Early morning urges
#29679 - 12/02/03 09:00 AM
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portia
Reged: 12/02/03
Posts: 11
Loc: Hawaii (The North Shore of Oahu)
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I've been reading this board for some time and the posts are so helpful. Thank you all. I've had problems on and off for years and now realize there are lots of fellow sufferers out there and some treatments to try.
I've been using soluble Beneful and Fiber Choice, drinking mint tea etc., and following the diet and my d is much less frequent, although I'm sure it's waiting for me to eat a salad.
However the awful thing is, I still wake up every morning way too early with the urge. It sometimes starts at 4:30 am. I get cramps, have to go, then try to go back to sleep but the cramps keep returning and I have to get up over and over again until after about the 3rd time, I give up and get up.
Have you had this problem? Is there a solution?
My pencil thin movements are pathetically unsatisfying. I wind up reading the message boards, playing computer games and being annoyed at sitting in the dark when I really should be asleep. THis has been going on for about 3 months.
We're about to leave on a cruise -- our first real vacation in many years. I'm stressed about leaving home and tense about flying and also what to eat on the plane and ship. I'm packing instant oatmeal and applesauce and rice and soy milk. I should be happy to be going on this trip and I'm so annoyed to be having this problem. Also wonder if my ambivalent feelings about going in the first place are causing my guts to rebel.
Thanks so much for listening. What do you guys think?
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Hello Portia - welcome!  Sorry to hear about your early morning urges.
While I don't know what to tell you about the early morning urges, but hopefully I can help you out with your cruise dilema since I was just on one last August!
It is quite possible that the stress from worrying about the cruise is playing a role in your tummy woes. I know it does for mine when I worry about things. Just know that when you walk off that cruise, you will probably be the only person there who hasn't gained anything! 
The good thing about a cruise is there are a TON of different food venues that you can chose from. Which cruise line are you going with? I went on Carnival and they had meals every hour practically. The best food place I found was a sandwich shop that made turkey sandwiches. The buffets were also great too because I got to pick and chose!
One thing you do need to be careful of is the sit down meals. While the menus are usually very descriptive in what is in each meal, I found that I could not eat the majority of the food presented. However, there was always at least one or two items that I could eat or have modified for me - and they usually have at least one vegetarian choice. I explained to my waiter beforehand that I had a lot of food intolerances so he was a huge help too once he started to figure out what I could have and couldn't have. Just be careful of all the rich sauces they put on them and be sure to pack immodium and peppermint tea!
And if you don't feel like leaving the cabin because you're not feeling that great, but are still hungry.. there's always room service! Usually 24 hrs a day for free! I definitely took advantage of that. LOL
Hope this helps and let me know if you have anymore questions!
EDIT: Oops.. almost forgot to add. Best part about cruises? Bathrooms everywhere!! That was one of my deciding factors in going on the cruise. The daytrips you might need to use extra caution. I usually only ate crackers and bread until I got back on the ship.
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- Jennifer
Edited by angylroses (12/02/03 10:05 AM)
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Thanks Jennifer. I have been stressing about 2 weeks away from my home bathroom, fiber stuff and food. We're going on the Celebrity Infinity Panama cruise leaving from San Diego. I hope they have all day food choices too and will take your advice at the big sit down dinners. The last thing I want is to be sick on the ship.We're staying in a Residence Inn for 2 days in San Diego and it has a little kitchen so I'll be able to eat my own food a lot.
Room service sounds great. I'll be wanting to eat in private since I tend to take the skin off things and all that. But I know my husband is packing his tux and wants a sit down sometimes, so the vegetables can be the saving grace for me.
Did the day trips have enough bathrooms stops? Or is it a problem?
Also, did you have to fly a long distance to get there. We're going from Hawaii where we live to San Diego and then the cruise winds up in Ft Lauderdale where we have a marathon return day of probably 16 hours (two long flights) traveling before we get back. Any advice for long flights?
What do you take on the plane? Do you get more gas in the air?
I'm such a nervous traveler since I got this problem.
Thanks so much for all your advice,
Portia
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Wow - 2 weeks? Must be some cruise! Btw - I loved Hawaii when I went last year during Thanksgiving. A very beautiful state!
They will probably give you a couple choices of bread before the meal actually starts. Make sure you're careful about which bread - hopefully one of them is sourdough. Be sure to take some fiber suppliments or eat some soluble fiber before each meal and before you eat those veggies!
For my cruise, I flew out of San Jose, CA to Miami, FL.. and then made stops in Mexico, Jamaica, and the Caymen Islands. The day trips are pretty good in the sense of usually having bathrooms as most of the day trips are designed for tourists - many of which will be little kids who need to use the bathroom often and sometimes with no warning! The only trouble you may have is if you have to travel to one. I saw the Aztec Ruins in Mexico and we had to take a 1 hr ferry and then take a 1 hr bus ride. Luckily we got a small bathroom break in between, but I was very careful not to eat anything that even had the remote possibility of triggering.
As for flying - I found that my gas got worse in the air so I made sure I had tons of gas-x and beano. I also took Immodium before the flights because I was afraid I might have an attack before the flight took off and be stuck in the bathroom! LOL I took a backpack full of safe snacks, such as saltine crackers, rice cakes, and peppermints. Although it was tempting (I used to be a soda addict!) definitely do not take the free soda beverage in the air.. talk about tummy explosion!
Also (this one is hard because of all the regulations).. try to walk around when you can.. maybe once an hour? Even if it means going to the bathroom when you don't have to! At least you're not cramped in that little seat.
Hope all this helps! In my opinion, a cruise is the best bet for IBS folks since there's a bathroom everywhere! Let me know if you have any questions and have a great time on your cruise if I don't talk to you before then!
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- Jennifer
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Thanks so much Jennifer for all the great ideas and for the encouragement. This is our 20th anniversary cruise and I want it to be wonderful – certainly not messed up by my food problems. It's been a long time since we traveled away from Hawaii, and you're right, it's beautiful here -- hard to leave, even for "trip of a lifetime" vacation.
It's great to have someone to talk to about these things. My husband thinks my getting bloated by afternoon is "in my head." Yeah, right! That's why all my clothes are drawstring these days.
You're sure right that I don't expect to gain weight on the cruise. The IBS diet turns out to be a weight loss program – at least for me. I'm surprised too after all these years of people telling me not to eat white bread and white potatoes and that whole grains and more beans and greens in my diet was what I needed. This is a whole different way of eating.
I've got Beano and Gas-X packed in my carry-on. Don't want to get too far away from it. Also, packets of soluble fiber. When you say to eat soluble fiber before your eat vegetables, do you mean benefiber or bread?
I have so much to learn. Can't wait for my books to come…
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Hello, I have never been on a cruise but I was on a honeymoon last year and I was so stressed about it because of the long flight and worried about what to eat. I ate snacks of crackers and pretzels and brought some peppermint tea bags on to the plane and just basically avoided any remote possibitity of stomach problems. The resort we stayed at had a buffet for most meals and it was so nice to be able to pick exactly what I was going to eat. I did not have one stomach problem the whole week. I think eating often throughout the day helped out a lot. Plus I remember just doing excersions only when we felt like it and we took time to just relax. I swear I look at my Aruba pictures and I think what a good stomach week that was for me! ha ha. Good luck and I hope you have a great vacation. It's snowing here in Cleveland and I'm feeling jealous!
PS. I also just started the Acacia and have had great results with the IBS-D. I'm trying to drink as much water as I can thoughout the day now that I'm taking the fiber and although I have to pee A LOT my stomach is feeling great.
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Hi portia and welcome!
I don't have any advice on the cruise, because I've never been on one. But thanks to Jennifer for the advice, because I'm contemplating one for my honeymoon next year!
Anyway, have you tried taking the fiber supplement before you go to bed? I think Heather mentioned before that you can take it before bed to help for problems first thing in the morning, so I wonder if this may help you. Also, what dose are you up to on your fiber supplements?
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Hi Mags,
Thank you for your support and advice. I feel so much better knowing there are others out there who understand what I'm going through. The pre-travel stress is humungus! So knowing what to take helps a lot.
I'm up to about 12 grams of fiber a day. I've been having it in the morning and the afternoon and again in the early evening, but I could easily wait until bedtime. I'll give that a try tonight. I'm going to order Heather's fiber as soon as I get back from my trip.
A cruise would be fabulous honeymoon. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding too.
Portia
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Mags,
I hope you are planning on putting a wedding picture up for us to see after your wedding. My kids have gotten to know you guys from me reading the postings, and they would love to see the picture too.
Joan
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Hi Debby,
You and everyone else have been so generous with your travel advice. How can I ever thank you. I feel calmer already.
Aruba is one of the last places our ship stops at before the end of the cruise. We've never been there before and really don't want to sign up to be herded around on one of the shore excursions. We'd rather go on our own if possible. Do you have any advice about what to do there or where to go? Is there a special hotel or restaurant or shop or excursion/activity you think is a must if you only have one day there?
Portia
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