I am living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I am a 26 year old young man living in the middle of nowhere, West Virginia. Out here there is very little development along the roadways; there are not even roads with more than one road in each direction. This being said, there is extremely few places for me to stop when my IBS starts to act up on me. Unfortunately when this happens, I start to go into a panic or anxiety attack. Here is a look at what happens to me.
When I am driving anywhere that either I don't know where I am going or that I know is a long drive without anywhere that I can stop to use the restroom, my nerves start to act up. The nerves and muscles in my bowel are apparently already rather sensitive to begin with. When I am becoming anxious, my bowel starts to act as if I have to use the restroom right then and there and every little movement with my abdomen causes me to feel this alarmed state.
Once this happens, I start to get shaky and sweaty and sick feeling in my stomach as if I am going to vomit. In most cases I am on my way from my home to another side of town and wind up turning around and racing back to the house. A short time after I have arrived at a "safe" place, I start to calm back down and I am ok again.
I have seen my doctor about this problem and hey diagnosed me with anxiety and IBS. To help with the treatment of this issue, I have been taking a 20mg Paxil medication that is supposed to suppress the extreme anxiety feelings within my normal routine. Another method that I have learned to help the problem is to memorize my daily routes I take to get around town. I have learned how far any given landmark is from my home or another safe destination. This way, when a condition starts to arise that I am about to panic, I can remind myself of where exactly I am and how far from my destination I am.
There is neither proven cause nor cure for this syndrome as of this point. I think it also has a lot to do with overall stress within my life. When I am dealing with the normal driving concerns in addition to money and the kids and what not, the symptoms get worse. On the other hand, when things are looking better, I am not in as bad of shape.
I just hope that someday I will no longer have to worry about these problems every time I am on the road! This is not a fun experience, especially for someone that likes to travel as I did.