only good thing about them is they slow down my bm so i can actually leave the house without too much fear. But it doesnt mean i dont stress. I have learned to just not eat if i am going out, and that seems to help. Not fun but at this point i am doing what i can to manage as much as i can.

I feel like making a sign that i can stick on public bathroom doors that says: Excuse the noise, I have Crohns! maybe one day i will.

All i can say is the stress will make it worse.This is i know from experience.

I really dont have any real answers for you, just i feel for you. You are so young.....i dont know if i could have handled this at your age.

 

[Thermo]

Yup we all get this at varying degrees, I will say that once you find a medication or diet that works for you the majority of your symptoms will go away enough for you to live a somewhat normal life. You will always have to plan ahead and there will be things that are no longer an option for you but for the most part you can have some type of normalcy. I was on the San Fransisco bridge in grid locked traffic last Saturday and came the closest I have ever come to messing myself. But this was a rare occurrence and most of the days go much better but there is always those days that don't go well.

 

[karj]

know exactly what you are going through - it is hard to adjust alright - things like having that change of clothes just in case.

when we are anxious, we make it worse, and the weakness part of us is always the part that will go, which for me is my stomach and then it is D all morning right up until lunch.

have you spoken to your doctor about this, about college and stuff, have they given any advice?

i started keeping a food diary today cos off work for the next 2 weeks because was in hospital, it is something i have completely thrown myself in to. and it is great! it is keeping me busy in the morning and evening updating it, and recording how i feel etc. it might help you alot. research foods that don't go through the digestive system so fast, things like that.

we all go through this everyday but you will learn your own way of starting to cope and i find this forum so good for this!

 

[katie_fitch]

i started keeping a food diary today cos off work for the next 2 weeks because was in hospital, it is something i have completely thrown myself in to. and it is great! it is keeping me busy in the morning and evening updating it, and recording how i feel etc. it might help you alot. research foods that don't go through the digestive system so fast, things like that

I was told before to get into the habit of keeping a food diary, I just need to remind myself more often to update it/stop forgetting to take it with me when I go out. I think the biggest concern with a food diary is I'm not going to be consuming one type of food until my next BM to see how it affects me, you know? So how would I know what affects me the worst if I eat more than one type of food in a meal

 

[karj]

i know that's where the time comes in i'm afraid you would have to try the next day without one of the bit of the meal but if you research flare food's you might find it easier to find the culpit! i couldn't believe things that i was eating thinking they be good, and turns out there were a complete no no.

to get you started look at this link, this is what i am beginning with and adding in other bit by bit, hope it helps .
some quick tips - fruits such as mangoes, papaya, banana, blueberries are all good according to websites (avoid apples, and other seed fruits like strawberries, see how you get on)
eggs, soya milk, almond milk, and smooth nut butters are good, humus, avocado
salmon, tuna, poultry, tofu all good
oatmeal for breakfast is suppose to be good, and i am currently trying spelt bread which is suppose to be better then other breads
veg like carrotts and parsnips are okay, broccoli i don't know about, conflicting info there, but i suppose trial and error with broccolli, cabbage, brussell sprouts but having veg in soup is okay i think so that be good way to get veg
potatoes baked are good for potassium
green tea and greek yogurt
This was a good place to start - 13 good foods every little helps

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20559874,00.html

 

[katie_fitch]

Yeah I've researched flare foods before, but I'm such a sneaky eater when it comes to flare diets... I am a big food lover. I have heard about a book called Breaking The Vicious Cycle and my older friend with Crohn's said it saved her life.

Thank you so much for the useful tips! I know bananas are like comfort food for my tummy/colon, life savers, not to mention they're bursting with potassium.
Apples for me somehow work fine, I just peel the skin off because I know they're hard on the intestines for digestion.
Humus is my new best friend, especially home made! So good on organic bread.. Try it with avocado actually, it makes such a good filling snack.

Oatmeal is my breakfast. I don't know if you are a yogurt fan but I eat probiotic yogurt that sits well with me, and I add Chia seeds to it, it gives you so much nutrition and it's tasteless, you just taste the yogurt.
I've heard conflicting things about broccoli, it seems like I have my days with it. I always steam my vegetables then stir fry it (healthy way of course!), yummy snack. Cabbage is horrible on me, it makes me so gassy and it's an insta-regret food for me.

Another quick tip for you guys, I know dairy can be hell for most people with IBD, so when it comes to ice cream, I've replaced it with frozen yogurt, I make my own, here's a really good recipe (and you can replace the peaches with any other fruit), I also add some chia seeds in it for some extra nutrition.

 

[thejdubb02]

You are definitely not alone. I was always anxious about leaving the house. I was always wondering where bathrooms where. It's hard but like everyone else said, just find you're groove and you will be ok.

I found it useful to make mental notes of bathrooms in different parts of town and Cotonelle wipes were a lifesaver. Once they pinpoint where your Crohns is at they will find a treatment that works for you.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[katie_fitch]

Cotonelle wipes? I have never heard of those, I will look them up.

Oh, tell me about it. Wherever I go, I take note of where the bathrooms are straight away. It's like automatic, basically.
I don't have Crohn's though, I've been diagnosed with UC in Feb.

 

[JMC]

You are not alone with those fears. The noises, the smells, we have all been there. All I can say is, that in over 30 years of having this disease, I have only ever had one accident and it happened to me at home when I was a student when someone else was taking a long bath in the only bathroom in the house.

The fear therefore is worse than the reality in my experience. I also learnt how to relax and breath deeply when I started to feel urgency in an inconvenient place. This always works for me and buys me enough time to get to a toilet.

 

[Licorice]

I gotta say that I also have big anxiety when I need to have a BM anywhere but home. Not only that but if I eat then I will have to pass gas and it will not be ladylike, at all! I guess what really psychs me out is being around people I don't know and trying not to fart or have an epic BM in their can...

The good thing about schools is that I was often able to find a quiet restroom or to time things so that I'd be using it when class was in session (less busy). Another good thing is that when I was younger the people I met were pretty easy going about farts and that kind of thing. I really enjoyed post-secondary and managed to get through. A lot of professors are very understanding as well if you need to approach them.

As for pants crapping, luckily I've been at home for the is it a fart-or-a-poop test. I think the only reason I haven't crapped my pants in public (knock on wood) yet, is because I pretty much refuse to fart in public, unless I'm not in a diarrhea phase, or my butt is hangin' over a toilet!

As for public restrooms, I just imagine that no one will recognize my shoes.

 

[thejdubb02]

Cotonelle wipes? I have never heard of those, I will look them up.

Oh, tell me about it. Wherever I go, I take note of where the bathrooms are straight away. It's like automatic, basically.
I don't have Crohn's though, I've been diagnosed with UC in Feb.

Cotonelle wipes are just moist wipes that dissolve like toilet paper so they are made for bathroom use unlike other than moist towelettes. Plus they make them in travel packs to take with you. Much cleaner and gentle, for those LONG days.

 

[Ozboz]

I too suffer from anxiety but have said to myself so what if i shit my pants I still need to get out of the house I wear adult diapers but they don't really help with the smell the cleanup is alot easier though.

buti i too suffer badly with anxiety

And on top of it all I have bad rectal inflamation so holding on is almost impossible I have crapped my pants at home if I'm down the other end of the yard thats how bad it is for me, also need to sleep in a diaper as I have incontinence at night aswell I have woken up in the middle of a bm plenty of times I wear tena pants I find them the best but you can try depend and I put normal underwear on top when I go out and no one can tell your wearing them and you can keep your pants clean I carry spears in a backpack with some moist wipes clean up is a breeze and my pants stay clean and don't smell once I change.

I know it will pass but for now theese are the adjustments I have made to make it easier to get out but sometimes I will stand at the front door for a few minutes thinking do I need to go and then work up the courage to get out hope this helps