I am a 39 year old male and I have had symptoms if IBS for the past 18 years or so. I went back and forth between constipation and diarrhea and had zero predictability. It was at the center of every decision I made about work, travel, eating, etc. About 8 years ago I started taking Citrucel daily, at the suggestion of a gastroenterologist friend of mine. His words that "a full system works better than an empty one" proved to be very true. After 3 miserable weeks (he warned me), my system got adjusted and it made a HUGE difference. I am by no means cured, and I still constantly factor my condition into decisions, but it has been a major improvement. So, here is my dilemna. I am going to Japan on business in a month. The key with Citrucel is to take the same dose at the same time EVERY day. If you miss a day, you will be miserable for the next week or so until your body readjusts. Japan is 15 hours ahead of where I live (central time zone) and the flight is 14 hours. Does anyone else take Citrucel and have any suggestions on how to handle this trip? I need a plan for adjusting my time to take the Citrucel to accomodate the time zone change, and my own body clock adjustment to those changes. I went a few years ago and had a rough time and I want to avoid a repeat of the last trip if possible. Any suggestions?? This is my first post and I am looking forward to talking with others who are in my same situation. Misery truly loves company.
Trip to Japan - Citrucel - QUESTION
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Yeah it seems like you could just keep taking it at the same time based on whatever country you live in.I think though, that if you're going to be there... and 2pm here is 4am there, and thats usually when you take it... That you'll just have to gradually work into taking it 2pm japan time.I don't see a problem if you don't take it the same exact time if you're going to be up when you would normally be sleeping.
Thanks for the input. I guess taking it at the same time, US time, is the best approach, but I'm sure I'll still have some body clock issues to deal with. (A trip 15 time zones away is not a good idea for an IBS sufferer.) We'll see how it goes!
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Hi Mark. Keep in mind that even "normal" people will get "stomach problems" just from the stress of traveling especially for the first one or two days of their trip. So if that happens, certainly don't panic - it's normal. If it helps any, I've been to Japan (mostly Tokyo) over a dozen times both before I had IBS symptoms and after. And, I did fine. If you are going to Narita Airport (Tokyo) and taking the "Limosine Bus" to your hotel the busss do have a TINY bathroom at the very rear of the cabin. It is so small you may not believe it is there and there is no English sign on the door - but it's there and feel free to use it at any time (the trip to Metro Tokyo hotels from Narita is over an hour). I will guess the other major Japan airports also have the "Limosine Buses" if Narita isn't your destination.Also learn "Eh-to-ray doko desuka?" Eh-to-ray (my phonectic spelling of the japanese word) is derived from the french word for toilet. As you know l's become r's in Japanese. Hopefully, whomever you ask will point to the place rather than respond to you with directions in Japanese!More Japanese toilet fun than you wanted to know: Us IBS'ers are by default, toilet connoisseurs, since we spend so much time on them. At many of the larger/better hotels in Japan, the rooms are equiped with Toto brand electric toilets. These are great! They have jets that pop out from the seat/bowl that spray your bottom with a stream of water to clean you. Often the water is heated and some have heated toilet seats as well. And for the ladies, there is a "bidet" function as well and for all, you can aim exactly where the spray goes with the controls on the toilet. There is another function for blow drying you dry down there. If the high-tech touch is too much for you, don't fret, there is always a paper roll nearby as well.Good luck and have fun.
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