April is IBS Awareness Month. If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you are not alone – IBS is common with prevalence estimated at 10% to 15%. Yet many people remain undiagnosed and unaware that their symptoms indicate a medically recognized disorder.
March is Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month – show your support and raise awareness by sharing your story or the story of a loved one that is battling autoimmune disease.
Send a picture (or several!) and your story to SpoonieStrong@gmail.com and I’ll feature it on the Facebook & Tumblr pages. Let’s make autoimmune disease visible!
I’m currently being seen by the IBD team in Southampton General Hospital. They are a fantastic group of specialists and have looked after me so well. Once you register with an NHS doctor near wherever you’re going to live, they should do a check-up in order to assess your health, and, from there, refer you to someone on the IBD team so you can get the correct care. Hope this is helpful.
[drawing of a green elephant saying “It’s okay if today is not a good day for you. It will be over soon and you’ll have plenty of good days again.” in a green speech bubble.]
You’ve had to listen to someone talk about how they don’t take meds because they’re “all natural” and had to both keep a straight face and not slap someone
Even worse, last night I asked a co-worker how her friend that has colitis is doing, and if she is on meds and feeling better…..she kinda looked up and said “Ummm she’s anti-medication, but I’m not sure what she’s doing, she’s definitely feeling better though she wants to go out and drink!”
Jeez….oh to be young and stupid and then nearly die because you believed that “positive thinking” actually works for actual medical issues
I’ve been told more than once to “think positively” and I’ll feel better. It’s very hard not to slap people when they say stuff like that.
Inflammatory bowel disease should never be misconstrued for someone having an eating disorder. We eat what our bodies can handle and we eat as much as we can. Never be quick to be overcritical of our eating habits because to you they may be unusual, but to us, they are our safe foods. We do not need a lecture on how to eat healthy or what we should be eating instead, but rather we don’t your input unless we ask for it. If one were to read up on inflammatory bowel disease, you would see we have to worry about several trigger foods. These foods oftentimes bring on our symptoms and are difficult for us to digest. There is a difference between telling us what to eat and asking us what we can eat. Learn about the inflammatory bowel disease first before you decide to sit there and dictate what foods we should be eating to work towards living a healthier lifestyle. We cannot eat whatever we want and we, as the patients, are very aware of the kinds of foods that our bodies can no longer tolerate.
This is something I wish I could share with certain people. It’s hard not to come across as defensive or ungrateful when telling someone that you know better than them what your body can handle.
It’s been three weeks since I finished my last course of prednisolone and two and a half weeks since I started showing symptoms again. I’ve been flaring fully for about a week and a half now and it doesn’t look like it’s going away on its own. The problem is, I’m starting to become used to it so my control over my diet is slipping which means I’ve been allowing myself to have things I know I really shouldn’t. It hasn’t made me any worse (yet), but I know it’s not going to help me feel any better. I don’t know if it’s worth me call the helpline again because they might just say what they did last time which was that they can’t do anything else until I get worse.
I feel a bit stuck in IBD limbo at the moment, and unsure of what to do. I suppose the best thing for me is to take control of my diet again and be stricter with myself. Make sure I stick to my safe foods, like soup and tea, and try to rest as much as I can, even if I am working.
Today I’m talking about IBD awareness because National Crohn’s & Colitis awareness week starts today! National Crohn’s & Colitis awareness week was passed by the US Senate in November 2011 making December 1st through the 7th a week to raise IBD awareness and recognize the efforts of those who care for and support patients living with Inflammatory bowel disease.
This is the 5th National Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness week. Whoo-dee-whooooo!
What Can I Eat 