To end the year, we are sharing stories of a few members to give you a glimpse into the lives of people using our platform to better their health. The patient voice is at the heart of everything that we do. By showcasing to others how valuable each community is to our members, we aim to further empower others to share their stories too. To start, we are looking to a day in a life of someone living with IBS
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It may seem surprising to others without IBS how much the management of the condition consumes your day to day life. I suffer from IBS-C with visceral hypersensitivity. The hypersensitivity manifests itself as severe lower back pain in the early hours of the morning. Unfortunately, years passed before I found out that this symptom and IBS were related and directly linked with the consumption of specific foods.
In my daily routine, I rise around 7:00am-7:30am and prepare breakfast. Due to my IBS-C I try to eat as much fibre as possible. For breakfast I put 4 heaped tablespoons of organic oat bran and 5 heaped tablespoons of organic wheat bran sticks (like All bran) in a large Pyrex bowel, add two and a half tea cups of water and cook this in the microwave for 5 minutes. In the mean time, I grind 10 organic almonds and 1 tablespoon organic flaxseed in a coffee grinder; I stir this plus 2 tablespoons of organic chia seeds into the porridge mixture and wait 15 minutes for the chia seeds to form a gel. Subsequently, I add 8 prunes, take Alflorex probiotic with water and consume the porridge, followed by a mug of water. I drink water throughout the day, since it is important to stay hydrated, particularly when consuming quantities of fibre and suffering from IBS-C. Happily, I found Alflorex greatly reduced the visceral hypersensitivity and I can tolerate more foods such as wholemeal bread. Interestingly, this suggests that the visceral hypersensitivity may have had a gut bacterial imbalance as a factor which ties in with the fact that my IBS started after a bout of food poisoning.
In the morning I deal with emails, work on a website of my research into IBS and update my symptom diary alongside the foods that I have been eating. In particular, this is important when I introduce foods back into my diet. Specifically, I start with a 1/4 to 1/3 of a normal portion size of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms for longer and then try to increment again. I've read your microbiome can adapt to handling a new food if introduced slowly and your pathogenic bugs are under control with a scientifically tested probiotic. In fact, I introduced all foods mentioned here in this way, since without treatment, many foods triggered pain, even low FODMAP ones.
Every other weekday I go for a 30-minute run. Thereafter, I go through a series of stretching exercises to relax muscles and to help guard against injuries whilst running. When I don’t run, I often go for a walk in nature, which never fails to clear my head and have a calming effect. Furthermore, I find exercise imperative, not only for helping with motility but to reduce stress, giving an optimistic boost of endorphins and improve sleep. If I don’t exercise I find that I can be more stressed, negative and irritable.
Before lunch, I have either an orange, which contains a natural laxative or 2 kiwis, which are high in fibre. Both help with the daily vitamin C quota. For lunch, I have new potatoes with skins on or quinoa or buckwheat pasta or spelt pasta with chicken breast or oily fish such as mackerel or salmon for vitamin D plus a tablespoon of olive oil. I follow a Mediterranean style diet, which is one of the best diets for the health of your microbiome, subsequently helping to reduce inflammation in the body, as there is believed to be an element of inflammation involved with IBS. Importantly, this ensures that I have a balance of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats within the meal to help my blood sugar to stay stable, avoid hunger pangs and snacking between meals. Additionally, I leave 4 or so hours between meals without snacking to allow the migratory motor complex (MMC) to run which sweeps food from the small intestine to the large intestine. This starts when the intestines are free of nutrients. Unfortunately, vegetables are my biggest challenge in terms of the pain, trapped gas or acid reflux they cause. I cycle between carrots with courgette or carrots with green beans which are some of my ‘safe’ vegetables. At this point, I may try to introduce a new vegetable to see how I fare. After lunch, I take 200mg calcium citrate with 2.5mcg vitamin D, and, on days that I don’t eat fish, 150mcg Potassium Iodide for thyroid support, due to the lack of dairy in my diet. Around once or so a week I treat myself to free from Madeira cake.
Historically, I ate out on occasion, but this involved complicated discussion with waiting staff about what vegetables came with my meal or whether anything contains dairy, which worsens my constipation and seeing if they have substitutions. Often, from the expression on their faces, I feel like I am a pain, a fussy eater or they say to leave what I can’t eat such that I end up staring blankly at the plate of fish, a couple of potatoes and carrots which are the only things that they have that I can tolerate. It is also embarrassing going through this ritual in front of my family and friends. For this reason, I have decided to avoid eating out. This is a shame since social life often revolves around food. This restriction also extends to declining dinner party invites and having to go self-catering for holidays rather than staying in a B&B or hotel. It would be nice not having to cook now and again.
In the afternoon, I continue working until 5:30pm-6:00pm, when I will have another high fibre fruit such as 95g raspberries or 2 hard pears or 5 dried apricots. On a practical level, I bulk buy and freeze fruit where necessary to facilitate this variety. Moreover, I aim to work towards consuming 30 different plant based foods a week helping to increase gut bacterial diversity, to fight pathogens, reduce inflammation and guard against IBS symptoms. Afterwards, I fire up the Nerva gut directed hypnotherapy app on my phone and go through visualisation and breathing exercises. It is too soon to tell if this is helping my IBS, but as a minimum it does induce a deeply relaxed state, more so than any other mindfulness type audio that I have listened to and that can only be helpful for IBS. Interestingly, it even boasts that food sensitivities may reduce from the sessions – if that ends up being the case, I would be over the moon!
Around 6:30pm-7:00pm, I have a sandwich made with homemade organic stone ground wholemeal bread with either a ‘hummus’ made from either thoroughly rinsed (to reduce FODMAP content) tinned lentils or chickpeas with ¼ of a bulk roasted/frozen/defrosted aubergine and a tablespoon of olive oil blitzed together with a hand blender or tofu, plus watercress (the only green leafy vegetable that I can tolerate) and grated carrot. By eating earlier, I ensure that my digestive process completes prior to bedtime, helping to guard against acid reflux overnight and allow the MMC to run many times prior to breakfast. Sadly, my diet can be quite bland, especially without being able to use onion and garlic, but I look forward to experimenting with garlic infused oil, herbs and spices. My priority right now is trying to increase the variety of vegetables that I can eat. Importantly, I only introduce one new food at a time so I know that any reactions are coming from that specific food.
In the evenings I may attend an online webinar, for example by groups such as ‘Action for Happiness’ who have uplifting and inspiring speakers or I speak with a friend on the phone or I watch Netflix which helps me to switch off from the day. I am still cautious about in person socialising due to COVID-19 especially when meeting indoors. Since my diet is still limited in flavour, I try to not rely on food as a source of happiness but to find joy in other things such as music.
Prior to bedtime around 11:00pm, I have 30 drops of ginger extract in a little water to aid motility, take another 200mg calcium citrate with 2.5mcg vitamin D capsule and Linaclotide which is for IBS-C with visceral hypersensitivity. I used to watch TV in bed prior to going to sleep, but I find that I sleep better if I read a book instead.
Managing IBS on a daily basis takes a great deal of work. However, without this management my life would be intolerable. Prior to finding the routine I have described, I was highly constipated, my digestive system would back up and I would suffer from overflow diarrhoea. This meant that I couldn’t leave the house, as was the case when I had uncontrolled IBS-D in the past or I would race to find a bathroom when out. Additionally, I would be in extreme pain during the early hours of the morning and not able to get a good night’s sleep. The pain is now greatly reduced or non-existent and my bowel habits are regular. Also, I am forced to eat healthily, for instance fatty deep-fried foods give me acid reflux and to take care of my overall health.
Quick-fire questions:
What does your community mean to you?
IBS Network provides me with a place where I can find support and share information, where I can talk openly about my condition and be myself without judgement or embarrassment.
What do you do to de-stress?
I run, stretch, walk in nature, use a gut directed hypnotherapy app, chat with friends and family, attend webinars related to health and wellbeing, listen to music and watch Netflix.
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Consent was given to share this story.
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Stories on HealthUnlocked have an incredible way of raising awareness around certain conditions and wellbeing needs, as well as inspiring people who might be in the same situation as you. Would you like to share your health journey? Email communications@healthunlocked.com to learn more.
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