IBS Self Help and Support Group Forums - IBSgroup.org: It was a good decision - IBS Self Help and Support Group Forums - IBSgroup.org

My decision to not travel with my husband to India was a good one. Even though it makes me sad to think of all the cultural experiences I have missed in these past two weeks hearing about the crazy cities, the food, the toilets, and the cold in Northern India makes me feel confident in my decision not to travel to this country.

I travel quite extensively despite my IBD and IBS and when this business trip to India first came up a few months ago I tried and tried to figure out how I could make the trip despite the poor water quality in the country and the highly spiced foods that I knew would not agree with my gut. I talked to my doctors - they gave me suggestions - I started self-hypnosis - which I highly recommend 'cause it really has helped (trying Healing with Hypnosis, IBS by Dr. Steven Gurgevich) - I started eating out a little more in Indian restaurants to see what foods my gut could and couldn't handle - and I tried to figure out if I could live and work eating nothing more than rice and yogurt.

About a week before our drop-dead date to buy airline tickets I had an IBD flare (dont' ask me how but I can tell the difference between a flare-up of my IBD and the IBS) and spent a whole night napping on my bathroom floor in between bouts of D that happened every 20-30 minutes. It four days before my gut settled and I was able to eat more than rice, yogurt, and chicken. And it reminded me of just how hard and depleting of energy these flare-ups can be for me - there was no way I could subsist on simply rice and yogurt and hoof it around a country to meetings and interviews. It was a hard decision for many reasons but I had to make it and am now glad that I did.

My husband will be home Saturday after 26 hours of flying - which would have been challenging in-and-of itself.

It's just an example of how we all need to accept that there are limitations even for those of us who generally have our IBD and IBS symptoms under pretty good control.

Cheers,
Elizabeth
Author, Living with IBD & IBS