Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Welcome to the Boards!

Your girlfriend is SOOOO lucky to have you! Oh, BIG time.

Yes, I have many suggestions for you.

First of all, the sooner your girlfriend accepts her diagnosis, the sooner she'll get better. I speak from experience. You can help her by investing in Heather's books, especially "The First Year." Check out the link to your left.

Who's the cook? You or her? Heather's other book, "Eating for IBS," is a cook book with excellent recipes. Also, check out the Recipe Board here -- there are fabulous IBS-safe recipes that are totally delicious.

If your girlfriend drinks coffee, get her off it. I wouldn't give it up for the longest time, and my IBS just got worse. When Heather got me off the stuff, I got better -- overnight! (Oh, and that includes decaf as well!)

Invest in a heating pad (for the tummy), some tummy teas (check out the link to your left), soluble fiber supplement (Acacia is my fave -- check out the link on the left), and peppermint capsules (excellent as an anti-spasmodic for those inevitable cramps). All of this can be purchased from Heather's website. You can e-mail her: Heather@helpforibs.com

Following the eating program, strictly adhering to the rules, cutting out all triggers, exercising, taking the solule fiber supplements, and drinking all the water, your girlfriend should do MUCH better and feel better too.

The best thing you could do for her, besides all this, is provide SUPPORT. It's really hard for people with IBS to socialize, because we want to be just like everyone else, we want to go places and do the same things everyone else does, including eating Big Macs and Chocolate Shakes (oooh, I'd kill for one of those!), but the truth is we CAN'T. Instead, take her to places where food isn't the main focus.

Oh -- and invest in some Equalactin. You can order it from your pharmacist (although a lot of us have been able to find it at the WalMart pharmacy). It's a chewable soluble fiber supplement that, for some reason, tends to settle the tummy better than the others.

Last, but certainly not least, try to introduce your girlfriend to this website and these boards. Everyone here is VERY helpful -- we've all been where your girlfriend is now. I was in total denial just a year ago, but my IBS got to such an extreme point that I was completely home-bound; I had to deal with it, I had no choice. But when I did, when I stopped being in denial, when I accepted it, I got better. I have these boards, Heather, and the hynotherapy program to thank for it all.

Good luck, Brian, and keep us posted on your progress. You ARE a star!

Bev

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

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