Restaurants and IBS

I go to restaurants to connect with friends and family and enjoy a good meal along with it.  So when I am asked "Hey, let's go somewhere to eat Friday night", it's not as simple as just going wherever the crowd goes.  After discovering the trigger foods that caused my attacks I started becoming more aware of what restaurants I could go to based on their menu offerings.  My friends and family are very understanding and we will always pick a restaurant where I can eat at least one meal off the menu.  Sometimes you cannot choose, for example birthday parties, and you end up eating French Bread with wine while everyone else is digging into that lovely lasagna that will send you to the the toilet in no time.  I've learned to accept what I can and cannot eat, I no longer try to fit in with the crowd and no longer do I have the philosophy of just eat it now and deal with it later.  I'd rather not spend my Friday night on a toilet for many hours thank you very much.  I'm no longer afraid to tell people that I cannot eat certain foods, that I have a diet restriction.  I do find even after I take all precautions sometimes my stomach still gets sick, for example if I eat too fast, or if I eat salad before my meal I get an attack.  Therefore when I'm at a restaurant I eat slower than a turtle and people wonder if I'm even enjoying my food, I tend to forget that IBS also affects my mind.  When I am not in the comfort of my own home eating and at a restaurant or at a friend's house I tend to not eat as much because I have thoughts of how sick I might get and they only have one washroom and if I get sick the restaurant closes at 11pm, will that be enough time for me to feel better, people will wonder why I keep going to the washroom, I will get stares.  Just those thoughts alone put enough stress on your body and next thing you know you have worked yourself up for an IBS attack.

I remember the days when I was not on my IBS diet and I'd go for a nice hearty breakfast with friends.  I would order a lovely plate of scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, sausages and toast.  I would start feeling sick mid-way through my meal and would slow down thinking it was because I was eating to fast.  At the time I was not comfortable with using public washrooms if I was coming on with an IBS attack.  So when I felt an attack coming on, I informed my then partner that we had to rush home immediately.  Our friends didn't know so they always thought I was the rude and obnoxious girlfriend that wanted to ruin the fun by immediately ending the party.  I was too embarrassed to tell people what I was suffering with so I suffered in silence and I preferred that people think I was a snob or rude then to tell them I have IBS.  I no longer go out for breakfast anymore because about 95% of the menu does not correspond with my diet so I do miss breakfast a lot considering it was my favourite meal of the day.  It's just not the same going out for breakfast and ordering fruits with tea.

I have made it my mission these days to find restaurants that accommodate my IBS, there is this website called Go Dairy Free that lists restaurants that do not have dairy in certain menu items.  That website helps with half the battle because now I know dairy will be eliminated, I just need to find something that also eliminates fried foods and red meat.  Having IBS is about changing the way you think and changing your life long habits.  It's hard in the beginning to put yourself on this IBS diet but once you train your brain, it becomes natural and you no longer deem it an inconvenience. 

Do you still go to restaurants? Or do you prefer to get take out or do delivery?