After being diagnosed I spent some time trying to recover from my most recent attack (It was the worst one at that point in time). I couldn't eat properly and was feeling so weak. (I got dehydrated and needed IV saline) The doctor prescribed me Imodium to stop the attacks and Buscopan for stomach aches but he said that these medications were only to relieve symptoms and that there was no course of treatment for IBS. He also gave me Amytriptaline (Antidepressant) to soothe the spasms and fix my sleep.
He said it so casually and normally. I was dumbfounded. He was basically giving me a life sentence, telling me that I had something that will never go away and he was so nonchalant about it. I mean people who are diagnosed with incurable diseases like Cancer probably don't get told the news this way. There was no sympathy, no understanding, nothing. It was as if he was telling me I had the flu and had to just wait it out.
But it wasn't the flu. Here was something that went and came according to what I ate, how I felt, how I slept and sometimes would just surprise me out of the blue without any triggers. I didn't know what to do.
Anyways, I then started doing what the internet told me to do when you have IBS. You start a food diary.
A food diary is where you write down everything you eat throughout the day and simultaneously you start an elimination diet. You try out a type of food every week or so and see how it effects you.
Personally I didn't follow the rules of the elimination diet but through the food diary and online searches I came up with a list of things that I could no longer eat or drink. This differs from one person to another. Some people tolerate certain foods in small quantities and other can't tolerate even a single bite so its a trial and error kind of thing.
My trigger list (Mostly insoluble fiber):
Popcorn and any corn based dish/snack (Like cornflakes)
Leafy vegetables and cucumber (The skin)
Apples (The skins mostly)
Grapes (Sometimes)
Nuts and seeds (Even peanut butter)
Beans
Any spicy food (Even potato chips)
Any fast food (French fries, burger, chicken nuggets)
Any oily food (Like Samboosa "samosas" or spring rolls)
All soft drinks
Caffeine (Strong caffeine like in coffee/Tea as well if I'm having a bad tummy day)
Green tea
Some noodles
Dairy products (Milk in small quantities is ok)
Whole grain bread
Alcohol
So you can imagine how awfully limited my diet is. I've also recently started trying to lose weight as I've gained a few kilos (My weight is still considered "normal" but I've been skinny almost my whole life so these few extra kilos are really getting on my nerves) and eating "healthy" while having IBS is harder and more complicated than normal people's healthy eating so it gets frustrating.
Anyways, that's it for now! Hope I didn't take too long to tell my story.
See you in my next post!
Love xx,
Y.
He said it so casually and normally. I was dumbfounded. He was basically giving me a life sentence, telling me that I had something that will never go away and he was so nonchalant about it. I mean people who are diagnosed with incurable diseases like Cancer probably don't get told the news this way. There was no sympathy, no understanding, nothing. It was as if he was telling me I had the flu and had to just wait it out.
But it wasn't the flu. Here was something that went and came according to what I ate, how I felt, how I slept and sometimes would just surprise me out of the blue without any triggers. I didn't know what to do.
Anyways, I then started doing what the internet told me to do when you have IBS. You start a food diary.
A food diary is where you write down everything you eat throughout the day and simultaneously you start an elimination diet. You try out a type of food every week or so and see how it effects you.
Personally I didn't follow the rules of the elimination diet but through the food diary and online searches I came up with a list of things that I could no longer eat or drink. This differs from one person to another. Some people tolerate certain foods in small quantities and other can't tolerate even a single bite so its a trial and error kind of thing.
My trigger list (Mostly insoluble fiber):
Popcorn and any corn based dish/snack (Like cornflakes)
Leafy vegetables and cucumber (The skin)
Apples (The skins mostly)
Grapes (Sometimes)
Nuts and seeds (Even peanut butter)
Beans
Any spicy food (Even potato chips)
Any fast food (French fries, burger, chicken nuggets)
Any oily food (Like Samboosa "samosas" or spring rolls)
All soft drinks
Caffeine (Strong caffeine like in coffee/Tea as well if I'm having a bad tummy day)
Green tea
Some noodles
Dairy products (Milk in small quantities is ok)
Whole grain bread
Alcohol
So you can imagine how awfully limited my diet is. I've also recently started trying to lose weight as I've gained a few kilos (My weight is still considered "normal" but I've been skinny almost my whole life so these few extra kilos are really getting on my nerves) and eating "healthy" while having IBS is harder and more complicated than normal people's healthy eating so it gets frustrating.
Anyways, that's it for now! Hope I didn't take too long to tell my story.
See you in my next post!
Love xx,
Y.
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