I am a university student and live away from home. Going to uni was such a vast change it exasperated my IBS terribly. I am now halfway through my second year and have developed some coping techniques to help me get through my days at uni - although I still regularly have to miss lectures and tutorials.
Normally, visits home would be a great relief. I could sit at home and even sometimes not take my medication as my symptoms would have practically gone. So I was looking forward to reading week (a week free of classes but full of essays and, obviously, reading) but now it's here things are not great at all. The first night I was back I planned a reunion night out to a club with the girls and my symptoms nearly left me house bound. My only way to leave the house was to take loads of my pills, something that doesn't make me proud. I then spent the night at the club making frequent trips 'to the bar' - my not so subtle way to go to the toilet on my own. The only solace I can take from this evening is that I managed to stay out all night in spite of my symptoms.
Day three came and I was going to head to a shopping centre with my mum. Shopping centres don't usually bother me as there is always a toilet within a few minutes walk. Also the fact I was with my mum meant I wouldn't be worrying about getting embarrassed if I had to make several toilet trips within an hour. Yet still when we were at the shopping centre I had terrible diarrhoea and once had to spend a good 20 minutes in the cubicle while my mum waited for me.
What made things even worse was when I was supposed to be staying at home, just looking after my cute little puppy, I again had terrible symptoms. Why? I didn't have to leave the house, I wasn't far from a toilet and I wasn't doing anything stressful.
I can normally work out what is is that is stressing me out and aggravating my anxiety, but this week I'm stumped. I have no clue what is giving me these awful symptoms. My diet has been pretty good recently too, I haven't been tempted by the foods which give me bad symptoms. So how come this is happening?
Sometimes I wish I had a different illness that at least gave predictable symptoms, so I would know what to expect each day. I also wish I hadn't come home this week. Although I get to see my family and puppy, I also feel huge disappointment and worry that my symptoms will always be this bad at home. Hopefully this is a one off and not permanent, I don't want my home to be one of the places that can make my symptoms spiral.
