I have decided to do a blog about my life with IBS. I have always wanted to do a blog to share my experiences with others who are either suffering or has a loved one suffering with IBS, however I always stopped myself thinking a) who would even read this and b) I am not a good writer. However with the support of someone I love and admire very dearly, I feel even more motivated to share my thoughts and struggles with IBS.
For as long as I can remember I suffered with what they called a nervous tummy. I can remember as far back as Grade 5 eating a nice bowl of cereal with milk and feeling sick afterwards and still having to go to school. I remember my Mum and the school having a meeting to discuss how I was making excuses not to go to school. In high school I switched to toast and tea with cream for breakfast, and I was still feeling sick. My Mum used to drive me to school, luckily very early in the morning so I would sit on the toilet at school until I felt better without interruption from other students. I never discussed my stomach with anyone because as we all know, talking about bowel movements is not socially acceptable unless you're a man and want to gross out your friends. I lost friends because they couldn't understand why I would cancel plans at the last minute. I continued to live this way until 2008. This was the year it was at its worst, I was very stressed with my job and was sick almost every day. I decided to be proactive and so I went to a specialist to diagnose what was wrong with me. After a year of various tests, the doctor diagnosed me with spastic colon aka IBS. Once it was confirmed that I had IBS I tried to find information about how I could live a better life with IBS. I came across this life changing book called Eating for IBS by Heather Van Vorous. In her book she talks about trigger foods that affect our stomach and even has recipes. IBS is not only affected by food but it is affected by stress, lack of exercise and sleep. This book has honestly changed my life, I am not cured of my IBS but I for once in my life have a better control over it then ever before. Of course I still have days that my stomach gets sick even after all precautions are taken. But I've learned to love my stomach because at least it's telling me what is good and what is bad to eat. I haven't had McDonald's in over 8yrs and I don't miss it one bit.
The title of this blog is a bit of sarcasm but with a bit of love because it's better to embrace and love then to have anger.
2 comments:
Hey! You thought nobody would ever read your blog and look, even people from Spain are reading it... At least one person is!
And don't worry about your writing... For all I know --as my English sucks--, everyone who are able to put more than 4 words in a sentences is as good as Shakespeare to me...
Anyway... I'm 30 years old. Wrong!!! I'm 31 now (today's my birthday). And I've been suffering from IBS since I was 14-15. I don't remember exactly... I was very ashamed of my disease and never told anyone I had IBS but my parents.
Now, 15 years later, I have a girlfriend who knows my condition and, even though sometimes I make her lose her patience, she's very understanding all the time... I'm not ashamed anymore and I don't mind telling my close friends about my condition. Although I still don't like it because they won't understand.
I always wanted to have a friend with IBS too. Someone to talk to about my disease, about public bathrooms, about how my stomach feels today, etc.
Enough about me! I just wanted to tell you I'm so glad to have found your blog and hope you keep writing!
Saludos!
Happy Belated Birthday! Thank you so much for your kind words, it means so much to me. You were the same age as me when my IBS started. You are lucky to have a girlfriend that is so understanding. It is hard to find partners that have the patience for our unpredictable stomachs. I hope you keep reading :)
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