What Works For Some
To date, there has been no cure developed for IBS. We know this. So what are we all left to do? We see our doctors and they prescribe medication. Sometimes they help, sometimes they don’t, and in some cases, they seem like a godsend. Same with diets, exercise routines, therapy, meditation, acupuncture, probiotics…I could go on and on. What I have discovered, and I think many of you have too, is that there is no quick and easy way to ease the pain and frustration that we experience through IBS.
My personal experience with IBS
It has taken me three long years (and many of you much longer) to come to terms with this illness and to find that my ability to manage it has become stronger. I am not cured. One pill did not do it. One diet did not do it. It has been a journey of trial and error and more error. Just when I think I’ve got it kicked, it comes back stronger. Yes, it’s about resilience and perseverance, but in my humble opinion, it’s about being flexible and going back to the drawing board.
Our IBS experiences are all different
I think we’ve all discovered that there are some basic building blocks that, at very least, won’t hurt. Exercise (in any form) is good. Water is good. I believe that even though the low FODMAP diet doesn’t work for everyone, that the ideas there are good ones to work with. Let’s see, support is good. We can’t get through this without some kind of support. Whether that comes from a family member, a friend, a therapist or this site, it doesn’t matter, we need not be alone in this.
The crazy thing about IBS is that it seems to react to each person and their particular weaknesses, whether they be physiological, psychological or both. That makes each person's case of IBS unique. So where one gameplan does wonders for one, it may wreak havoc for another. I have always found it interesting the variety of foods people can get away with when reading people's posts. I can have coffee, another person laughs and says they can, too, but will go into the depths of hell afterward. I saw one person say they could eat lots of fried food and not be triggered. I laughed because I knew that fried food makes me the person playing the pain game.
Seeking our personal path
I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that this is a search. A search for something or things that can help us manage the illness and hopefully find us some relief and some peace. If that is something very simple, then great. If it is something that you have to continually go back to the drawing board to reevaluate, then so be it. I wish there was a cure, a pill we could take, or just a list of things to do that would take care of it, but this is not the nature of IBS. Good luck finding your own personal path and I will keep walking mine.
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