Living with IBS

IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is very distressing for the sufferer with attack symptoms ranging from chronic diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, bloating, stomach pain and general malaise. For anyone who has ever had to deal with this uncomfortable and often embarrassing condition there often seems as though there is no help for it and that you are left completely on your own.

I have suffered from IBS for almost twenty years and, aside from initial diagnosis and some subsequent medication, have had to deal with it by myself. The first thing I had to do was find my triggers - and they are there. For me, initially, I found that caffeine could trigger and IBS attack - that means coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks, some pain killers, coke and other soft drinks. But it didn't stop there, for I suddenly found I also had an intolerance to white flour, orange juice, Kiwi fruit and even cows milk. For me it seems that I can have been eating a certain type of food for years, but once it has triggered an attack then I am sensitive to it from then on.

So, what did I do? Well, avoided those triggers for a start! But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Stress plays a big part in IBS, as it does in most peoples lives, and relaxation is a very big part of getting on top of IBS. If you can conquer stress then you are around 75% to the way of eliminating those uncomfortable and unwelcome IBS symptoms. IBS is a stressful condition in itself but if you take action now you will be managing it, rather than it manage you!