A New Start...

11 May 2007

Posted by Connor_uk

As the title says, i'm thinking of today as a new beginning. I have had IBS on and off for over ten years, i have made many visits to the doctor (rarely seeing the same one) and been given many types of treatment ranging from fibogel and anti spasmodics, to imodium and a colonoscopy, i have a mostly bland diet with plenty of fresh fruit and veg and avoid red meat and most of the common triggers especially the ones known to me personally. I quit smoking, drink very little on occasion (and make sure that i have nothing planned the following day!) anyhow the long and the tall of it is, to start with i ignored the fact i had IBS, then as it got worse i tried the doctor, when that didnt work i tried self managment and now i find THATS not working i'm going to try and combine the two!

My life has become a lot more stressful as of late, what with one thing or another and i havent really done anything about the extra stress allowing it to pile up on me and this has sent my IBS into a tailspin, the last couple of weeks the slightest thing seems to set it off. Today was the last straw i have been up since 3am (its now12:35pm) with a bloated aching stomache and diarrhea so i decided to call in sick and get myself to the doctor.

The Doctor i saw today was Dr. Kendry and i have to say i was very happy with the appointment, she listened to me and was very sympathetic. We agreed that from today she will be the only person to treat me for any IBS related problems. She prescribed me with some Anti Spasmodics to try for one month and made another appointment for when that month is up. I dont feel this appointment really dealt with the stress and anxiety side or the sleeping problems i am having but i do feel it is a positive start and i am more than happy to let the doctor guide my treatment. Also i am going to look into de stressing myself through meditation and other relaxation methods and see if i can get a hold on this myself whilst i follow the doctors advice, also im going to increase the level of exercise to help with the sleep problem and do other things like turning the tv well before i got to sleep and not eating too much, too late. Let's see if we can't get a grip on this thing!