Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Need some cheering up et.c.

After a fall of IBS ups and downs my IBS has been really stable and nice since mid December and it still is. Yesterday though I had to start taking iron pills since I had an iron deficiency. Now I am sort of scared that the iron might mess up the balance I have reached. I am trying to stay calm though.

I am also going through a series of tests at the moment to see what can be done about my sphincter problem. (I had a paralysis condition as a child and it has left me with a partially paralyzed leg and a nerve damaged weakened pelvic floor, bladder retention and oh, loss of sphincter control.) It was pretty ok before the IBS got bad as an accident back then didn't matter much as my stool was always nice and firm. But with IBS-D it's really not a good combo... I am hoping to be a good candidate for Interstim therapy where they put a pacemaker in to control the sphincter for you. But I have no idea what will happen. I'm really scared they'll just send me to do some pelvic floor exercises and then consider me treated. If it weren't for the possible side effects like hernia and skin problems I'd be prepared to do a colostomy to at least be rid of the accident risk...

To make things even more fun I have found that when my bowels are slow enough for me to feel safe and confident (and with my sphincter that is pretty slow) it feels like it's harder than usual to empty the bladder. Thus far I have managed without catheterisation but now I am scared that the bladder pressure will be too high and so I'm thinking I should probably contact a urologist. But since the paralysis has left me with nerve pain in "that area" I am really scared of starting to catheterise because I am afraid it will lead to constant pain (read MORE pain than now). Plus, imagine catheterising during an IBS flare. At the times when my IBS has been really bad it has been a bit messy at times and I'd be really scared of getting bacterias into the bladder when catheterising... I have not had a UTI for ages and I don't want one now that I have IBS since antibiotics could make the IBS act up...

I just feel like screaming... Any comments that might help, cheer me up et.c. are extremely welcome...

/Ulrika, IBS-D

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