Oh! Your poor thing. Even though IBS seems to want to rule our lives for us, there are a lot of ways to control it. I have IBS-D as well. First, stick with Heather's diet. It is fantastic. And no cheating or it won't work. Here's what helps me to control my IBS: -Adequate sleep -Heather's diet -Lots of water -Regular exercise -Acacia fiber -L-Glutamine -Gut directed Hypnotherapy (YEA! - this worked so well for me. You can buy Michael Mahoney's IBS Audio program through Heather's website.)
Everybody is different and it takes some people a year or two to stabilize themselves where other people see results almost immediately. I think that there are a lot of people out there who feel that they can no longer maintain their lifestyle but I believe it doesn't have to be that way.
I've adopted a few different attitudes concerning myself and IBS. 1) There is nothing wrong with carrying around adult diapers and baby wipes. 2) If I gotta go, I gotta go and there's just nothing to be done about it. 3) If the people around me can't be supportive of what I'm going through then they don't need to be around me.
Don't worry, you don't sound like a whiner at all. This is scary at first. All you know is that something is wrong and that you have no answers for it. Look around on the boards. Do searches for topics you have questions about and feel free to ask if you can't find what you're looking for. For me, and I think for many others, controling IBS is a lifestyle. There isn't a quick fix and it takes constant maintenance. But you can stabilize. I used to have attacks every day. Now I have maybe ten a year, at most. In the last year I've had 3 or 4.
Is it possible for you to take a little time off work to relax and start to stabilze yourself?
Oh, and whereabouts in SoCal did you live? I lived down there in many cities for years and I loved it. Mostly in beach cities but some inland ones as well.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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