Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hi, nice to meet a fellow journalist. I write for a community paper in Northwestern Canada. I've only been here a few months and they've asked me to be a "full-time" freelancer.

They'll probably put me on staff eventually but I kind of like it this way because I can make more money.

I write about all kinds of stuff. You know what it's like as a community reporter. This week I did some sports (hockey/figure skating) arts (ballet - the nutcracker), news (funding for homeless shelter/new equipment at hospital), and human interest (our local beauty queen has been winning international contests). There's more I'm sure. Today's deadline and I've got a lot of work to do but my boyfriend is still sleeping so I'm giving him a little more time before I hit the phone!

I think I have IBS-D. I've read that it's usually happens in adults but I've had this problem as long as I can remember. I remember being a very shy child and whenever I did something I wasn't comfortable with (meet new people...) I'd urgently have to poop.

My dad said to me one day that he thought I was making it up because I didn't want to do stuff (with them) and that if I wasn't there must be something seriously wrong with me. Well, I didn't want there to be something seriously wrong with me so I shut up. I make him sound harsh but the circumstances weren't really like that. He just didn't understand.s

So I've been reading about IBS and it fits me exactly. I know I shouldn't self-diagnosis so I'm not going to say that I have it but in my heart I feel I do.

I'm not really sure what foods trigger it. I've been paying more attentiion though and realized that peanuts don't give me cramps but a lot of diarrhea. And Brussel Sprouts are the DEATH of me. They give me cramps, bloating, gas and diarrhea.

All of my life peppermint tea has been my favourite. Now I know why!

I really like all tea though. I find the warmth to be very soothing.

I don't know if I have IBS as badly as some of you do or if I'm just really used to the symptoms.

The worst for me is when I'm going somewhere where I don't think there is a bathroom. Even the thought of that makes me cramp up and have to go. Is that normal?

My boyfriend is very understanding. He has a lot of stomach issues too. He has severe heartburn and probably something else wrong with his stomach. He won't go to the doctor though and there's nothing I can do about that. I've tried. He also has a pinched nerve in his back somewhere that makes his left arm go to sleep. We went to the emergency room because he thought he was having a heart attack. When he found out it was "just a pinched nerve" he never went back. This is how he is. But you didn't ask about him.

You did ask about my babies though. You can see a pic of all my animals at www.geocities.com/laescritorajj/index.html
I have 3 cats, 3 rabbits and 2 dogs. It's a full house to say the least.

Oh yeah, I've also been vegetarian for four years and vegan on again off again during that time. The longest time was over a year that I was vegan. I think that helps to some degree. I'm not just vegetarian for my health although that's a great perk. I really love animals and I know a lot about how slaughter animals are treated. (My boyfriend worked at a slaughter house for 2 weeks!) And I think that being vegetarian is a great option for the environment.

Well, this was a lot longer than I thought.

I have a recipe for chapitas (indian flatbread). It only needs water and flour (there is an oat chapita recipe too with oat flour). It's from a great recipe book called World Vegetarian. Should I post it?

Thanks for being so nice everyone.
Saje

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