Silly Season, Silly Me!

You would think that after many years, since being diagnosed with IBS, I had learned a thing or two about my IBS triggers.

I am normally pretty good with understanding my threshold and very rarely, these days, I get bad flares-up. Here and there I may get a bout of diarrhea and more often I get bloated and windy, but hey this is nothing compared to the Christmas party I had at my friend’s recently.

My friend knows that I suffer from IBS, and I follow a modified low FODMAP diet, but she often gets confused with the gluten free diet. So, she’ll buy all these foods, that may be gluten free, but have things like fructans, fructose, inulin etc. in them.

Anyway, I usually know and I just pick and choose what I can eat. I have worked out a system, that seems to be functioning pretty good for me.

If I have been really good (in term of FODMAPs) with my food for the previous couple of days, I may venture a bit more with the ‘forbidden’ food, if not, I only have a couple of things and hope for the best. I’m usually ok, at the most I get a little bloated.

The evening of the party I knew I hadn’t been that strict with FODMAPs the day before or even on the same day, and when I got there, I was completely unprepared, assuming I would find something I could tolerate. I didn’t have any safe snacks with me, and I was absolutely starving.

I was hungry and could not resist the food!

The food tasted delicious, but I knew it had way too many high FODMAP ingredients for me to be able to get away with it, it had garlic and onion for a start, even though my friend told me that she had taken it out from my portion, she did not realize that the fructans on those food leached in the sauce (n.b. you can cook them in oil and remove them safely, but not in water based sauces).

The trifle style dessert had gluten free sponge cake in it, which from the ingredients in it, seemed suitable, but everything else was not. Silly me I should have known better, but I am such a sweet tooth, that I could not resist.

“You better watch out, you better not cry…”

Anyway, my belly started bloating, even before the end of the meal. I could feel what was coming. I was in trouble! I then had a choice to go back and forward from her bathroom, hoping to find it available when I needed and that the other guests did not hear ‘funny’ noises coming from inside or excuse myself and drive back home, which is fortunately only a few minutes’ drive from my house. After visiting her toilets once, I opted for the second options. I told everybody I didn’t have a great sleep the night before and swiftly left. I prayed that I could get all green lights and get home quickly and fortunately my prayers were answered.

A few trips to the toilet later, I made myself a peppermint tea and crawled into bed, cursing myself for having been so unprepared and foolish.

Ho, Ho, Ho I Better Watch Out Next Time!