A long rant about IBS...
#91352 - 07/18/04 04:56 PM
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I'm finding this summer pretty hard with a lot of bbq's and get togethers with friends. It seems like there are so many things that I CAN'T eat that I almost feel like it's best to stay home. I don't but I used to love going to restaurants with freinds. Now I have to be so careful on where we go and what I eat. And even then I sometimes mess up and pay for it the next day.
None of my friends (and boyfriend) understand IBS and why I can't eat so many things. I tell them if I eat certain things that my tummy will get wickedly upset and it will ruin my night, or the next day. Then they look at me like I've got a horrible disease. I don't want that reaction either! 
I wish I could turn off my IBS for one night and go have some drinks with friends like I used to. Also, I wish I could eat what everyone else is eating. I wish I could have one day a month to eat pizza, drink coffee, have a few drinks and have a hot fudge sunday. Then I could survive on my skmpy diet for the rest of the month.
I am meeting with a nutritionist who specializes in digestive disorders and I will hopefully get a better handle on what I CAN eat.
I'm just so frustrated as I can't seem to get it under control at all. I read about all the success stories on this site and wonder what I'm doing wrong. 
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Hunny I am so with you. I have those days. I start thinking...should I just work from home? Should I carry a port-a-potty with me everywhere I go?
Hang in there. Keep ranting and let it out. It feels better....until you run to the bathroom again. 
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Em*
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Thanks Emily. 
It's good to know I'm not the only one.
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Hi Sara,
I know how you feel. Darn, I would like to have pizza and a great big hot fudge sundae with lots of whipped cream right now. But, then again, I don't want to be sick tomorrow so I will not eat it. It really doesn't seem fair. It's almost like our stomachs rule our whole life. But, if eating stuff that agrees with me will keep my tummy feeling good then I am willing to give up that other <<<good>>> stuff. There are other things I can enjoy besides food.... like spending time with my family or watching the birds & squirrels in the backyard or walking my dog.
I guess we will just have to re-direct our food cravings to other things we enjoy and sometimes that is easier said than done!!!
Good luck with the nutritionist.
Barbie
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I hear ya!
#91370 - 07/18/04 06:33 PM
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Vicam
Reged: 02/24/04
Posts: 1955
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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I'm with you...it's really annoying. You know I haven't been out to eat since Christmas? Not at all. And it sucks because when family or friends come to town they always want to go to restaurants, and my IBS (or whatever it is) has been so bad lately that there's absolutely no point in me going out...and I have such a small apartment they never want to come here, so I just don't see people...fun 
I really hope that you feel better soon  Have you tried soy or rice substitute ice creams? I may be in the minority here who feels they really aren't as good as the originals, but if you really want something, they're not too bad. I recently found this Organic, non-dairy chocolate syrup that's pretty good, you put that on some soy ice cream and it's "close" to a hot fudge sunday. It's called Ahlaska chocolate syrup. Here's a link: http://www.nspiredfoods.com/ahlaska.html
Good luck with the nutrionist. Let us know how it goes...I really hope it's helpful for you.
Kelly
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Oh, I hear ya. I'm lucky that my boyfriend is really understanding (he has stomach problems, so he's definitely sympathetic), but other than that, I could have written what you just did. I can't eat in restaurants anymore. Hell, I can't even eat at most people's houses. I have ZERO social life, and it's been like that since I moved here, so I've barely made any friends at all.
It is REALLY frustrating, no doubt. I hope the nutritionist can help you!
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Most of my friends know that I have IBS and when we go to their house for dinner they have prepared food that I can eat. When I go out to eat somewhere, I usually order a vegetable plate and for the most part as long as I eat a roll before digging into the rest, I do fine. Grilled chicken is a staple on most menu's so I lean toward it if a restaurant doesn't have a vegetable plate. I have found that eating white bread before other foods is a wonderful idea...it works very well for me.
My experience is that if I am lacksadaisacal (sp?) about this silly IBS with my friends, they don't look at me like a weirdo. People will say..."you aren't eating pizza?" and my standard answer is "I love pizza but it doesn't love me".
Could it be because I am 40 an many folks in their 40's have some issue or another? Not sure....
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You know, I've really come to hate going to restaurants with friends or family. They'll order something that looks delicious and here I am ordering a grilled chicken that tastes like nothing because I asked them to hold the butter! So lately I've been eating chocolate and pizza and whatnot- but that has to stop asap because I"m moving to Belgium to be a nanny. I don't think the kids would enjoy having to stop every few minutes at a bathroom for their nanny!!
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Sara, just because we have "success stories" about feeling better doesn't mean we're not all going through the exact same thing. Personally, I've come to grips with my dietary restrictions for the most part, but of course I'm human and once in a while I get really upset about all the things I can't eat. Yes, IBS is incredibly restricting and frustrating... and summer seems to make our limitations the most obvious. Just hang in there, I can honestly say it got easier to avoid foods I loved as time went by. It's still tough sometimes, but not at all like it was at first. Just hang in there and know you're not alone... and every time you pass something up remember how much better you'll feel as a result!!
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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I understand your 'pain', believe me. I have had stomach problems on and off all my life, but it never actually changed my life until a year ago. We loved to eat out at restaurants and I LOVED big breakfasts when we were on a trip somewhere. But when my world caved in about a year ago with the IBS, my whole life changed. My problems are within the first 2 hrs each morning if I'm going to have them, so I can't plan on early morning activities; my hubby and I postponed our yearly trip that we do each spring for our anniversary, because I was too scared to leave home. My diet has changed drastically. I have lost 10 lbs in the last year. Sweets were my downfall and I just plain loved to eat. Now it's lots of bread, chicken, turkey and bananas and oatmeal.. I still do regular yogurt every day which actually seems to calm my tummy. But I have not been able to stabilize the attacks yet, so I continue to work at it and may have to give up dairy again to see if that helps. At any rate, it definitely does get discouraging when I think of all the things I no longer can eat. But then I try to focus on what I am able to do and what I do have to be thankful to God for and realize that there are so many people in this world worse off than me, and so I ask God for strength with my problems and thank Him that I am still kicking
God Speed and HANG IN THERE!
Janene
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My social life has taken a big drop since things got worse in the fall. I used to go out to dinner a lot with friends and occasionally go to the bar. But not anymore. The tough part is exactly as you said, a lot of the time I'd honestly rather just go home and be anti-social than trying to make the effort going out. In my town especially everything is covered in grease, it's gross actually.
I really am glad that I don't have something more serious like Crohn's, colitus, an ulcer, cancer etc. but sometimes it'd sure be easier to expalin to people why I'm not going out or doing __________ <----- insert activity here. Or why I won't even have 'just one' drink if there's a good chance I'll have to work in the morning.
Feel free to rant as much as you like, we all feel your pain
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me too!!
#91525 - 07/19/04 12:20 PM
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daliatree
Reged: 07/10/04
Posts: 1176
Loc: Manhattan, New York
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Wow. thanks for posting this. this is such an issue with me. I am mostly accepting and also sometimes inspired by the major eating restrictions I have. but occassionally I have a good sob on my husbands shoulder (who is eternally understanding) because I love food so much, i love cooking and baking and I get sad that I am excluded from that social joy. but i am lucky that this is not a life threatening illness, and i feel (most of the time) that i am learning strength of character from this test life is sending me. its a disease that can be controlled and that is lucky. i get sad when people (including my family) say its all in my head and/or that i am anorexic....but as I get older (am 25, had ibs since 15) i am caring less and less....hang in there everyone...at least we have eachother!
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Feel the fear and do it anyway!
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I have read all your responses and it made me feel way better to know that you guys are still struggling and it's not just me. I guess we have to make the best of it and hope for understanding friends and family.
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I know what you mean. There are somedays where I can't stand it anymore, I just can't seem to get it under control. I find it very hard when I am at a party or a BBQ. What CAN I eat? Nothing really, everything at the parties are red meat, chips, dairy, high fat foods. To top things off I am allergic to corn so I have to avoid corn too.Sometimes, I just want to take a break and eat like everyone else and enjoy what I eat. I can handel note snacking on fattening foods but not being able to eat cheese, meat, corn, and dairy... that is really difficult for me to give up.
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Ibs-d and fructose sensitive.
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