17 year Old with IBS

GlasweJen

I think it does, wallowing in self pity at 17 years old isn't going to help anyone never mind his family who will lose a chunk of their income if their child drops out of college for a medical condition that hasn't even been thoroughly investigated yet. The OP has to learn to cope with his condition or he will end up on the slippery slope that is the benefits system and he may never get off of it.

Myself and others on this thread have demonstrated that IBS isn't the end of the world, OP needs to take something away from that and play with the hand that he's been dealt.

sunnyone

Person_one wrote: »

What the OP needs most of all at the moment is a decent GP who can refer him to a specialist to get his condition properly diagnosed and treated more effectively.

Telling him to 'get a grip' doesn't help anybody.

So true, he needs a raft of test including the stomach enzimes tests which must be done at the hospital for immediate lab attention and the camera up, biopsies and stool tests.

GlasweJen

oh and OP, the camera up your bum isn't nearly as bad as it sounds, the worst bit is drinking all the stuff before it to "clear you out", if you can drink 3 pints of that you'll be fine with everything else.

tod123

obviously having a 'dicky tummy' means you should avoid work for the next 50 years and live on tax payers money

Indie_Kid

tod123 wrote: »

obviously having a 'dicky tummy' means you should avoid work for the next 50 years and live on tax payers money

IBS is a lot more than a "dicky tummy".

amynphil

I too live with IBS and do find day to day life SOMETIMES very difficult to cope with. It is a horrid condition to have to live with and believe me Iv had just about every test under the sun and all lead back to IBS so I keep getting told. I am extremly lucky in that I dont have to work i am a stay at home mum as my husband has a very good job. I can toatlly sympathise in the sence that on days where i am having a flair up it would be very difficult to concentrate at work as your always sub conciously thinking about when your next going to need to :.''run'' and in my case how blumming long it gives you to ''run'' (had a few near misses in my time) But on days where i am well I dnt see it effecting my daily life whatsoever and I certainly would never use it as an excuse not to work or try and claim anything for it. I lead a very normal life apart from my off days, and them I am slowly learning to cope with now.

Jowo_2

Person_one wrote: »

What the OP needs most of all at the moment is a decent GP who can refer him to a specialist to get his condition properly diagnosed and treated more effectively.

Telling him to 'get a grip' doesn't help anybody.

Agreed that he needs to be more assertive and organised about getting better care from his GP and getting medical certificates to help claim the EMA. He does need to tackle the anxiety issues which makes him want to stay in the house rather than face the world because of the threat of an attack.

But there are many other options and avenues for him to explore other than seeing himself as unable to study and unable to work at such an early age for a condition that could be better treated and managed.

This is where I think this thread has been very positive - lots of steps and actions for him to take other than go directly for benefit forms, especially as the sea-change from IB to ESA means that there is a focus on capabilities so however ill a person feels they are, they won't be written off even if they have written themselves off.

It's perhaps a teenage under confidence or self-consciousness thing, too, to tackle since invariably it must be difficult to address the barriers, such as educational bureaucracy and an unhelpful doctor, feeling apart from his peers, worry over social embarassment.

So I reckon the main tone of this thread is to encourage him how to lift the barriers he has rather than continue to see himself as too ill to do anything.

I think posters have been respectful about the potential self-limiting outcomes of his attitude and sympathetic as to how he's arrived at these conclusions and are encouraging him to have a different perspective than the one he's got and this has been done sensitively.

janninew

sh1305 wrote: »

I do get cramps with IBS; but it's not something that's ever stopped me from going to uni or college. They also do pass within an hour or two.

TBH, it's just something you learn to adapt to. Yes, I have to be near a toilet when I go out; but it's not that hard to find one.

I really think you're worrying about nothing. I had it very bad when I started having problems - although that was partly due to a reaction to the medication.

I'm sure I've seen many posts from you saying people deal with and are affected by illness/disabilities differently? Just because you cope fine and manage, does not mean the OP can. Telling them to get a grip and that they are worrying about nothig is, in my opinion, unfair. He might have much worse symptons than you.

GlasweJen

It was actually me who told the OP to get a grip.

He could have worse symptoms than Sh but at the end of the day he is looking for advice on claiming benefits when there aren't any to claim OP is under 18 (so no JSA), he is physically able to walk to a toilet and to attend to his own toilet needs (so no DLA) and he needs a sick note to claim ESA (which isn't forthcoming, his doctor wont even write a letter supporting that his IBS makes him need extra time off of college so what chance does he have of getting signed off work?).

If the OP were to drop out of college what little money he does bring into the house in terms of child benefit and child tax credits will disappear. How will his family cope then?

janninew

I was reading post 16, where she agrees that the OP should get a grip, sorry but I don't think that is helpful advice. I have seen many posts where she does state that people cope differently, surely that's relevant here? If the OP's condition is that bad and its affecting their day to day life, maybe a visit to a different Doc is in order for a second opinion.