Exhausted with a burning bum. That's how I feel this morning after running to the washroom 7 times. I feel exhausted and all I want to do is crawl back into bed and go to sleep. My reckless eating habits in the last week have finally caught up to me and my stomach is making me suffer. When I have an attack I always seem to realize I am mortal. What would make things any more worse? Having to go to work right after an attack.
This morning's events have lead me to write today's topic. Work and IBS. The last time I checked I was human and like most people on this planet I have to work for a living. I have never been able to hold down a job, the longest job I had was 2yrs (I was able to work from home when sick). The biggest challenge for me having IBS-D is not using my sick and vacation days before the year is up. Or how about the embarrassment of bosses and co-workers asking why you are always sick and the last thing you want to tell them is that you are IBS-D so you come up with different sicknesses; oh I had the flu, oh I had a migraine, I think I had food poisoning, my back was stiff I couldn't get out of bed, or I just felt like taking the day off. The problem is we live in a society that doesn't find bowel movements of any nature socially acceptable. We have been taught that a natural function of our body is not to be talked about unless you are a comedian wanting to make jokes. It's no joking matter, this is my life and it not only affects my every day living but it affects the jobs I have. When I was in high school and deciding what I wanted to do as a career I tried to pick careers that had a bathroom close by and careers where people didn't have to depend on me (Bus Driver, Pilot, Surgeon, etc;). Imagine living your live not for you but for your stomach, you get angry and you start to resent always having to accommodate your stomach. I remember before I went on my IBS diet, I would be scared to eat lunch at work because if something didn't agree I would have an attack within 30 minutes. I think the hardest part about having a job for me had to be the drive to work. I would map out all the bathrooms a long the route to work and have to tell myself it's okay to be sick there's many bathrooms on the way. I would start to have panic attacks when traffic was bumper to bumper and I had no control over it. Just thinking about it now I can feel a slight panic attack happening. My life is much different now, 3yrs ago when I started my IBS diet, I decided to start my own computer repair business where I travel on-site to businesses and sometimes client's homes. I can only imagine the horror on your faces (the IBS sufferers), not because of my career choice but the bathroom arrangement I have created for myself. I know that the majority of my attacks happen in the morning so I book my client's in the afternoons. So far it works and I feel much more relaxed because I control my schedule. I find when you have IBS you want to control every aspect of your life to cater your stomach.
Have you chosen your career based on your IBS?
6 comments:
I felt exactly the same way when I was in high school. I remember looking at every worker I would see and thinking whether I could do her/his job or not... I thoroughly studied every profession I knew by that time and decided that the worst job ever was: bus driver --having to sit for all that time without being able to go to the bathroom... that’s just a living hell for me.
So I decided the only job I'd be able to do was an office job and that's exactly what I ended up doing. I'm a computer programmer and I safely sit all day near a bathroom, which makes me feel safe during all day and ironically makes me not to have to go to the bathroom so often as I would do if there were no bathroom... There are still some days when I don’t feel good and I wish I could be home and I fantasize about being able to work from home, or be rich, or be just a normal guy... Fortunately, through all these years I have developed a few ninja techniques that allow me to go to the bathroom unnoticed.... haha I'm joking... Although I do have some tricks... But honestly I can't really complaint... I usually can go to the bathroom everytime I need to... Except when I have to go to a meeting. I hate meetings! Especially if they're scheduled first thing in the morning. That's pretty tough for me because early in the morning is the worst time of the day for my IBS.
I completely understand why you decided to run your own business. Being able to control your time and for example stop working for a few hours, somehow, makes you feel like you have control over your life, your stomach is not in charge anymore...
I have an office job, so like Colon said, I'm near a bathroom all day and I can run to it whenever I need to. However, recently I did quit a very stressful full-time office job and took a less stressful part-time office job instead, because I thought the stress was triggering my IBS and I needed more time at home to try to heal and hopefully improve my symptoms a lot.
I have started my own side business, caricaturing and portrait commissions, that I can do at home. I figure that no matter how bad my IBS gets, I can always stay home and do my artwork. So yes, IBS has affected my career choices too...
Colon - Why are mornings so tough on people with IBS? You have my dream job, I wanted to be a computer programmer because that is the perfect job for an IBS sufferer besides winning the lottery. Unfortunately I could not for the life of me understand programming languages such as Java and Visual Basic.
Anonymous - The stress of your full time job most definitely exacerbated your IBS. Good for you for changing your environment to a less stressful one!! That takes a lot of courage. Best luck with your side business, I hope you make it full time business.
I don't know why but it seems like feeling awful in the mornings is pretty common among IBS sufferers. There must be an explanation.
I think Anonymous beats both of us... He/she has the coolest job! Have you ever thought about making a comic about IBS?
I'm looking to start a new job which will be in a small office, and while there will be toilets nearby, it is the fear and stigma of having to use them lots, and for my colleagues to wonder why I spend so long in the toilets. When I start stressing about it, it just makes my bowels even worse, and it is a vicious circle!
I've been there Anonymous... It really sucks.
We should start our own company, with a toilet for each one of us!
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