Living with the Indignity that is IBS!

Irritable Bowel Syndrome!  Just the name of it sounds plain nasty and oh what a wicked ride it is.  Constipation, diarrhoea, nausea, severe cramps, wind, bloating, headaches.. oh the joy and oh so glamorous!

“Hi, my name is Meg and I am an IBS sufferer!”  That’s definitely something you don’t hear me say often, and if I do, it is only to those close to me.  I personally find the symptoms very embarrassing to talk about.  Ok now I know what you are going to ask... why am I telling such a public forum?  Well unfortunately in this day and age, more and more people are being diagnosed with tummy troubles and I think it is about time that someone told it from a sufferer’s point of view, without the medical details.

So let me take you back in time to around 10 years.   I had already spent the last few years back and forth to doctors and gynaecologists, trying to explain, over and over again, that is a completely different pain to the wonderful cramps we women are blessed with.  Given that I was 31yo at the time, most were focussed on the fact that I hadn’t had kids so of course, the problem was my plumbing... argh!  Some of the tests and treatments I had for misdiagnosed conditions were nothing short of horrific and still my condition got worse and worse.

My boyfriend at the time (let’s call him Dick, not his name but definitely his nature) decided that he was taking me to his own doctor as he was sick of not getting his needs met.  His belief was there was a female version of Viagra and we weren’t going to leave the doctor’s until I had a prescription.  Accordingly to Dr Dick, vomiting from every orifice should not be effecting my libido.  What the...?  I went as I was really too depleted to argue.

After 2 years of agony, unwellness and stress whilst seeing three doctors and one gyny, it took five  minutes with this wonderful doctor to diagnose IBS.  That doctor instantly became my hero, especially after giving Dick a massive serving for being so inconsiderate and explaining to him in detail the reason why vomiting was in fact the libido’s natural enemy.  So I left the clinic, feeling that finally someone had heard me and eager to start the high fibre diet recommended to get me back on track. 

A week later I was still in pain and nauseous, swinging from constipation to diarrhoea in hourly cycles, I also began to put on weight at an incredible rate.  Then started the excruciating twisted bowel episodes at night time, which I have now heard the pain can be likened to childbirth or kidney stones.  Needless to say, depression grabbed me in its dark clutches as I couldn’t understand why I was getting sicker, even though I was eating healthily after the diagnosis.   I was a mess and looking back I really don’t know how I survived.

Then fate intervened when the wonderfully self centred and inconsiderate Dick kicked me to the curb literally.  A true blessing in disguise in so many ways.  As a result of that stress, I stopped eating for a few weeks and guess what.. I started to feel better.  After a consultation with a naturopath, I was diagnosed with wheat, lactose and fructose intolerance and immediately started an elimination diet, starting with chicken and day by day adding or eliminating foods that I reacted with.  After six months I had a small menu I could work with and I felt fabulous.

So let’s come back to 2012.  You would think that now I have my menu that should be the end of it right?  Meg and IBS live happily ever after right?  Wrong!  You see IBS is a tricky condition as it can sensitise to foods as quickly as it desensitises.  Just when you think you know what you can eat without reactions, your body changes its mind (usually stress related) and suddenly you can’t eat those foods anymore, meaning back to the drawing board.  Whilst there are quite a few supplements out there specifically for IBS (such as acidophilus), I have personally found that none of them have worked for me.  Having said that, no two people suffer IBS the same way so what doesn’t work for me, may work brilliantly for another sufferer and vice versa.

But after 10 years of suffering this hideous little condition, I am happy to say that we do live in harmony most of the time as I have learnt the signs of a flare up and can counter it before it gets too bad.  I am slowly overcoming my embarrassment about have a bowel condition, especially knowing it could be a much worse conditions like Coeliacs or Chroh's diseases.

To all my fellow sufferers out there, I want to share my secrets to treating my IBS.  It goes without saying to avoid those foods that cause a reaction but hey, we still have to enjoy life.  For me, Magnesium is a must and something that I will stay on for the rest of my life.  I can use it to counter reactions to food types (the sneaky piece of bread at dinner) by taking an extra one at night.  If I don’t take them for a few days, the symptoms come back as bad as before so for me, Magnesium is a godsend.  My favourite is Nutralife Magnesium Complete.  Another wonderful helper is peppermint/oil... tea, tablets (such as Mintec or DeGas), I have even found a peppermint lolly helps too.  My biggest suggestion is to research anything and everything you can about natural treatments as given that IBS is primarily a food related condition, my unqualified opinion is most pharmaceutical treatments don’t work.

To all the non sufferers, please understand that we aren’t being “fussy” with our food.  I hope this blog has helped you to understand that whilst this condition is only labelled as chronic, it can be debilitating and distressing for the sufferer.

Disclaimer:  No farts were harmed in the making of this blog ;)

Take care and bye for now!

Smiles

Meg :)