LORRAINE TV SHOW

[bungi1961]

I was watching her show on Thursday 4/04/24 at the regular time of 9am presented by Christine Lampard as they were due to discuss this topic with Dr Hilary jones and Dr Amir again it was crammed into the last 10 mins of the show as they said it was National IBS awareness month and it was the same old story as all ways keep a diary do the low fodmap and they were really not showing any compassion towards people like us at all just like they were reading from a script and I did get quite annoyed with them as until they have walked a day in our shoes instead of us feeling like we do on this forum I wish that there was a programme or documentary about it as the do for other health issues well I have had my rant and very sorry well all you good people on this forum take care xx

bungi1961

[Droidus]

Hello bungi 1961

I feel your frustration, I too would have been annoyed at best. I think the general thoughts or feelings regarding our issues, are typically the same. Unless of course you have lived with this.

It’s easy for people who have never suffered what we do daily, to come across as unsympathetic and scripted when offering advice. Sadly that’s why for many of us if not all to some varying degree, why we don’t share how this is impacting our lives, our physical well being and ultimately our moods. Unless of course we are in contact with people who know the struggle, for instance on here.

Sadly for most people, unless they have experienced it, they shrug it off. I have had family members tell me that it’s mind over matter, that the bowel is controlled by the brain. One relative ( husband if my twin sister ) who is actually now a nurse, he watched a documentary on it many years ago, where he took the basic explanation of the bowel and ran with it. The bowl has cells that are similar to brain cells, that’s the part he took and ran with the notion that it’s connected or even part of the brain. This was 20+ years ago, he was very cold about it and basically ( skipping round the gooseberry bush if you like ) told me that I’m wallowing in the pain and suffering, permitting it to dominate my life simply because I can’t be bothered too or that I enjoy being debilitated by it, when all I have to do is take control and think it into submission. I tried to explain that he had misinterpreted the documentary and had it all wrong.

Fast forward 18 years and he himself was diagnosed with IBS, his 15 year old daughter, my niece has suffered with it since she was 7 ( it does run in my family ) I could have taken great pleasure in offering up the very same advice and lack of empathy toward him on an ice cold platter, or I could do exactly what I did and be nice about it. He did apologise ( after I jogged his memory ) as I explained, by doing what he did he along with others caused me to suffer in silence, pull away from family and friends gatherings ( especially dinners ) as they always would serve up foods that would cause me days if not a couple of weeks pain and flare up )

To this day I still do not like discussing my issues as people shrug it off as if it’s somehow caused by myself and not a legitimate condition.

I find most peoples opinions ( those who have never suffered even the mildest bout ) quite cold, uncaring, unsympathetic and switched off to it. I have told many friends and family that I would love to give them one day of my suffering. To show them what it is like to live with this. The most annoying aspect, when dealing with people who cannot take a few seconds to imagine what this condition must be like, is, if they contract a tummy bug, they try to get sympathy, they’ll go on about the runs to the toilet, the fear of leaving home incase they get caught short and risk soiling themselves. The bloating and pain that comes with it, the exhaustion from dehydration caused by purge after purge. As if I should coo over them because I understand what they are suffering as it’s a snap shot into my life.

I am a compassionate person, I do feel for them, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling annoyed by it. Once their tummy settles and the virus passes it’s business as usual. They seem to forget so easily and swiftly what it was like and go back to their blinkered way. Or pull the explanation of how their experience was somehow worse than what I have lived with, like it’s some kind of health competition 🤦‍♀️

It is very annoying and frustrating how people can be so indifferent to this condition. You aren’t alone with your feelings, many of us would have felt the same way had we watched it.

I watched an episode on GMB where they were discussing the menopause, one of the men was at best uninterested, he said how men suffer with middle age and tiredness and that they don’t complain or want special treatment for it, that they suck it up and get on with it. Ed balls was annoyed and explained that midlife experiences differ vastly to the menopause, to which Quentin laughed and shrugged the menopause off as nothing more than women making a big deal out of midlife changes. Honestly, I wanted to throw my cup at the tv, I was infuriated. It showed how the majority of people view health issues. Unless they can experience it themselves it’s a myth, an excuse to bask in sympathy. They seem completely and utterly incapable of imagining the struggle, and total void of any empathy or compassion. That is why I have as I have aged, pulled away from society, from people. They irritate me and annoy me to the point it causes flare ups.

I now treat people with the exact care, compassion and respect as they treat me, it took a long time to be like that, but, it has saved me from suffering beyond what is necessary. Those who deserve my care love and respect recieved it in abundance, those who do not, do not take up a second of my precious life. We all deserve to be treated and appreciated the right way, as we all deserve a happy life. It took hospitalisation and almost dying from Covid for me to be this way. Covid was absolutely awful but one of the best things that happened to me, I saw how precious our time here is. I always knew no one gets out alive or that tomorrow is never promised. But that period of my life, not knowing if I’d be here in the morning, it really did change me, I let go of so much trauma, so much baggage. It was like the slate was wiped clean, that has helped my condition immensely. I try not to feel negativity for the things we cannot control, having said that, had I watched the episode you mentioned, I would have without a doubt, been left feeling the exact same way that you have, you definitely are not alone 😇

[xjrs]

The closest thing that has come to real people discussing real issues about their guts is "Know Your S**t: Inside Our Guts" which was on Channel 4 but still available on catch up:

channel4.com/programmes/kno...

[overcomer42]

I’m in my second month of recovery from IBS. Try Peppermint oil capsules (not the sweets) 30 minutes to 1 hour before your meal; 15 minutes it’s quite ok. The Holland & Barrets is highly recommended . I also take 2 glasses of water every morning before breakfast.

[Sparrow58]

I totally agree it was so disappointing they spoke like it was a quick fix thing and not a longterm condition affecting a lot of people.