Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Thanks Rachel. Yep, you're right there are lots of things I can eat in Japan and about staying away from Tonkatsu - that makes me really sick. The supermarkets are really IBS friendly! Actually one of the biggest stresses is that lunch is provided at work. As I'm teaching English I am expected to sit down and eat lunch with the doctors at the clinic. It's kind of their English conversation practice time. One of the doctors is the clinic owner who provides the lunch. It's difficult to tell him that I don't want to eat the lunch as he is really proud of the service he is providing for his staff. Lunch is fantastic and if I was "normal" I would be really grateful for it. It is usually really rich and oily and even when I am "well" I am always nervous eating it, wondering whether it's going to stay in and whether I will have to run out of a lesson in the afternoon. When my IBS is bad they understand and I just eat rice but in between I have to eat the regular food. You would think being doctors (eye doctors!) they would understand but IBS is even less well understood over here than at home. They don't really understand that it is a permenant thing which has to be managed - they just see it in terms of a series bouts for which they give me medicine and interrogate me everyday as to what I have eaten and my BM's. I know they are trying to be kind and I don't want to hurt their feelings. Everytime I get really bad I think that I should quit this job just so that I can control my diet but as soon as I get better again I realise that I really don't want to do that as my salary here is 30% higher than any other in the same field, the lessons are informal so I can go to the toilet anytime, my house is a 10 minute walk from work & I love the job and the people.

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