Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | I feel your pain, Kristin

This is an exert from an email I sent to Jessica, another former anorexic!

"I know what you mean about loving food and just wanting to eat normally without having to think about it. To just sit down to a normal size meal, eat it without discomfort, and then go on with the rest of your day. First we could not eat because of Anorexia, and now we still can't eat because of this stupid "stuffed" feeling and IBS. Life is so ironic. What a bad joke this is. The tables somehow got turned around on us.

I'm right there with you in the "this stinks and isn't
fair" group. It isn't fair. And I hate trying to
exist with all this. Food is everywhere and tied to every
event. And we are ostracized from life because of this. Totally sucks".
I have an extremely difficult time with the bloat issue. I was used to a concave tummy and pants falling off of me. Now don't get me wrong, I would never ever want that again. Totally ugly and unhealthy. But the bloat plays major mind games with me and it is very difficult to put food into my mouth when I see this 6 month pregnant belly looking out at me!

I have skinny arms and legs and a big old belly. I keep trying to tell myself it is bloat and not fat. And I do not restrict in spite of it because I know I need the energy, strenght, and nutrition I can only get from food. But man, head games!

I also am not responding well to the diet. I also have other things going on, such as delayed gastric emptying and a non-functioning gallbladder. I worry that the eating disorder past has done irreversable damage and that this is why H's diet is not working for me.

No one seems to know the long term effects of eating disorders, unfortunately. No doctor has been able to tell me if this is all caused by my past eating disorder or if it is IBS or what. One GI told me I have IBS and a second told me I didn't.

Given all your tests and the results, have your doctors given you any suggestions or ideas on how to deal with your structural and slow transit problems that did show up? Now that they know you have all this, can't they fix them or tell you how to manage them??? It seems like there is something they should be able to do to manage them or repair any structural damage. And I know they have Therapists who do Pelvic Floor exercises usuing biofeedback to help strengthen the muscles. I looked into thi myself, but I never had a defogram to see if it would even help me.

I think you need to continue eating despite the bloat and gas. As you know, NOT eating enough can trigger gas and bloat too. I know it's hard to eat when you feel so gassy and "fat" from bloat. But if you ate, it wouldn't seem to make it any worse, and may, in fact, help???

Keep posting. We have lots to learn from each other. I am C too and have many of your same problems/issues.

Hugs, Kristin!

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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!

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