IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome
 

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

(I have also posted this thread on the 'medical' forum)

Get yourself some fennel seed tea (in bags preferably) and drink four cups per day, at least.
This fixes IBS for many folks that I have spoken with, recently.
As a side benefit, fennel tea has a pleasant flavor.

I would think that IBS does not need to be disclosed for an Aviation Med

Sympathy to a fellow IBS sufferer. :sad:

I would not bother putting this one on the record. However procedures (such as being scoped etc) in hospital should be declared.

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 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 critical phases of a flight would suggest that you possibly could end up in a troublesome situation.

But then again, there is 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

Old and proven natural treatment for IBS
 

Hi there IBS sufferers. Try powdered Slippery Elm. You can find it at most good Health Food outlets. 1-2 teaspoons blended into your morning juice (once a day) and give it 6 weeks to work,, then tell others. Cheers and happy stools!!!

There are those who think that Fennel Seed tea works well,there are those who think Slippery Elm is the best remedy, & there are those that fall between two stools.

IBS
 

Hey Cimore

I had IBS for 5 years. Believe me i ve tried everything in the pharmacy and over the counter, no improvement!

However dont worry too much, its definitely undetectable. Its a condition, not a disease. before the flight, just eat something that u r sure definitely wont cause any trouble, for me, i had plain bread and water ONLY before/during flight. yes, bring your own bread and let other people laugh. This worked great when i was flying the 737 when i had to do max 5 flights a day!

Pls remember what u eat and if causes your stomach upset/constipation. I had both. I finally found out i m suddenly lactose intolerant ( i wasnt my whole life b4) and Brocolli/coffee/nescafe causes constipation. weird!

Oh, no need to tell your doctor u have IBS. if i m not mistaken, i saw a question in Emirates recruitment page asking 'do u suffer from regular visit to toilet' or something like that. i simply said 'no'

Hope this helps

I've had mildish IBS for 20 years now and could write a short book on the treatments I tried. For me, hypotherapy, against my expectations, worked the best, as well as cutting down or cutting out unhealthy food and alcohol. I concluded that every case of IBS is different and you have to find what works for you. Most people learn how to manage it rather than "cure" it. As a pilot it hasn't held me back other than I have to deal with worse symtoms during stressful periods.

To answer your questions:
As other posts have said, IBS wouldn't come up during a medical. I think early in my career I did declare it on the form but now I don't bother.
It's more a question of whether you can manage it yourself from a practical point of view. Smaller a/c early in your career may be more difficult. On larger a/c you can use the toilets, except that for an hour around T/O and an hour around Landing which would be an issue.
In answer to your last question, pilots generally report for work 1 to 1:30 hrs before 'off blocks' time.

Hope that helps.

If you intend joining Cathay I wouldn't worry.
(some of) The training department will soon ream it out of you :}