Incontinence -ESA form

Hi All

When i had a ESA medical last year they totally direguarded my incontinence. I had a colonoscopy only 4 months before the medical and it was as if they did not believe i was incontinent.
If you have ever had a colonoscopy you will know that if you are not incontinent you most certainly would not put yourself through that procedure for nothing.
Its like them saying to you LIAR.

Karen x

Hi Karen

You are right there no one in their right mind would put themselves through a colonoscopy!! I have 2 a year and have nightmares weeks before it is due. Who did you think didnt believe your incontinance? Do you have IBD? Even my GP didnt know how bad my problems were until i broke down at one of my appointments and revealled all!! My GP was gobsmacked to say the least and couldnt understand why i hadnt discussed it with her before!! Its something that no one should have to go through and its hard to discuss such delicate issues even with the people who you are close to.

Even my parents didnt know to begin with it was only when i started to decline invitations etc that it came out. My mum was mortified, especially since it has happened when i have been out with her!!! To cover it up i changed underwear and washed trousers in the toilets, which didnt show it was wet as i wore long tops to cover up. The worst part about it was walking round the shops in wet trousers very uncomfortable. Now its 2nd nature and i know i can change all my clothes when it happens without any questions!!

I worked full time up to last year and because i had uniform it was easy to change without anyone noticing. There was a time when things were bad and i had no option but to discuss it with management, as there was only 1 ladies toilet and no disabled toilet and i was having to change 3 to 4 times a day. I used to have nightmares just hoping no one would be in there when i needed it. In the end i plucked up the courage to request a disabled toilet which would have been funded for them to keep me in work. This never materialised and when i questioned this i was told they didnt know where they could put it. This went on for nearly 2 years so i asked again and tried to explain how i was affected by not having this. I was told they would put a portaloo right outside the office and made a joke of it (and yes that was management) i am sure they only made a joke out of it through ignorance I was devastated, all of this made me much worse with all the stress and so it came to the point where my disease dictated that i was no longer well enough to work. Really i should have given into it a couple of years earlier but didnt want to admit defeat!!!

I have now had this disease for 9 years and am now able to discuss my problems more openly without embarrassment, i cant help what is happening and all we need is for other people to understand without feeling ridiculed!!!

So i fully understand how you feel and all i can say is talk about it especially to your doctor. How dare anyone disbelieve what is happening to you!!! I am sure there are many people on this site with similar problems but my motto is be honest.

Best wishes
Mm

Hi Millymoo.

Forgive my ignorance but what is IBD?

My incontinence has been put down to IBS is this the same?

My consultant has put it down to IBS but when i went for my ESA medical the "doctor?" did not seem interested and said a lot of people now have IBS its part of a lot of peoples everyday life now and told me to change my diet and it would go.

As if its as easy as that.

I know what you mean about management at work. When i was working my manager said to me "you spend more time in the loo than you do at your desk of course this was said in a laughing way but i know she meant it as a dig at me.

Karen x

karene50 wrote:

Hi Millymoo.

Forgive my ignorance but what is IBD?

Hi Karen

IBD (inflammatory bowel disease)

Take it easy.

BTD

IBD is short for Inflammatory bowel disease,eg, crohns disease and ulcerative colitis to name just two.

I disagree with the atos reps statement that irritable bowel syndrome can be easily "cured" by a change of diet.

Hi Karen

Sorry to abbreviate IBD is inflammatory bowel disease the one that i have is crohnes disease. So yours must be irritable bowel syndrome and yes maybe a lot of people do suffer with this but every one is different. My sister suffers with IBS and blacks out with the pain as it becomes so severe. I would ignore people that are ignorant to a disease that affects your whole life, i got to the stage when i was working where i would try and ignore hurtful comments and then it hit me when i came away from work and would be sobbing all the way home. I got to the stage whereby the crohns got so bad that i couldnt work.

Best wishes
Mm