Work and IBS

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?