does anyone have a fear of not being near a bathroom?

Suffering from IBS? Post your history, experience, comments and/or suggestions
fazio
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:24 pm

Re: does anyone have a fear of not being near a bathroom?

Post by fazio » Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:58 pm

I have just joined the peer support. I sufferred from IBS 16 years ago and since then I have worried about this problem. I initially bought the program in 2005 but never completed it. I recently started the program again and am in the process of completing session 2. I am determined to complete the program this time and to do it right. I am hopeful that peer support will provide additional motivation. My job has some very stressfu times which I beleive causes the anxiety. I constantly worry about being too far from a bathroom. This appears to be may only true fear. I simply do not want to take the chance that an attack occurs when I cannot reach a rest room. Thus, whenever I am in that type of situation my stomach begins to grumble or I feel anxious knowing a certain event is coming up where I will have limited access. This has caused me to avoid situations like, fying, boating or even driving when I feel I may be in a traffic jam or on a highway that does not have bathrooms available on a regular basis. I know that it is all in my head and so I feel confident that I can overcome this fear. I look forward to communicating with everyone and working together to beat this thing.

Fazio

sktb0007
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 6:01 pm

Re: does anyone have a fear of not being near a bathroom?

Post by sktb0007 » Wed May 18, 2011 6:20 pm

I'm so glad this post is here. I'm not the only one! My worst fear is not being near the washroom when I start feeling anxious. I get anxious to the point where my stomach starts turning and feeling upset. and then I HAVE TO GO immediately. Like others have said, its a vicious cycle. I'm only on session 1, so i'm completely new, but im really hoping that it helps me because I rarely leave the house because of fear of not being near a washroom. It really puts extreme limits on my life and it IS depressing. I havent read through the 19 pages yet of this thread, but Im going to later this evening. I hope I can meet some friends from this thread and we can encourage eachother and share our stories. If anyone is interested in being an email pal let me know and Ill give you my email or we can just private message eachother through the forum :) Everyone in my life doesnt truly understand what im going through because they havent experienced it themselves. My family and loved ones are supportive of me, but it'd be nice to have someone to talk to who is dealing with the same obstacles, or have experienced this in the past and overcame it. For a long time I felt like I was the only one in the world who was dealing with this.

LyndaLu
Posts: 794
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: does anyone have a fear of not being near a bathroom?

Post by LyndaLu » Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:01 pm

Are you sure you have IBS or IBD ? I was diagnosed with Inflammtory Bowel Disease / Ulcerative Colitis / Crohn's Disease back in 2006, but I was sick for several years before I received the proper diagnosis. I found out that I have ulcers all throughout my colon. Yeah, family and friends just don't "get it" and it is hard to receive any compassion or sympathy from them. What comes first, the depression then the colon issues ? Or do the colon issues come first and cause the depression ? How can a person NOT have depression when they are dealing with these issues ! I really have to watch what I eat and I take medication too, but my life is not free from what I call "emergency diarrhea". I just wanted to post this to tell you that I understand what you are going through. Take care and keep writing, we will be here for you. Lynda Lu.

msdixie
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:25 am

Re: does anyone have a fear of not being near a bathroom?

Post by msdixie » Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:46 am

I was diagnosed with IBS-A (predominately D) just this past May. I have an hour long commute to work each day and the drives were terrible! I would stop 3 to 4 times on the way because I thought I needed to go to the bathroom. Each day I am getting better...this program is really helping. The other HUGE thing that has helped me is putting myself out there. I refuse to be a prisoner in my home because of this. The panic attacks I create because of not being near a bathroom were terrible.
I make myself go to most social functions....sometimes I just reward myself for getting there. Just this past Friday, we had tickets to a baseball game. I made it there, but our seats were inthe nosebleed section. I walked up there once and sat for a bit, but started to get a little panicky. I told my husband we needed to go down and so we did. I congratulated myself for even getting to the ballpark, inside the stadium, and up to the seat!
I am determined to win the war over IBS and my panic attacks! And it helps so much to know that you are not alone!
One other note, I always carry a change of pants with me, wipes and even these dog training pads (ha). If I'm having a bad day, I'll sit on one of the training pads. I tell myself, what's the worse thing that's gonna happen?? I'll go in my pants...go to a bathroom and clean up, and be on my way. IT's never happened....but giving myself permission for it TO happen, really helps.

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