Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS

[cimore000]

Hey everyone,
I have IBS and *every morning*, I will have a stomach ache which then leads to taking a crap. After taking the one/several crap/s, my stomach ache is gone. I was wondering if this decreases the chance of getting an airline job? I heard that people with IBS can pass medicals fine but I am worried about employment.
Do I have to compromise anything?
When an airline pilot wakes up, does the pilot have a lot of time before flying?
Or is it a tight schedule and the pilot has to fly soon after waking up.
Thanks for the answers

[ab33t]

Thats really a crap situation , I would say that it should not preclude you from obtaining a medical

[onprofile]

Try redirecting this enquiry to "Fragrant Harbour " , You will find you are not alone.

[Simon10]

IBS is a very common disorder - and there are approximations that some 15 - 20% of the general populations are sufferers. Of course, IBS has many different faces (different faeces, too :rolleyes: ) and vary over time in intensity.

However it is deemed as a functional disorder and not an organic disease. It means that it will not progress into something more serious. My experiences are that stress is a major cause for it to flare up, as well as unhealthy foods.
Your question seems to be oriented towards the feasibility of pursuing an airline pilot career with a IBS disorder. IBS is nothing that will show on any tests, not any blood work or any type of x-ray will ever give you away. Basically it's up for your decision as no airline will ever be able to track it to you.

However, I personally would think twice. The inherit stress levels in flying for an airline, short turn-around times and the improper in visiting the loo during many of the critical phases of a flight would suggest that you possibly could end up in a troublesome situation.

But then again, there are IBS-variants that are acquired through some kind of infection (post-infectious IBS) which many times have shown to progressively get better and quite a few have after a few years become free from the disorder. If you on the other hand have IBS since many years, the prognosis is not as good in terms of getting rid of the disorder. However, once again, IBS - all variants - are benign and do not progress into other nasty things.
Hope this may have helped you in your quest.

Simon10

[pulse1]

cimore000,

I had symptons similar to yours and my doctor never used the words IBS. However, I have found that chewing my food properly (32 times) and daily use of a natural fibre drink has sorted it out. In the UK it is called Fybogel and is an orange flavoured drink based on ispaghula husk.

Best of luck.

[teresa green]

My brother in law, a doctor who has studied IBS, says stress, low fibre diet, is a cause for most IBS sufferers. In Australia we have a little pill called Mintec that just about solves the problem. It is a natural product made from peppermint, it should be available just about anywhere probably under another name, also peppermint tea helps also, give it a go. Ask your chemist. It should not affect your flying career, as most pilots have the sh%ts about something anyway!