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IBS and work

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ladyartichoke
ladyartichoke Posts: 22
in Social Groups
I often get a rush to open my bowels in the morning (most mornings in fact). This is usual. But every now and again I end up having to sit on the toilet for 30 minutes sometimes more. This morning I ended up being on for so long I was seriously late for work. How do you deal with this problem?

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  • claireodactyl
    claireodactyl Posts: 10
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    I've resorted to seeing a nutritionist and am in the throws of a quite extreme diet change to gluten free vegan as a result. The tests she did resulted in showing I was intolerant to about 23 foods/food types and that was probably why my IBS was so bad!

    I'd suggest getting someone to run some tests/take a look at your diet and see if they can shed some light on what might be making things worse!

    I've been suffering in silence with things getting worse (including hospitalisation) for over 20 yrs, wish I'd done this sooner....and hope it works!!
  • claritarejoice
    claritarejoice Posts: 461 Member
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    I'm so sorry, that's rough. I don't know what's best for your situation, but if your boss is somewhat understanding, you could try using sick time if you're half an hour late or more. That's what I might do - ibs definitely counts as a medical condition. I haven't had that particular problem. However I do have a lot of flatulence and it's really frustrating. Sometimes I can't be around other people. I share an office with someone so I hope it doesn't affect her. I use air freshener.
  • Sharry1978
    Sharry1978 Posts: 9
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    This is me almost every morning, usually worse when I am on my way to work. I can sometimes be on the loo for an hour, and in some cases just have to go back to bed. I have a very high sick record because of this, and so far I just have to go through the formalities of it. I did see occupational health and they said this with my anxiety are unpredictable, so as far as I am aware, my employers cannot do much about it at the moment.
  • claritarejoice
    claritarejoice Posts: 461 Member
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    Have you tried diet adjustment to improve your IBS symptoms? I looked at your profile and your health concerns. I ave also been depressed and overweight (I'm not anymore) so I sympathize. When I decreased stress in my life, began eating more natural foods and more fiber, exercised more and lost weight, my IBS symptoms have really improved. You may already know these things so please forgive me if this is old news. I especially recommend a fiber supplement - I take pure psyllium husks with no additives every day - it eliminated stomach pain for both me and my dad who also has IBS. Also as you may know, IBS can be very connected to stress. Have you looked into stress-reduction techniques? I hope this helps.
  • jenfitnessmama
    jenfitnessmama Posts: 138 Member
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    I have this problem most mornings, but am taking measures to improve my diet and get more exercise so I can eliminate this issue. My employer currently does not know I have this problem so anytime I'm feeling sick at work I have to make up an excuse to run to the back room (I work in retail), which some days is a lot. There were two days about three weeks ago where I was finding myself running to the bathroom every 10 minutes over the course of an hour. But I'm too embarrassed to tell anyone at work about it. :S

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