Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: "Pills, Powders, And Potions" /If I may explain myself further

To start, I just finished re-reading my original reply to you to be sure. I also read all the replies from Heather and Atomic Rose. What am I, chopped liver? Do you really, honestly think that what I had to say was utter poop? I'm doing my best here to watch my language, because I was already hurt by your assumption that I was answering you with no knowledge and no encouragement. But now, after reading all the replies, I feel totally unappreciated. I'd like the chance to explain myself to you and to anyone else who reads this. Did I tell you the doses were wrong? Did I tell you your regimen was just screwed up? NO I DIDN'T. What I did say was that in my experience, in my opinion, to my understanding that your regimen was confusing to me. No, I didn't say it that way - but the expression was surely there. (Like the sorry to offend you and the other phrases I stuck in there to let you know I wasn't in any way trying to be rude or that you were wrong). In fact, as I mentioned, I'm not stupid, I knew what I was talking about when I asked you clarifying questions - questions that all you had to do was answer for me so I understood you better. Instead you decide what I had to say was worthless. You replied to me as if I had told you that you were wrong and following Heather's advice was wrong - just because I decided to share with you the fact that I've had bad experiences and that I'm afraid to take certain OTC meds and supplements b/c of my body's reaction. Heather and her advice and her books are by far more than I can offer you, and you know your body best, but that doesn't mean I ignore the entire website and go along my merry way answering random ppl's posts with random answers because I feel like it. Heather's never failed in responding promptly to ppl's questions - and yes, she's practically a life-saver since she founded this website and did all this research, I don't blame you for worshipping the ground she walks on. But I'm not an idiot and if I can find it, I will look for the info I need. If I can't find it, it might mean I have to ask the question again. I hate making ppl answer questions twice-over, but it's very difficult for me to read things sometimes, especially when the forums are so jam-packed with info. Now, Adam, if you care to read the rest of my reply, it's below. I have no more patience for taking the time to empathize with you, ask you how you're feeling, how you are doing, ask you to clarify a few things and then have you throw it back in my face. I tried it once and it didn't work. I'm out of energy to try again. :'(

Well, you're obviously new around here, that or you don't remember me, or you don't care to. I've been on this site for 3 yrs and of no fault of my own, I haven't been able to stay as active on the boards as I wanted to. Instead, if I could, I tried checking the IBS recipe exchange board, hping to find something inexpensive and quick and easy to make. I have never had a problem with anyone telling me that I was acting negative or discouraging. If I was, they never told me. I'm very careful to punctuate my statements with plenty of emoting since text is next to impossible to interpret intonation. I have an annoying ability to read into ppl's feelings even if they aren't in the room. Your text in your reply to me expressed a mix of annoyance, a little ego, a tiny bit of sarcasm, and an insincere politeness. Next time you want an answer, don't get defensive if you dislike the answer. I've never met anyone on this forum who talked to me that way. There's no need for hostility. Everyone is going to have a different personality, a different answer, opinion, etc. Sure, a large amount will agree, but there are still some that won't because they're bodies didn't appreciate the regimen.

If you also knew how to read an emote properly you'd have seen that I was offering you my experiences in the form of opinions and advice. So let me rephrase it - in my experience(S) and I've had numerous, certain forms of fiber cupplements hurt me worse than they help. When I first went to a doctor over six yrs ago with symptoms of C, bloating, twisting, clawing, burning, gas, and basically the most uncomfortable feeling every time I thought about putting a piece of food near my mouth, my doc said, "oh, well you probably need to go eat more fiber and take fiber supplements." As I said, I'm not a doctor, but I watch and pay attention to what things to do to me so I knew what I was experiencing was way out of the norm for me. Thinking he was the expert, I followed his advice. It was a very bad idea. Imagine a fire-breathing dragon inside your gut, clawing its way through your stomach and intestines, biting and chewing and breathing fire. The heat from his fire-breathing would make his teeth and claws hot, so now you've got searing claws and teeth tearing through you. All I could do was curl up in the fetal position (which did nothing to help) and cry and if anyone was nearby and offered their hand, I nearly tore their hand off squeezing it so hard because of the pain. ER's wanted me to use antacids. That doubled the pain. I was in cold sweats, shaking like a leaf, I couldn't stand or walk, couldn't sleep, couldn't work, and I couldn't eat a thing. One of my worst bouts was when I nearly passed out walking to work. I'm glad I didn't. I was worried no car would stop to check if I was ok. I tried drinking water so I didn't dehydrate, but a drop of water was all it took for me to run to the bathroom. It took over a year for me to find someone who could help me, it took me at least that much time to find Heather's website. Maybe you're rich or at least well off financially, maybe you can afford to buy all the acacia, cookbooks, "How to Eat for IBS" introduction books, teas, supplements, soy and rice products, fiber supplments, and the like, but I can't.

I would log onto Heather's site and stare longingly at the various IBS kits she had, wishing I could afford them. I've tried many things in many forms as alternatives to what her kits offered. From many, many trials and errors, most of my alternatives have failed me. Oh well, I did what I can, and I can't say I didn't try. This doesn't mean I won't try them again. But when your life is that inconvenienced and you're in that much pain and it ruins your ability to enjoy your life, you'll do almost anything.

Unfortunately, I can't tell my landlord that he'll have to wait for the rent because my tummy really hurts and I need to start buying alternative foods and supplements and cookbooks that can teach me how to prepare food that my gut can candle. Instead, I buy what I can, when I can. I treat the symptoms with Zelnorm, which helps a lot. It's unfortunate that the symptoms have worsened in the past 2 months.

In case you missed my other posts which were basically "Hey how are all of you, I'm back and missed you and glad to see you're all still around, here's an update on me..." but I posted a couple, including a reply to yours.

I have a very open mind and will try a lot of things, I will even try things more than once. But when overdoing the fiber, the fiber supplements, the wheat bread, etc., made me want to die, I knew that wasn't the answer. I couldn't understand how a doctor could have been so wrong. He didn't do anything. He practically interrupted me when I told him what I was feeling. I think I was in his office talking to him for 5mins total.

I found Heather's website and I don't even know how I came to hear about the term IBS but I'm glad I did. I'm disabled, legally blind, on disability, with no health insurance. I take the info Heather has provided and do what I can with it; her website and those who have contributed to it are the best resources I've found yet and I'm very grateful. I can't afford to purchase her IBS kits which I want very badly - so I have to compromise, and wait until I can. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. I still am trying.

So please try to understand that's all I was saying, I just have different ways of saying things and different experiences. I was sharing with you that I do a lot of the same things as you do and I was curious as to how they would work for you. Every person is different, every IBS case is different. If you pay attention to what your body tells you, you probably noticed that anxiety doesn't help your IBS. If your regimen works for you, I'm thrilled for you. I don't care if walking down ten flights of steps on your hands works for you - all I cared about was that you were able to get relief.

I'm an inquisitive person. It looks like this time curiosity not only killed this cat but left it in the middle of the road to get run over a few times.

I have never discouraged any member of this forum since I started here. If I couldn't be here to chat, I tried to log on at least to find a recipe to try that I could afford to buy the ingredients for. I was probably absent more often than I was active, but it wasn't totally my fault. Computers are luxuries ya know.

I'm in a lot of pain and logged on to find out what was going on, and see if I could afford the 30-min Chili Recipe or if I even felt like it. Panic attacks caused from feeling like I'm being scolded for trying to be curious and wishing you luck don't help IBS either. I mean at least I did start off with "If you dont mind me asking, does the effexor help, cuz I used to take it too..."

Perhaps you were the first one who had the guts to tell me I was being a jerk, but I'm pretty sure the rest of the forum would have had no problem letting me know if I was out of line. So I apologize if you misread me wrong. I apologize to Heather and the forum and the moderators. Next time, if I decide to post, I'll make sure to add plenty of emotes. Maybe I just have a bad sense of humor, maybe I should become more hard-hearted and less light-hearted. I don't really know anymore. I just hope Heather and the moderators don't kick me off. *SIGH*

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XOXO from lil' ol' me.

(IBS-C, mood disorders, etc., etc.)

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