Thanks pal, it sucks. It just appears to be all in my brain, and like, the more I think about it, the worse it gets. I only have the diarrhea problems when I'm going somewhere, so I dunno. I just went to the doctor about it, and he prescribed me Zoloft. I was reading some bad stuff about it, have any of you all had an experience with it?

WOwwwwwwww- i can NOT believe how all of you are totally singing my tune! SNJ, Bella,Blondie, Kimberley, tresgatos, I mean all of you. Its just crazy. I am 28 and only started being like this around age 25ish so I do not have the same experiences from undergrad. I got to lesson 4 or 5 and was feeling so great that I stopped. Bad mistake. I live in NJ and travel into NYC everyday by path train, ferry or I make my husband drive me in when I just swear that I will "mess myself". I am actually messing up advancement in my career bc I come in late, ( I get off the train, then back on, etc..) and not going to meetings that I am invited to bc I have a fear of being stuck in a conference room with all these big wigs and having to leave every monring to go to the ladies room! I did nto take the train for years bc I was too afraid and these lessons helped, but I really have to get back into it bc I am awful lately. I do not want it to rule me but it does. I am trying to get pregnant and between the xanax I need to take to get through the most simple things and the stress itself..I swear this is ruining my health and stopping me form getting pregnant. I wonder how am I going to do to disney and wait on lines with my child??? I do nto understand why these thoughts never crossed my mind before age 25- i never cared about a thing and now I am ruled by it. How do we get through this?????

JoJo-

Trying to deal with the anxious feelings inside your head starts off by doing the program and really working it to get the best benefit out of it. The amount of work you put into it is the amount that you will get out of it. This program is designed to make these fears diminish if not disappear! You just have to keep positive thinking about it and tell yourself that IT IS going to work! The more positive you are the more positive your future will be with the long term effects from it! Giving up is not an option! Try not to resort to immodium, alcohol, etc. as something that will make these feelings disappear when you are traveling, by doing this you are not proving anything to yourself in the long run and will only further the battle of those fears that you have. It is not easy but such is life! Keep your head up and remember that you are not alone! You have a whole world of people with the same problems as you and keep that also in mind when you are getting anxious, know that you are NOT the only one with this battle! We are an army and we will fight this enemy, big or small, until it is defeated! Good luck JoJo!

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. I will be sure to keep them all in my head as my mind starts to take over my body. It is certainly comforting to know i am not alone bc you start to feel crazy and helpless! I was thinking to download these all to my ipod so I can listen as I am on the ferry or train to calm myself down. Has anyone done this? Has it worked for you? Thankd Again!!

I've got a question for you all. How do we know that this is IBS and not purely anxiety. To be honest, for me, whenever I have to drive to work, or go around town, I'm fine. I have normal bowel movements, and everything is peachy. However, if I know that I'm going to be going somewhere far away where there may not be a bathroom, I freak out, and then I have diaherra. Perhaps the biggest problem recently, is that this is all I have been thinking about. I'm afraid to see a psychologist or get a program because that is just consession that it isn't going away. Can someone shed some light on this...do I have IBS, or just rough panic attacks/anxiety, which causes the diaherra?

Budguy- I can not diagnose you but can only share my situation. I have been to a ton of gastro docs and they all said there is NOTHING clinically wrong me me. I also went to a therapist and she wanted to talk about my daddy issues...I am like helllo are you listening..its my belly not my dad you loon! Anyway- I agree, I do nto have IBS bc I read about it and that is not what I have. Mine is the sudden urgency to go when I feel I am trapped or can not go at my leisure. I have not been doing good these days and NEED to find time to listen to my cds again. Over the past 5 years its been the only thing to work. Just remember- you are not alone

I ended up dropping out of high school my senior year because having to use the bathroom so much. I would sit and just panic the entire class period and would end up getting horrible stomach aches. It had gotten worse over the years, though it started in my early childhood. I don't have that probably as much as I used to back in school, but I still deal with it enough.

I'm starting back up the program; restarted 4 days ago and am already doing a bit better. This time I think I'll stick to it.

I have experienced the same as many others of having to know that a bathroom is available at all times. I have gotten to the point that I will not involve myself in outdoor events, participating or viewing because of the lack of or conditions of outdoor bathroom facilities. It has even gotten to the point that I get muscle cramps in my back and will decline invitations to go places. I know that some medications I take can contribute but I think it is more the anxiety that I have created. I am working on the program week 3 and I am so happy that I have found others experiencing and dealing with the "Dump" problem.

I have this fear. It's gotten so bad that I don't go out anymore because I'm afraid I will get sick to my stomach and there will not be a bathroom around or the bathroom will be occupied or it will be nasty. I constantly get sick to my stomach now whenever I try to go out.

Yes, as a matter-of-fact dropping my son off on his first day of school this morning really bummed me out because of this issue. My stomach started cramping up like it does with no warning and I spent 15 minutes in the bathroom with diarrhea and feeling extremely hot. This makes my life a living hell, especially when traveling. Whenever I have to travel I take immodium, still it freaks me out

What freaks me out is mine comes out without warning, meaning I usually get hot and weird feeling right before but, I don't know what the cause is. Last week at work that happened to me. I had SEVEN bowel movements and by the time I got home I was totally exhausted! The doctor has me on Effexor XR and Klonpin and it has actually made it better for me. I don't get the attacks as frequent as I used to now just once or twice a week which is actually a big improvement for me. I don't feel myself today at all but I have to get ready for work and I'm also a college student so if I don't work I don't get paid. If I could take a nap right now I'd most likely feel better but don't have time. Sometimes the best thing for me to do is keep really busy where I don't have time to think about it. I now a lot of it is in my head.
Wish I could take immodium, I've heard it work for a lot of people but it just gives me a bad stomach ache.

Had this problem for 38 years. Watery, uncontrollable runs right after eating and no time to reach a bathroom I'd just lose it right where I was standing or sitting. No cramps, no warning just total embarrassment. Had to wear depends everywhere I went and deal with the mess when I got home.

Two years ago my primary care doc put me on Ritalin for depression. It took care of the problem 98% and now she has me on Cholestyramine, a powder you take 1/2 hour before meals. That because she diagnosed Habba Syndrome recently. I haven't tried it yet and I hope it will be the answer for the remainder of the problem.

How I wish I had found the answer 38 years ago. I'm glad that there are forums like this where the answers to these troubling conditions can be found.

I've found certain foods trigger and guarantee me an episode. Any salty seafoods especially scallops and lobster in drawn butter. Raw salad greens with dressings.

Bella, I have the same problem- when I get diarrhea I feel anxious and when I get anxious, I get diarrhea. My doctor told me I have IBS and gave me some medication to control it. I've only been on it for a few days but it has helped. However, I do wake up with diarrhea still because of my anxiety but the medication makes it so that my stomach doesn't feel the pain which for me caused my heart to race and the slew of anxious feelings and bad thoughts to race into my head. It sometimes embarrasses me to tell people other than my doctor and my family about it, but it's something that needs to be taken care of so I know I shouldn't feel embarrassed by it.

HI Bella,

You are definitely not alone. This was my number one fear for a number of years. I have gotten a lot better. Being on a plane is sometime stressful (not able to get up to use the restroom during takeoff and landing and other parts of the flight). I even had some stress during meetings ( I have dealt with that by giving myself permission to excuse myself from the meeting anytime I need to)_

I'd be happy to discuss strategies and war stories with you. A great book that helped me a lot is "Breaking The Bonds of Irritable Bowel Syndrome"

I do, I have a extra pair of jeans an underwear behind the seat in the truck, and if I'm going out I take an immodium before I leave the house or at least carry them with me. I also have depends just in case