AT ROCK BOTTOM !!!!!!!!!!! need energy and painfree life urgently.............

[lavenderheart]

Sorry to all to prattle on but having a really low low time since xmas........had this damn thing for years and had every treatment and med possible with no results.....gp about given up I think and made me self refer to CBT so we shall see how that works.....things are piling up that normally I would be ontop of....house looks like its been ransacked, full living room full of 6 huge baskets of ironing, housework not done for weeks and weeks and weeks (although lovely friend is coming wed to help me) have 4 children from 9-18 eldest 2 full of exam stress so they are totally useless at the moment, youngest at 9 waiting assesment for ADHD to make matters worse he is sooooooo hard work......ive even sent in 4 months sick notes since xmas not had one penny....cant be self employed and ill it seems !!!! they say I havnt paid NI for contribution based but ive paid it since I was 16 so need to look into this but ofcourse the stress of having to do so makes matters worse......cant get imcome based as hubby now works 24hrs per week and needs to work less...........inbetween am still trying to be self employed and setting up website ..................have got to the stage its all too much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...........felt a little better yesterday so decided to paint a piece of furniture for my website - did this sitting on the lawn and it took forever but managed it now am reeeeaaalllly paying today as simply cant move my arms and legs and have a very fragile tea set to go and package.................really feel like its all simply not worth it and feel like giving in............we have been self employed since 1990 so dont know anything else and I certainly wouldnt get a job with anyone as I couldnt do one.............my IBS is beyond control and really must do something about this - had every med gp can offer but to my mind that isnt a cure just a cover so am going to bite the bullet and pay money I cant afford for the food intolernace tests with yorklab - have had the pretest which shows I do have the antibody which means I do have some food intolernaces but now need the full test to get a list of all the foods I must avoid...........looking forward I am going to do this in the hope it will make me feel better or at least help control the IBS which is makingit impossible for me to go out at the moment and ofcourse we all need to get out and about dont we ................

ggrrrrr feel so ill but trying to move forward with the intolerance tests and the CBT ........... a tidy house wouldnt go amiss....I know it doesnt matter in the bigger picture but when its always mattered you cant just simply switch off..............the mood Im in I could really take to my chair and never move again but I WILL NOT let this (swear word !!!! )............. thing defeat me !!!.....................sorry to prattle on..........well I am off for a nice cuppa and to package a lovely vintage tea set going to new home in Italy (lucky thing !! ) albeit at a very slow pace sitting on the lawn.............apologies for my prattle and moan.............

hugs to all

[ladymoth]

Hi Lavenderheart,

I think most of us will understand exactly how you feel, 'cos we have been there at one time or another.

It seems to me that you have an awful lot of different stress factors going on in your life, so no wonder you are feeling flattened by it all. Of course, it's all a perfect trigger for your IBS as well

I sympathise with your problems in the house. In the great scheme of things it really doesn't matter, but I understand how it can get you down. It's good that your friend is going to help you, but don't overlook family members - even the youngest child can do a bit of tidying, fetching and carrying, so don't feel that you have to do it all on your own. Get the whip out and threaten, cajole and bribe the whole mob to do their share!.

I think that in your particular position, a course of CBT would be absolutely ideal. It will help you to reduce your stress levels, and therefore your pain and exhaustion to manageable degree. It worked wonders for me, as it taught me a lot of life skills which I didn't realise I lacked.

I'm not a great fan of food intolerance testing - it's expensive, and it's in the firm's interest to tell you that you have an antibody, but as far as I'm aware, there are no firm scientific studies proving the efficacy of this system. Most of us are only too well aware of having a food intolerance - if something upsets you, then avoid it!

I solved my IBS problem by accident - I had chronic 'squits' and was afraid to go out of the house. My doctor gave me Tramadol for pain, and hey-ho, it's so dam' constipating that my problem was cured overnight. I now have to make sure that I have enough fibre and fluid to stop things going too far the other way, and I'm comfortable. Of course, this might not suit everyone, but it was great for me.

Anyway, I hope you follow up the CBT - it's a great thing - and I wish you well on your journey towards better health. You sound very positive, so I'm sure you will make it.

Moffy x

[Hidden]

I think moffy has said lots ... Can I just add before you start down the route of food intolerances and testing .... I had seven weeks being housebound with ibs rampaging out of control... So before I went took the drastic step of testing I took all artificial sweetners out of my diet ... Especially look at the drinks you have ... I found by stopping aspartame sorbitol and phenylalanine and drinking fruit juices and organic squash instead and swapping my artificial sweetners in my morning cuppa for a spoon of sugar within a week my ibs was back to its normal self ... Annoying occasionally but manageable again.... I've had ibs for 23 years so why I suddenly developed this intolerance to artificial sweetners is a mystery but it was cheaper than food testing as if that hadnt worked I was going to go down that route....

VG x

[lavenderheart]

ah thank you both for your very kind comments......re the IBS which is reeeeaallly bad,hubby has to do the school runs in the mornings and walking any distance soooo hurts my stomach even to rub it against say the kitchen worktop gives great pain - the gp has sent me for scans and such just to make sure nothing nasty lurking and Ive had the camera up the bottom session....not had the camera down tho !!...I am carrying far too much weight which has crept on during last 10yrs so I have joined slimmers world as I really need to shift a good 5 stone or so in all honesty - I have been on and off slimmers for the past 10yrs but after few weeks my IBS gets very bad so I am thinking wheat or fibre or such is just not agreeing with me, tho even if I am overweight your stomach shouldnt hurt or be sore to touch...hhhhmmmm.....I dont drink anything but decaff black tea, coffee or just plain old water altho I do have sweetners but without any of the things you mention verygrumpy (love the name....thats me to a T !! ) .... years and years ago I put myself on an elimination diet for bad headaches (turned out I had TMJ and had ops for that) but wheat did show up then as an intolerance I went wheat free for years and eat nothing that came out of a packet or a tin and was 8stone 3 for years till I slipped back into bad habits and now sadly am twice the person I was gggrrrr.....have decided for the intolerance testing expesive though it is as a last resort as tried everything else and reeeeaally need my IBS under control so I can function and hopefully move forward with making the other things better..................dont know about anyone else but the HUGE pain I get in my arms is by the far the worst - had accupuncture didnt work - whilst pain relief may work for some and good luck to you if it does no pain relief or antidepressants worked for me infact they made me worse and dont see the point if its not getting rid of the problems but just masking them but anyone whose found a really good med that works good luck to them and do let me know it may be the one and only thing I havnt tried...................yes messy children are a nightmare and time for action in that dept....we are up for sale (to help relieve a rather huge mortgage) so more stress I dread the phone call of viewers as it takes me a week to get tidy............time to draw up some "jobs to do" lists for children or invest in 4 baskets with names on for their mess eh !! ..................I have a huge hamper basket inside the back door meant for shoes but still they insist on leaving them all over the floor !!1 may not seem much to them but a hgue thing for me as bending really hurts my stomach ............aaaahhhhhh yes lady moth I hope the CBT helps somewhat they have sent me huge envelope of info to read and appt with them in few weeks, we touched on this on a pain management course I went on a few years ago so maybe something indepth might help as you say I reeealllly need to reduce the stress levels.....2 teenagers doing GCSE's and A levels and 1 9yr old with possible ADHDdoesnt help my poor daughter of 12 stuck in the middle has named herself "the forgotten child"......aaahhhhhh sod the IBS think a coffee with a dose of caffiene in is called for........... I dont post often maybe I should then I can make some cyber-friends as I do feel so alone - just one friend understands the others see you walking etc so think its all in the head, sadly my family dont live near but only my parents who are elderly understand neither my brother nor sister give a damn again you look ok so they think you are ok...we should wear a badge haha !! ..............well we see how tonights efforts to get children to help turn out.....fingers crossed x x hugs to all x x

[phlebo123]

Hi lavender heart -- a word of caution about the York lab test -- I tried it several years ago -- my IBS was unbearable, the pain was often as severe as "labour pains" and the diarrhoea was dreadful early mornings -- anyway the food intolerance test came back positive for numerous foods ( wheat, eggs, tuna, milk, to name a few!! ) --- I cut them all out of my diet (very hard to do especially when I had to prepare separate meals for myself and rest of the family!!) ......removing all these supposed "problem foods" from my diet did not make the slightest difference to my IBS -- the only good thing by following this strict diet was I lost a lot of weight!!! I have now 're-introduced " all these "problem foods" into my diet and have learnt how to handle my stress levels which has helped to control my IBS better. I now eat healthy food ... lots of fresh fruit and vegetables... and small treats of chocolate, and I also find eating small meals more frequently helps. It sounds tto me like it is probably all the stress in your life that is more likely to be the problem than your diet... so the CBT may be the best approach. Good luck xx

[rainbowdancer]

hi LH I used to have really bad IBS and a friend of mine sudgested that I slice a raw garlic and eat it .......Ooooo noooo I could not do that so he then said well make a sandwich of garlic and honey! Yeeeew OK I will try it ! It did help then I took a Vega test and it was very good . Just look on the net or email me if you want to try it. It is much cheaper and I think it is good.We have one in somerset.

Gentle hugs

RD x x x(((((((((((((((((((((((((((( )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))