Prerna (name changed on request), a 26-year-old private company employee, narrates her personal experience with an undetected medical condition that she suffered for two years. She is now undergoing treatment.
In the last two years, not once have I had a peaceful dinner outside with my family or friends. Eating out was always stressful for me and I had to control the amount I ate, fearing a stomach upset. Sometimes I would take three to four bites and rush to the washroom in the middle of the meal. My parents often scolded me that it was a bad habit, but it wasn’t under my control — I couldn’t do anything about it.
I used to get severe stomach pain, back pain and the urge to pass motion every time I ate something. I would eat less and at times even stopped eating, especially when I was outside on work. Initially, assuming it was just diarrhoea caused by consuming unhygienic food, I just stopped eating outside. But the problem did not go away.
My physician told me it could be a bacterial infection. Antibiotics helped me a bit, but the effect didn’t last long. I consulted a couple of other doctors who told me that it could be because of water infection, intestine infection, stomach worms and what not.
This phase lasted a year and half. All this time I didn’t really know what I suffered from, did not eat properly and lost about 8kg.
I used to step out for work and rush back home to use the washroom since I was never comfortable using public washrooms. Sometimes, I used to get dehydrated and get dizziness, fatigue and even black out on the road. Since I felt very weak, I would always carry oral rehydration salts to drink and get some energy. As I had cut down on food consumption, I started having gastric issues and couldn’t eat in the morning. I used to feel nauseous and couldn’t consume food.
Taking a friend’s suggestion, I visited a gastroenterologist who first prescribed me antibiotics for 10 days and asked me to check if my condition came under control. When it didn’t work, the doctor gave me a few blood tests along with urine and stool tests. I had extremely low haemoglobin and the score went as low as 6.5. The stool results came normal and showed fat content. The doctor had ruled out irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as the stool score was less, and suspected internal bleeding due to a sudden drop in haemoglobin.
The doctor suggested that I undergo colonoscopy immediately, which stressed me out. Also, my bowel movements were only becoming worse. Colonoscopy and a couple of other tests that I took ruled out all possibility of ulcers and bleeding. After everything else was ruled out, the doctor concluded that I had IBS-D (irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea).
Since there is no cure or right treatment for this disorder, the doctor suggested that I identify the foods that trigger IBS and asked me to avoid consuming them. As it is a stress-induced syndrome, I was advised to start activities that would release my stress. Now, after two years and visiting several doctors, I have learnt what my health condition is and am trying to cope with it through a better lifestyle.
As told to Pragna L Krupa