Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Starting over is good. Very good. Just think how educational the cheating was for you! If it did nothing else (besides the horrible attack), it taught you what you have to do for yourself.

The food diary is a Godsend! I still keep mine -- it's been 3 years (well, maybe more like 2-1/2), and I'm on Volume 6. You asked how to pinpoint the specific trigger? Easy. You write down each and everything you put in your mouth, the amount you eat, the time of day, and its reaction (these are in columns across the top of the page). If you get no reaction from a particular food, you just leave that column empty. In the "reaction" column, you also enter your poops and what they were like. This is a fun column.

You with me so far?

Most of the entries -- in fact, if you're really being good, practially ALL of the entries -- will be IBS-safe foods. However, you might have something like a frozen turkey burger, lets say, and everything else that day is totally IBS-safe. Then, the next morning you have an attack. You think to yourself, "Self, I been good, damnitall, what brought this on anyway?!" And you look back at the day before, totally forgetting about the frozen turkey burger.

Still with me?

Then you spot the turkey burger. And you think to yourself, "Hey, Self! Could that turkey have been DARK meat, perhaps?" And you go check the package and discover, ooooops......

Bingo, you have the culprit.

Or, lets take my recent attacks. I've been having them every morning. It's been very frustrating to me because I know I've eaten only IBS-safe foods. I know that because I check the food journal. One morning during an attack -- just a few days ago -- I thought to myself, "Self, what's goin' on with me, why am I having this every morning? Is it my breakfast?!" So I checked each day, and discovered the attacks occurred sometimes before breakfast, sometimes after. And then I saw it: My morning SoyFee (soy "coffee") with Benefiber. Okay, it was either the SoyFee or the Benefiber. Then, this morning, I had my SoyFee without the Benefiber -- and I've been great all day, no problems whatsoever, back to my old self.

Bingo. It's my SFS. And I discovered it thanks to my food journal.

I know about that "arrogance," oh yeah. Just when you get stable, you think to yourself, "Hey, Self! I'm okay now. I can have that cheesecake, it won't bother ME! I'm all healed!" So you have that cheesecake, and guess what? No problem! So you have maybe another piece the next day. BINGO! An attack like you've never had before!

Oh yeah, I know that "arrogance," you bet. Thankfully, I also know the excruciating pain in my tummy and the burning in my butt from all the Big D -- and sometimes the nausea. The disappointment that once again I've let down my hubby because I'm not able to go out for a row with him. I say "thankfully" because the memory stops me from ever going near that cheesecake again.

Feel better soon, Christine -- but hold onto those memories. They'll help you too (especially for that next camping trip in August).

Bev

--------------------
<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy

Print Remind Me Notify Moderator