Living

Due to a completely unrelated issue, I recently had to endure days of a liquid diet followed by a couple of weeks of soft, bland foods. My diet is still...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disorder. IBS symptoms can vary, but abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits are most common. Bowel habit changes can include constipation, diarrhea...

Lately, I’ve started having fewer IBS flares in the morning. Instead of waking up sick and ready to spend the following 2 hours in the bathroom, I just got up...

In 2013, after years of suffering from abdominal pain and diarrhea, and following extensive tests, my general practitioner diagnosed me with IBS. Since then I have mostly learned to manage...

Until recently, many patients would have felt insulted by their physician at the suggestion of working with a psychologist or therapist to address their irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The experience...

Do you ever feel cheated, deceived, betrayed when your IBS flares up after a perfectly safe meal? I know I do. Whenever this happens, I start questioning basically everything I...

At 19, I decided to be a rebel and moved. I didn’t tell my family or friends. Of course, like most teenagers, I thought I knew everything, and no one...

IBS is a complicated disease, and to understand it, we often need to look beyond the gut and investigate the effects of the gut-brain connection on symptoms. Our brain and...

Activated charcoal is used for so many things. My family swears that it helps to treat food poisoning. The internet tells me that I can use it for whitening my...

I have IBS-M and have recently experienced long bouts of constipation. While I am accustomed to pain, I have developed a new pain that is even more annoying than the...

Poop is gross. But does it have to be such a big secret that we carry? Does it have to be taboo? Literally, everyone does it. So why is it...

I’ve known for a while that I can’t stand having my belly constricted. That’s why I’ve always avoided tight waistbands, pants without stretch, and even sucking in – all of...

My IBS symptoms have always been the worst in the mornings. Suffering from IBS-D does not make working life easy for me, especially when there’s travel involved. For me, I...

I have inadvertently discovered the remedy to all of my IBS problems. It works like a charm. Unfortunately, it is not sustainable. Why? Because this miraculous remedy is starvation. Thanks...

It’s not easy to deal with the struggle of the strain. While flare-ups cause unwanted gastrointestinal distress, they can also wreak havoc on one’s mental health. It’s not uncommon for...

For quite some time now, I have been dealing with iron-deficient anemia. In addition to being diagnosed with IBS, I was also diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and this type of anemia...

“Okay, I gotta go, like, right now - love you, bye!” It was December 2010 and I found myself newly in love with a really great guy. I was in...

Do you ever get that feeling sometime after you’ve finished a meal or a snack? You know… that feeling of “oh sh*t” literally? Your stomach takes a roll and you...

Maybe I’ve never paid attention to my cycle before having a child. Maybe it all changed after birth. All I know is that my IBS is now on a cycle...

While the “S” in “IBS” may not stand for “sleep,” it’s a factor that can significantly influence disease management. But restorative sleep goes beyond reaching a minimum number of hours...