IBS - irritable Bowel syndrome

[abedi]

Hi guys, this is my first post so bare with me please!...

I've been suffering from a stomach condition called IBS, for those who don't know what it is, its basically eating different foods which may cause my stomach to go funny and leads to things such as constipation or diarrhoea/nervousness and could be aggravated by stress.

I've had this for some time however its been diagnosed as mild and recently i have been fine, about 4 months or so.

Initially it caused problems leading to alot of weight loss and im about 10kg under weight and its been like this for about a year now. Weight is no longer changing (not going up or down).

Im looking into a flying career and more so the modular route, as it would seem to suit me better. My main concern was the initial Class 1, and whether or not i could pass it.

I gave Gatwick a call and the doctor i spoke to asked me to send in my full medical report so they could look at it and get back to me whether it would be worth doing the medical or not.

Im probably going to send it in to them to get their opinion but i was wondering whether anyone else experienced this and what they've done about it. what also doesn't seem to help is the fact i wear glasses, but my correction fits into the class 1 standards, so im not too worried about that.

Any constructive comments would be appreciated.

[d71146]

Hi, just to put your mind at rest I have suffered this since I was a teenager it is in my case an intolerence to certain foods etc a list of things white bread,cheese, the list goes on I declared this on medicals etc but I am always declared fit in my case its just a pain having to watch what I eat etc but, every person who suffers from this the symptoms can vary.
Hope this helps.

[Sleepybhudda]

Hi one year into my flying career my doctor put accross that various symptons I was having were more than likely IBS. I still fly and have had my medical exam since with no problems its just being careful with diet and stress.

[Fly-by-Wife]

I've been told by two GPs and one specialist that IBS is a catch-all term for any abdominal / bowel complaint(s) that has no specific diagnosis.

I've had numerous tests (from both ends) to try to isolate the cause of chronic abdominal cramps - hypotheses have included adhesions from a very old appendectomy, to coeliac to colitis... to IBS.

I do believe that stress is an actuator, and that diet probably plays a part. I take an anti-spasmodic (colofac) as required (declared at renewal).

I've lived with it for over 30 years, never been a problem severe enough to prevent a Class 2 (never wanted a class 1).

I hope to live with it for another 30 - or even more!

FBW

[abedi]

thank you very much for your responses, it is a quite a relief to know that this may not be as problematic as i thought it would be.

i share similar problems like you guys in the inconvienient diet control with milk etc.

This gives me alot of hope and i'll be sure to post back once i book my medical in the near future with my progress. fingers crossed!:ok:

[Hawk]

There is a bit more on the topic here. http://www.pprune.org/medical-health/356806-ibs-irritable-bowel-syndrome-slowly-killing-me.html

http://www.pprune.org/medical-health/167727-ibs-dyspepsia-flying.html

http://www.pprune.org/medical-health/41104-worried-about-colitis.html

[gingernut]

Here's our guidance http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG61IBSQRG.pdf

[Plumb Bob]

Like FbW I feel that IBS (in my case) is stress-related, a.o.
For me, it often results in (physically too early) bowel activity, which sometimes is a hindrance to get to my airfield in time. However, once there, for the rest of the day I will be fine. The hastened 'output' (still rather wet matter) may result in a mild body dry-out but my endurance before the next toilet visit is enhanced.
I am convinced that my plans for the next say five hours are subconsciously interpreted by an internal processor that increases bowel activity at the flip of a thought!
For some, it may be important to accept the fact of a condition like mine, and not try to fight or suppress it.

[gingernut]

I think there is an important underlying point here, that we may be in danger of missing.

Any change in bowel habit should be reported to the doc, pronto.

He'll soon be able to sort out the non-serious (the majority), from the serious (minority).