I just want to have a normal life!!!!
#73291 - 05/25/04 12:41 PM
|
|
|
|
|
Lynijo
Reged: 05/25/04
Posts: 1
|
|
|
Tell me all how you do it. I have been having a terrible IBS time since March. I take Imodium like it is M & M's. I live on 4 Levbids a day and am on Zoloft. I feel like a walking drug machine. I am the anxious type ane recently divorced after 20 years of marriage. I don't have much money and the products that you guys suggest are very expensive. I personally am trying to "Pretend" I don't have this and buying stock in Imodium. Really in real life how do you all do this? Do any of you have times when your system is somewhat normal with out a lot of drugs or food changes?
Lynijo
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Me too! I am also not able to afford a lot of supplements, but the Acacia and Peppermint are reasonable and allowed me to come off the much more expensive Zelnorm. Don't get discouraged. You don't need one of everything. The soluable fiber and peppermint are pretty basic, and along with watching what you eat...you don't have to go all organic and soy either...you may not be totally normal, but you can become very functional! Hope you feel better soon!
--------------------
God is Faithful!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
You can take good care of your stomach without going broke I promise! You don't have to purchase every item sold on this website or go out and buy a bunch of expensive food items. The fiber sold here is soooo much cheaper than anything I have found in grocery stores, that goes for the tea too. Adding the peppermint tea and fiber to my diet made a huge difference without going broke. Also adding water and exercising and knowing I should eat smaller meals with bread and to avoid all carbonated beverages. Just doing those things have made a huge difference and those were free!
I was on Immodium every day for years and now I take one pill once or twice a month and I'm feeling so much better. Pretending you don't have a stomach problem won't help you in the long run. I think all of us wish we could live a normal life and not have to think about our stomachs all the time. I work with kids who have lifelong disabilities, some who will never walk or talk or eat on their own and believe me they are the ones who won't live a normal life. Just when I get down about my own stomach problems, thinking about those kids really puts things in perspective.
I really hope you find something that works for you and you start to feel better soon. I originally found Heather at the library and I checked out her books there, also for free, and it was a lifesaver. Good luck and don't give up.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Lynijo, welcome to the boards. May I recommend the hypnotherapy program? You can find out more info about it here. I'm also an anxious person and this really helped me reclaim my life. For a while I was hardly going out and now I've started to be more social again. It worked a lot better than any medicine for me. It's amazing how much our bodies are affected by our mental state!
--------------------
"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Welcome to the boards. I second the great advice above.
--------------------
Laura
Keep it simple!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
I'd have thought Acacia would be cheaper than Immodium!  I was on that too, but am now off IBS-meds and normally I'm fine with just my Acacia. I only keep a box of Immodium for emergencies.
All the diet stuff is done with normal foods - you don't have to go out and buy specially made, expensive foods. Just make sure you don't buy trigger foods. The diet can be a pain, but you get used to it. when I was eating what I liked, I had far less of a life than now, when I have to be careful, but feel loads better.
Kree's suggestion of hypnotherapy sounds like a goodie for you. Also, yoga can help both anxiety and IBS.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
I Don't Blame You
#73434 - 05/25/04 06:14 PM
|
|
|
|
Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
|
|
|
Hi there Lynijo,
Are you new to the Boards? If so, WELCOME! If not, how come I don't recall your name? Have you posted before?
Your question is a good one. I'd have to say yes, there are times when my system is "normal" (if there is such a thing). I got stable when I followed the program. Do you have Heather's book, "The First Year"? Are you following the diet? What about coffee? Are you drinking coffee? Even decaf? It's THE WORST trigger of all!
It takes a lot to get back to "normal," but it can be done. You need to stick with the program STRICTLY -- no cheating! (I cheated and refused to give up my beloved cuppa. As soon as I got real about it and gave it up -- and it was immediate -- I got better!)
I still have my bad times. If I stray too far from my usual IBS-safe meal, I'll have an attack. I keep a food diary (and have for almost 3 years now), and when I have an attack I refer back to the journal; I can always find the culprit. Last attack was over a chicken-apple sausage; no doubt it was full of sodium nitrate, but also dark poultry meat and of course pork casing. My sensitive system SOOOO did not like it!
I don't take meds every day, just as needed. Thankfully, I haven't had to take a Donnatal for months; my prescription is going to expire -- and I've already had to throw out my first prescription for the stuff that had expired 3 years ago. While the meds are expensive, consider the cost of all the things you've had to give up. I think you'd find it's a wash. I know that if I added up what I paid for all the coffee I drank over a year's time, it would easily pay for all my meds in that same time frame.
Frankly, I think I spend less on food and meds (combined) now than I did before I went on the program. After all, my favorite med (Equalactin) is only about $7. I paid that price for a package of coffee beans -- and the Equalactin lasts me five times longer!
You referred to "food changes." Okay, you're right. There are a lot of food changes. But they're for the best. The diet is MUCH healthier than any other diet out there. I also happen to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. My doctor sent me to a nutritionist who took one look at my IBS diet and said, "this is exactly the diet I was going to put you on for your high cholesterol!" I expect my next visit to the doctor will show that my high cholesterol has dropped drastically.
I'm on this program for life, even when my IBS goes into remission. And, yes, right now, I am IBS-symptom-free.
Bev
--------------------
<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Dear Lyn,
We feel your pain! My husband always looks at me cross-eyed when I talk about never being normal again. It is possible to eat IBS food on a budget, but I must admit, we must be creative cooks. I also clip coupons with the best of them! I'm sorry you're on so much immodium (and other stuff for that matter) - be careful you don't start giving your self an immunity to it and have to take ever more and more for it to have an effect - that can happen. Also, one thng that I've noticed - even if the really special food is expensive for alittle while - shortterm it may be worth it. Here's what I mean - If I get off track and start having all sorts of pain and D and sick for awhile, if I step up to it quickly and cut back to a very basic, very healthy diet with NO triggers and lots of fennel and pepermint and ginger and fun stuff like that, I will only have to do this for about 3 or 4 days to get my body back on track, then you can start mixing back in more normal foods - but still avoiding the things that make you really sick. I am lucky here in DC because we have lots of healthfood stores where I can buy the fennel and ginger and tea stuff rather cheaply, but I've heard others say that ordering it off the site is less expensive as well. Good luck and certainly hope you feel better.
Min
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Seems like you've received good advice from the others. I would like to say that I am a penny pincher and originally thought the prices were high. Then after gleaning from Heather's wisdom, I felt like I had been given this huge gift of awesome advice from Heather and the boards and felt I needed to support it financially so it would continue.
I found out two things - the quantity that you receive (i.e. peppermint tea leaves or acacia) is absolutely worth the price - it's actually a bargain! The second thing is that I don't need to buy imodium or go to the doctor so much because I am soooooo much better than I was before. The savings there alone is more than I've spent here.
While I'm on my soap box... I would like to encourage anyone who has benefitted from all of the free advice, recipes, and general help here to support Heather's efforts by purchasing things here.
Leigh
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
|
|
Hello Lyni,
I'd Love to have a normal life. Gosh that's such a dream. But I know I have this chronic illness, and so I must live with it and work with it. Good days or bad days: I can choose to be happie. I heard Mike Myers recently say "You are in charge of your happily ever after." I know it must be difficult for you right now. I have my hard days too as I am sure everyone here does. Let's not try to think of things as 'normal.' Do what you can for yourself in order to make you happy and healthy. I have started the diet and its helped. I also exercise more, work with my stress, and add something fun to do every week. When things get better with you, I hope you too can attain the normal life you once had again. I am trying to do the same.
I take Immodium when I need it. I haven't bought the products yet bcos I have to save up money for them. So for now, I drink peppermint and chamomile tea. Oatmeal, bananas, and apricot or strawberry toast for breakfast. A chicken sandwich with plain bagel and tomatoe for lunch. Mangoes, white rice, eggplants with baked chicken for dinner. Once you are stabilzed you can branch out your diet more, and treat yourself to soy icecream and such. Please give the diet and exercise and breathing techniques a try. In real life I try to get by day by day. Seriously. I can't focus on the future, but live for today. If I think too much about the future then I will worry if I will have this forever and that discourages me. But if I focus on my exercise and meal plans for the day and what I need to get done for the day: I'm okay. I have noticed that I need to stick on the diet even when I am stable in order to lead a healthy life. I have times when I am stable enough that I can treat myself, but not too much. I hope we are able to help you and keep us udpated, and Best Wishes!:)
*Lilybear
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Posts
