Planning a quick trip, need advice from fellow IBS control freaks on planning details! (long)
#255366 - 03/30/06 11:42 AM
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Blondie13
Reged: 02/28/06
Posts: 641
Loc: Sheffield, England
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Hi
Hopefully if you're reading this, you're the same as me - you're not stable (or used not to be), and you've had so many bad IBS experiences that if you do do something out of the ordinary you plan ahead every single detail... (I was already like that pre-IBS on clothes, etc, to take on holiday, but now I need to plan for my IBS).
Some of you might now I am not at all stable - I have left the house only 4 times in 3 months. I am really low / depressed, and anxiety/stress cause many of my attacks. (quick update - I went to the docs again on Tuesday, and she upped my amitripylene dosage (from 20mg to 50mg), put me on mebeverine (anti-spasmodic) and gave me codeine for those times the pain stops me sleeping, or is just really intense. It knocks you out though so for nighttime only really. I also got my tummy fiber yesterday, and started taking it this morning.)
Anyways, next weekend it is the UK Ice Hockey Playoff Finals weekend, to which I go every year. This is the first time since I was diagnosed with IBS. It is in Nottingham, which is only 30 mins from where we live, but as there are 2 games on the Saturday and 1 on the Sunday afternoon we always stay in a hotel which is a 10 min tram ride away from the arena.
Usual schedule - meet in the pub at the hotel for lunch, tram to arena, watch first game, wander to McDonalds for tea, watch second game. Head back to hotel, drinks in the pub, then the whole group of us heads back to one of our rooms where we have a pre-prepared picnic of all foods non-IBS safe! Next day it's a lie-in til midday, lunch in the pub again, then we drive to the arena for the Sunday game, leave the car in a nearby car park, watch the game, then drive home.
So... for someone who barely leaves the house and definitely ISN'T stable, this is quite a task! So, I was thinking of ways to make it easier - such as eating very safely for a few days before the event (how many days?), making some IBS safe snacks that I can fit in a large-ish handbag for through Saturday afternoon and evening (me and my boyfriend will go to a local cafe when everyone else does McD's and I'll have a baked potato I think), and items I can take for the picnic, but also stuff that will last til Sunday afternoon as nibbles - as other than bottled water the arena won't sell anything safe, etc etc.
We'll eat at home the Saturday lunchtime before we meat everyone at the pub, so I guess I'll have a potato or something, but really need everyone's advice on stuff to take / what to do. This is a massive event for me, which is really embarrassing coming from someone who used to travel the world on a weekly basis...   I'm so determined to make it go ok. 
I've already created my 'worst case IBS' pouch to go in my handbag - personal loo roll, hand sanitizer, immodium, nurofen, Windeze (simethicone) and spare pants. I've never needed any of it bar the meds so far, but it makes me more comfortable always having it with me! It's so mortifyingly embarrassing sharing this, but really need everyone's help.
So, long post finished! Any help appreciated! Feel free to email me if your ideas for preparing etc are embarrassing also and you don't particularly want to post them...
Hugs,
Caroline x
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http://ibsblondie13.blogspot.com/
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I'd take a few Immodium as a preventative before you go out and if you get a little nervous during the event, hell, take some more  I'd bring some safe crackers or pretzels to snack on, as well as some bottled water. Got any muscle-relaxers? I know it sounds crazy, but when I was at my worst with the anxiety about going out, my doc gave me some Xanax to take the edge off. It got my mind off my stomach which helped me to enjoy what I was doing.
Just try to not dwell on the "what ifs" and that horrible nagging fear of an attack. (Harder said than done I know.) You sound like you have all you need in the event of an attack. But, I am a believer that if you worry too much that you'll have one that you actually will. Good luck!!
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Hi Caroline- this is definitely do-able. I was diagnosed two weeks and unstable when I went to a big hurling match and I went laid down with foods, even though I wasn't going overnight.
Stuff some of these into your overnight bag:
-Snack sized bags of pretzels (available in M&S and Boots, about the same size as a pack of Walkers)
-Bananas
-Babyfood! Seriously Cow&Gate do lovely baby desserts in plastic pots like that look like yogurt and once you peel the lid off there is no branding, I like the Apple & Banana and Apple & Pear ones.
-Luna Bars (if you bought them from that website) are great as they are safe and filling
-Rice Cakes-Kallo do a snack pack set with honey that are nice and come in two packs so they are good for handbags
-Peppermint teabags
-A turkey roll for the first day. Most Spar shops etc with a deli counter will sort you out with a turkey roll that you can chew on while everyone else is eating hotdogs!
-I do fine with Go Ahead Apple Bake bars too (even though I think they do have some small amount of dairy in them)
Have a great time, and keep an eye on where the loos are!
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S.
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I would take a few immodium the day or night before and take a one or a few that morning as preventatives. I always do that when I know I have to be somewhere.
I also pack an emergency pack - for just in case.
I will also share this bit of embarrassing info- when I am at my worst and really anxious I buy those POISE (panty Cutlottes) or whatever name brand you have there and wear those. They are like a diaper for bladder control issues for if you pee on yourself. But I used them to help give me peace of mind when I travel. It is a little degrading and humilating but it helped make me not so anxious. 
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My Advice
#255559 - 03/31/06 11:59 AM
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belinda
Reged: 10/09/03
Posts: 474
Loc: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Given your situation, my recommendations are as follows:
1. Since Nottingham is just 30 minutes away, don't stay overnight. Sleep at your own place Saturday evening and return to Nottingham on Sunday.
2. Buy yourself an insulated lunch container and some freezer packs. Or get yourself a cooler with some ice bags.
3. On Saturday morning prepare yourself some fresh sandwiches and other food that you can eat and put it in your lunch container or cooler, with the freezer/ice bags. Bring something to drink too. Pack enough IBS food to last you the day. Do the same on Sunday. A good insulated lunch container, with ample freezer bags, should be able to keep your food cool for hours. I often travel from Toronto to San Francisco with connecting flights and the food in my insulated lunch container is still cool 12 hours later.
4. Eat your food in a quiet place with a washroom nearby! Eat small amounts often so you don't overtax your system with too much at once. Eating too much at once can trigger an IBS attack.
5. Don't eat anything at the pub or MacDonalds, etc. no matter how tempting it may be.
I always bring my own food and I deal with events that are out-of-town by either staying at a place with a kitchenette where I can prepare my own food or at a friend's place with a kitchen. Otherwise I go home for the evening and make my own food there.
Although you may not want to give up staying overnight at Nottingham, and you may want to eat out, I think you will find, if you follow my advice, that your panic and stress over attending this event will be greatly reduced ... and maybe you'll actually be able to enjoy the games!
E-mail me if you need more assistance. I've travelled to England many times. If I didn't have a cooler available, I simply packed a can of Waitrose water-packed tuna in my purse and, then, for lunch I would buy a plain jacket potato at a Debenham's Department Store cafeteria (there's one in every UK town it seems!) or another place and I would dump the canned tuna contents on the potato. Not very appetizing, but I didn't go hungry and I didn't get sick and it enabled me to take day trips all around England without having to worry about keeping food cool.
Belinda
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I'm going to warn you first off. What I do may not be really all that healthy but.. when it comes to trips this is what I usually do.
THe night before the trip I would eat very early in the evening (at least 3-5 hours before bed kind of thing) that way if i'm going to have an attack it will be before i'm trying to sleep. I would ibs safe foods like say, toast and chicken noodle soup or maybe some hard boiled eggs (don't eat the yokes though)
The next day if I can help it, I won't eat anything before we are actually on the road and if I do have to eat something so as my insides aren't eatting themselves. Plain pringles (do you get those in the uk?) and pretzels. I only drink water durring this time. Once there I again eat safe things, usually for me thats plain chicken breast with rice or something. Sometimes all I eat for about two or three days on a trip is prezels. Also I would drink lots of peppermint tea (every ones bodies are different and everyone has different triggers but this is just what I end up doing.) It sucks because there are alot of things i would love to be able to do on trips but most of the time thats just not going to be able to happen... Hope you have fun and I hope this helps even just a little bit.. (a little note from someone who has worked at Macdonalds.. I don't suggest eatting or drinking anything from there if you aren't feeling the least bit stable.. but again thats just my opinion.
And something else that has really helped my mind, when i'm having an attack i'm ibs-d and well.. (forgive me for being crude for a moment) but i do not like the idea of wiping so many times my bum feels like it is on fire. At home I have a thing of baby wipes by the toilet at all times but on the road (and something i keep in my purse at all times no matter what) are flushable wipes with aloe. It soothes a little bit so at least it doesn't have to feel like wiping with public toilet sandpaper..
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Hey- I wanted to know how your trip went? Was it this past weekend?
I hope everything went well.
Cindy
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Hi Cindy
Thanks for checking in with me!  No, the trip is this weekend. So fingers crossed please!
So far my plan is this:
Sat - eat lunch at home, and meet the rest of the group at the arena instead of the pub at our hotel. Will have had a plain bagel for breakfast, and a plain jacket potato for lunch. Will be taking a coolbox to leave in the car, and have bought a new handbag today (actually went shopping, for first time in months!! ) that will let me fit a smallish plastic box in. In my box both days will be sandwiches [made from gluten/wheat/yeast free bread (see my other post on my food intolerance results... ), dairy free soya spread, dairy free cheese slices and turkey slices], Fudgey Brownies [from recipe index - made them this week and everyone ADORED them, all thought they were nicest brownies ever, so gonna make a couple of batches to take with me in the coolbox so others can try them later too], home-made potato crisps with just a little olive oil and salt or plain Walkers Lites [depending on time] and some jelly candies [Haribo jellys]. That should see me through the times where everyone is stuffing their faces with yummy stuff I can't have!
Sat evening after the 2 semi finals we're eating at the pub at the hotel (mainly to make it easier for me, even though there's a group of around 25 ), and I'm sure I can ask for some plain chicken and potatoes.
Sunday morning I'll have another plain bagel for breakfast, my second batch of sandwiches etc for lunch, and snacks for through the afternoon/evening.
So... Fingers crossed all will be well!! Also bought some new jeans today, that are nice and loose on my tum, and a couple of new tops to hopefully give me a welcome confidence boost. Got my meds all sorted in a new cute little pouch to go in my handbag (currently in a see-through pouch, so I see my meds every time I go in my handbag, which is a bit depressing) and all my other bits and bobs. Everyone talked about their own 'embarrassing' little things they did, and I will also be wearing sanitary towels for the whole weekend. In the event of the accident they'd probably do nothing, but as I think it was you who said - they give me peace of mind.
The whole thing makes me feel a bit pathetic at worst, but slightly in control at best.
So, watch this space for an update Sunday night, and keep your fingers crossed!!
Caroline x
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http://ibsblondie13.blogspot.com/
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Caroline-
You are so organised that this trip is bound to be a success.
Maybe mention to the hotel that you will need boiled potatoes (as mash will be full of butter/cream) in advance, or white rice (or check their menu online if poss) as you have planned so well that you don't want it all thrown upside down by them.
Good work on the shopping too, I could do with hitting the shops, and I adore handbags so am very jealous of your new one.
Have a fantastic time.
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S.
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Well good for you hun! I know I feel so much more secure when I have things planned out and I know what I am going to be doing! ANd dont feel the least bit pathetic-- because we have to do what we have to do - so we can get out there and live our lives. We arent living it for others. So do whatever it takes to get out and about! I am so proud of ya. I know you will have an amazing time. Most of the time I find once I get out somewhere and I know where the bathroom is- I relax and have a great time.
Good luck!
Cindy
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