What is it like to be normal?
#231313 - 12/13/05 02:29 PM
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dmdentre
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 47
Loc: New England
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I know that this will sound weird, but I have had IBS for so long that I do not know what it would be like to not have a stomach ache every day. In fact, on days when I have a more mild stomach ache I feel like I have nothing to worry or think about and that makes me uncomfortable. Does anyone else feel that way sometimes? I think that my stomach ache can be a nice way to forget about other things going on in my life - how is that for psycology? I would love to hear from anyone who feels the same way or has gotten over this problem! Thanks!
Danielle
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Here's my version - not sure if it's exactly the same thing. IBS can be so disruptive to anything approaching a normal life that it becomes almost impossible to focus on other things in life. I think I'm just now - after over a year on Heather's diet and 6 months of feeling pretty good - starting to really pay attention to other aspects of my life that I put "on hold" because of the IBS. I still find myself automatically thinking that I can't do this, that, or the other because of my IBS. In reality, with some planning and my handy-dandy Immodium, there probably isn't much I couldn't tackle at this point.
Realizing that is good, of course, but there's also a sense of not knowing who I am if I'm not this person whose life is constrained by IBS. It's weird, but I also think it's normal. Perhaps we're just out of practice at other aspects of our lives. After all, when my IBS was bad, I didn't have to make a lot of decisions about what I was going to do today or whether I was going to go to a party or movie or whether I wanted to start a new project or even move my checking account to another bank - it just wasn't going to happen because I was "too sick". Now the world has opened up again and it's both exciting and kind of scary. I knew how to have IBS; I'm not sure I remember how to be "normal". (Hmmm. It's sounding more and more like it might be time for the hypno tapes.)
HTH.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Sand, it sounds like you've been living MY LIFE! 
This is what my life is like NOW, not even 6 months ago could I do any of the activities I did yesterday...
Here's my version of normal... Take my morning 1T Acacia & meds (synthroid, 1 Hyoscyamine, 2 baby aspirins) eat a bowl of cream of wheat, take a 2 mile walk.
Potty time!! Success!!! 1 1/2 immodium..
About 10a.m. took .25 xanax (I only use this if I have to do a lot of running around, and even then just once in a while) go to the doctor with DH. Stop at a local restaurant (1 hyoscyamine) ate pasta with plain sauce, tasted wonderful. Went to the hospital for a dietitian discussion on diabetic eating (hubby has that). Went to Wally World to finish Christmas shopping for about an hour. That was my 3rd shopping expedition!!
Got home around 5:30 and ate the balance of my doggy bag pasta w/sauce,(Way too much to eat at lunch)plus some green beans. Watched some TV. Around 8 p.m. I took my evening 1T Acacia, 1 hyoscyamine, 1 multi-vitamin. Crawled into bed at 10 slept like a log.
Pretty boring but an absolutely amazing day for me. I haven't done the Christmas shopping or any shopping I could avoid in at least 18 yrs, so this was a real mile marker for me. I didn't worry over finding a bathroom in time! 
You see the meds and supplements I take. Add to that eating Heather's diet, drinking peppermint & fennel tea, lots of water and the hypno tapes. I still have some days when I feel a little less stable but it is always because I pretended I don't have IBS and eat something off the diet or maybe just like the rest of the world I had a bad day! 
I sure hope you get to enjoy the benefits of Heather's diet and advice that enable me to have a LIFE!!!
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Franny
IBS/D
Celiac
Edited by franny (12/14/05 09:24 AM)
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I was taking Bentyl (an anti-spasmoditic) occasionally for when I was going too much. It didn't do much for me. I'm thinking of asking my doctor to switch to something different. Maybe it's more effective if you take before meals? I'm trying to find something to slow my system down a bit. It's revved up too much.
Sandy
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I was just at the mall with my 4 year old son eating at the food court. I was having a grilled chicken sandwich from Chickfala with nothing on it. He was having a corn dog from Nathans. I was watching all the people go by, wondering if any of them had IBS. Do they wonder where the bathrooms are? (of course I knew where they were). Do they wonder if they eat that, they'll have a problem? How do the workers function? Do they just go once in the morning and never have to worry about it again? For most, it's a non issue. You just don't think about it. That's my goal. I don't want to think about it anymore. Normal? Not sure what it is anymore. I just know it's not my life right now.
Sandy
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<sigh> I remember the days. It wasn't long ago for me. 8 months ago I think, was the last time I was *normal*.
To have a whole entire slice of cheesecake with real cream cheese would be soooo nice. But then I try to look at the silver lining...that cheesecake is another how many extra pounds added to my already overweight body? Having IBS has forced me to eat better. Now I'm not always feeling good, in fact I'm having a bad day today, but the extra pounds are slowly (but surely) melting away. I'd rather have just IBS than IBS and a heart attack.
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Cheers!
Sher
IBS-A
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Yes, I take the hyoscyamine everyday. I may skip the lunch one sometimes accidentally. I have taken this med for ages but I never took it everyday until this summer. What I'm doing now is working for me. I've seen enough of these posts to know that may not be true forever but for now I'm happy with the routine I've gotten into. That's one of the things I think that finally slowed my gut down, ROUTINE. Once I found a pattern I saw a difference. I tried prebiotics, probiotics and assorted other things I read about around here. I only take a prebiotic (beano, etc) if I'm eating a gassy food. Good luck.........
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Franny
IBS/D
Celiac
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Franny
#231557 - 12/14/05 12:41 PM
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Sand
Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)
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Isn't it great? I'm intrigued by your Xanax. My Family Practice doctor suggested I try Valium if I'm feeling iffy about going out instead of my Donnatol. I haven't gotten around to it yet - I've been doing so well I haven't been taking anything but Immodium and not too terribly much of that - but it's nice to know it's in the arsenal.
Enjoy your Christmas shopping - and your Christmas!
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Hi Danielle,
I have had IBS for about 10 yrs but fortunately mine is not as severe as some of the others on the boards. I think it's a great day when I don't think about my tummy, meaning that it feels good and I don't even notice it's there. If I remember, that's the way it's supposed to be. In the "normal" world, you're not supposed to even give your tummy a thought.
I try my best to avoid the things that are my triggers and most of the time I do pretty well. Of course, there are times I slip and then suffer the consequences.
Good luck
Barbie
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