Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | For gigi re: the age thing

Hiya gigi,
First I just wanna say thanks 'cause you always seem to have such good replies and I really look forward to reading your posts now. I think you know a lot about people, and you really write everyone very considerate responses.
As for the age thing, I can't be sure (as I've never been older than this!

) but I imagine the lifestyle that surrounds younger people might make it more difficult. Like, the people that I am around are not very understanding about IBS.. I don't mean that someone of them aren't lovely people, who are sympathetic to tummy aches and all the rest, but they just don't understand IBS. I think it must be the same with some older people (I remember reading complaints about people's mothers, etc) but people see the diet as a choice. As a "oh, you can just have a little" sort of thing. With the people I spend a lot of time with, they don't have the same health issues. They can hop in a car, drive for hours and stop for pizza, and then get back in the car and have a wonderful time, whereas that sounds like agony to me. Trapped in car??? Pizza??? Oh God, no!! It does make it hard with my boyfriend, as he loves road trips and I am reluctant to get in the car to even drive to a restaurant 20 minutes away to have dinner with his family. He likes to go out to the pub, I usually don't want to go. It becomes either him going without me, or him staying in with me and losing his night out. Sometimes I go, and I make a real effort but the truth is.. sometimes that's just not fun for me. A) I don't drink B) I hate the smoke C) Until recently, I worked in a pub so spend more than enough time in one. At the end of a long day, I just can't make it appealing in my head!

With my boyfriend, who I live with and basically do everything with, it does become an issue and I don't blame him. I'm only 21, so I know that most people my age (ie other girlfriends he's had) don't have to worry about all the things I do. And as much as he tries to be so understanding (and he's so good most of the time) there are just some things I think he can't wrap his mind around. Which is why we still have arguments about food, and about going out to do certain things. Why he doesn't understand that if I decline an invitation in front of a group of people, to not keep questioning me about it until I finally have to say, "My stomach is feeling unwell, and I'm not sure I won't be really sick in the next hour or so". It's embarassing, and it's awkward and it makes me want to avoid social situations a lot of the time (Another thing I am 'working on').
I think the thing that made it even harder for my boyfriend was going along with me to the doctor's, hearing him say that I can eat whatever I want, and then watch me refuse to do it. At first, I wouldn't go off the diet but he really couldn't understand why. When I did go off, cheat, and not get sick he was ecstatic. Now he _really_ doesn't understand why I got so upset the other day, and why I've gone back on it. Again, I don't blame him.. but that doesn't mean it makes it any easier on me.
I hope it is an age thing in that I hope that means it will get easier to deal with as I get older. Practise makes perfect, right? I just need to find a way to quash that little voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me eventually I will go back to normal and be able to eat whatever I want!
Thanks for all your replies and understanding.
*hugs*
--Steph

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~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.

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