The TMI of IBS

Now that I have painted a picture of what a flare-up experience is for me; there are a few issues that I wanted to cover before we get too much farther into this journey: 1. IBS IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERY PERSON When I write and describe my experiences, those are unique to me. Person A with IBS may have a completely different set of symptoms than mine. Person B with IBS may have some similar symptoms and then a few off the wall symptoms. Some people with IBS can't tolerate dairy. I can tolerate dairy in moderate amounts. Some peope with IBS can tolerate lettuce. I cannot and do my best to avoid it. This is one of the things that makes this issue so difficult to pinpoint; every experience is unique. It should also be noted that there are different sub-types of IBS. I personally have IBS- D. This means my symptoms present as diarrhea prominent. There is also IBS-C which is constipation. And IBS-A which is alternating (or referred to as IBS-M for mixed). You can find plent...

In my first ranting, I spoke about being in the throws of an active flare-up. I shared a photo of what this looks like while I am at the office in a public setting. However, there is a falseness to that. You saw me, at work, in my work guise. I am wearing make-up. I am dressed in my office wear. I have done my hair for the day. This doesn't negate the massive flare-up that I had, but it doesn't show you the rawness of what that flare-up does. This is the next day. This is after taking my meds that help keep me asleep through the night so that I don't wake up in immense pain. I slept for over twelve  hours. My hope was to rest this beast. Calm it down. Then awake the next day, maybe not at 100% but at enough to get me to the shower and presentable for a full day of work. This was not the case. I will share two  photos of what the next day can look like. One where I am woken up two hours before my alarm with intense pain. I laid there for a moment, I willed the pain to go...

This is the face of IBS. This is today. In a stall at work. A normal day, just like any other. Then it suddenly happens. A slight cramp of the stomach. A feeling of dread. Your mind racing to what you ate prior to this - did it have onion in it? Garlic? Another trigger that you missed? But you were so careful. This is the face of person hiding in her office bathroom. She is in a pain that you can't notice from a snapshot. Her body is seemingly failing her or punishing her for attempting to live a life. This is the Face of IBS. Here is what you don't see on the face. You don't see my hand putting pressure on my abdomen because I have talked myself into believing the pressure helps the pain. It doesn't, but habit has me do this anyway if for nothing else but the placebo effect. You can't see the wave of pure exhaustion that washed over my body. I started out the day with so much energy, ready to tackle the pile of projects that awaited me. However the cra...