Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hello everyone!
I know it has been a loooong time, but I thought I would pop in and say "Hi" and give a little update and see how all my old "joined together by tummy troubles" friends.
Every once in a while, I do stick my head in and try to read up on how everyone is doing but I admit it's not as often as I would like!

Since I was a regular poster on here, a lot of things have changed for me but I am doing really well at the moment. I have made some changes in my life that I think have gone a long way towards making me a lot happier and less stressed about my tummy so that has been really great. The most valuable change I made was with my job. I was working at a bank head office that was about an hour from my house; The commute from my house in traffic every day was a big cause of stress for me and I was missing quite a bit of time. About 5 months ago, I found a job that is WAY closer to home, much more interesting and better pay. It took a while to find, but it was so worth it. It takes me 5 minutes to get to work each way, so my days at work are so much shorter. I don't worry about not making it to work on time because I have to stop for bathroom breaks and without that stress, I end up not even needing all the bathroom breaks I used to! I am home early, have time to actually have a life outside work and am getting more bold all the time about my social life, which was getting pretty restricted due to anxiety.
The other thing I thought I should mention here was that I started regularly seeing a naturopath doctor. At first, it was a great experience. The Dr I saw had stomach problems when he was younger so he really understood what I was going through; He was attentive and very thorough. He gave me supplements and a diet to follow that really helped (and let me stick to Heather's guidelines, for the most part).
Here's the downside, it's expensive. Really expensive. He wanted to do test after test and even though my insurance covers a $ amount per year, it ran out really fast. I noticed that he started focusing a lot more on my weight (and I am overweight, don't get me wrong) and started wanting to prescribe me all sorts of other things and do more tests to get my weight down. It got to the point where he wouldn't even touch my stomach issues and I felt like he was being very pushy about doing some hormone stuff for my weight. By then, I was out of money and felt like I had a way better handle on my stomach stuff and said I wouldn't be going back for a while. I just wanted to share my experience for anyone else considering going to a naturopath, I definitely think it can be worthwhile but watch where your money goes.

Overall, I feel more content than I have in years. I feel a lot more at peace and I don't think I even realised how constantly I was feeling anxious until I finally started to calm down. Now that I have gotten this far, I am going to focus on my weight a bit more but on my own terms. I signed up for an all-womens 8 week "wellness" program that does fitness, nutrition, yoga, meditation, etc.

Hm, other stuff: I am still with Adrian and we are very happy now. It is true that being happy within yourself makes it so much easier to be happy with your partner. We have been spending quite a bit of time browsing the diamond ring section of jewellery stores, so I might have some other big news pretty soon.

We bought a condo that I ADORE in December and it has worked out really well, feels very grown up.

I miss everyone, and will try to stop in more to give feedback to newbies and check in on my friends.

Michele - You are such a trooper, and I saw your post about your friend's wedding and wanted to tell you that you looked totally gorgeous. I know you have gone through a lot of crap, but it sure didn't show in those photos. I keep you in my thoughts.

Shell - I saw the picture of you in those jeans and DAMN girl, you are looking good! I am so proud of you, and I miss you! Would be great if we could try and get together this summer, let me know what you think!

Yikes, I gotta run. Didn't think I'd ramble on that long, sorry if I missed people but I guess that gives me more reason to come back!

Love, 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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