Learning to Live With IBS, Digestive Issues, & Food Intolerances - Part One...

Welcome back!

As many of you know I have been diagnosed with various food intolerances over the past two years. In addition to those, I have been learning to manage my IBS, as well as, overcome some digestive and gut health issues. It definitely hasn't been easy and it took me a while to get to a state of contentment, but it is possible. 

Throughout this journey, I have learned a lot about myself. It has been long. It has been tough. I have faced many adversaries, but they have given me the strength and courage to continue fighting for my health and wellbeing. I want to share some of the things I've learned a long the way that have kept me going and given me some relief and comfort in hopes that they could help ya'll too!

Determining Trigger Foods: What are trigger foods? Trigger foods are different for everyone. These are the foods that can worsen IBS or cause flare ups. Finding foods that trigger your IBS is key in learning how to manage it. In order to start narrowing down trigger foods, I kept a food diary. I recorded everything I ate. Absolutely everything, even foods I just took a bite or nibble out of. If I started to feel stomach discomfort or sensed an IBS flare up, I was able to narrow it down based on the diary and records I kept. If I noticed continuous flare ups after eating that same particular food on various occasions, it was safe to assume that it was a trigger food of mine. Once I determined a trigger food I would cut it out and/or avoid it to the best of my ability. Keep a list of those trigger foods in your journal. On occasion I would reintroduce some of those trigger foods after I had cut them out for a certain time period. This allowed me to better determine whether they were indeed trigger foods or not. If my body reacted negatively again after all that time, I concluded they were not agreeing with me or my stomach. It's trial and error. There is no simple answer, unfortunately. 

Reducing Stress: This is a really big one. Stress plays such a HUGE role in your body and the way it functions. Personal stress, work stress, school stress, lack of sleep causing your body to feel added stress, etc. There a lot of different types of stress and each one affects your body a little differently. When I was first discovering my stomach issues, I was extremely stressed. I did not cope with anything the right way. I was letting school drive me wild. My friendships and relationships at the time were struggling due to all the added pressure of trying to be social amidst chaos of my health issues. I was sad and lost. Not getting enough sleep. Worrying constantly. A nervous wreck to say the least. My doctors, parents, friends, boyfriend, basically everyone, told me that if I didn't find a way to de-stress and chill the f*** out, my health issues would only worsen. Stubborn ole' Mik was like, yeah lol BS. Stubborn Mik, you were so wrong. What everyone kept trying to tell me was SO true. Stress was worsening and magnifying the heck out of my digestive issues and I wish I would've started listening and changing my ways sooner. So my main point, REDUCE STRESS. Stop stressing over things you cant change. Don't leave things until the last minute. Stop trying to control every single situation. Prepare yourself for the unexpected as much as you can. Reflect, journal, check in with yourself. Cut people or things out of your life that aren't allowing you to grow and feel better. You don't need added stress, so be mindful and don't put yourself in a position where you are likely to become overly stressed. Find ways to cope. Find what triggers your stress. Narrow it down. Figure out how to manage it. Break the barriers that are causing you to feel that way. 

Don't Restrict Yourself: When I first started dealing with my health issues, I began to restrict everything out of fear. I became overly cautious and controlling of the situation. I was scared. I was in over my head. I didn't really know what to do because I felt alone. I restricted myself from eating certain things because I was so scared they would leave me feeling like death or in excruciating pain (keep in mind that's often how food left me feeling), so can you really blame me? I was scared to eat my family's food. I was scared to eat out. I stuck to my "safe foods" because I knew they wouldn't leave me feeling too awful. Restricting myself like this probably made things worse for my stomach. It definitely created more stress, which as I mentioned earlier is a big NO for tummy issues and overall health. I restricted almost everything in my life and in a sense put everything else "on hold" for the struggles I was facing. I didn't get out much. I isolated myself. I don't wanna get into all of this too deeply, (check out my "Overcoming The Toughest Year of My Life" blog post for further details). It was a really tough time and I want you all to understand that restriction solves nothing!! It does not make your problems go away. It only digs a deeper and darker hole.

Appreciate Those That Surround You: The last thing I wanted to do was ask for help. I am stubborn. I hate admitting defeat. I hate the thought of burdening others with my problems. It really just comes down to me being stubborn AF. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Do not shut out the people who care about you. Yes, dealing with these struggles or obstacles is tough as hell. I'm not going to sugarcoat things and say it'll be easy because it won't. Let me tell you one thing though, shutting out the people around you, isolating yourself, and trying to deal with a world of weight on your shoulders all alone is NOT going to solve anything and will not allow you to live a normal life. Sure, some people won't always understand. It may take a while for your family and friends to find ways to help you and positively impact you, but lets get one thing straight. They LOVE YOU and CARE ABOUT YOU more than you will ever know. They may not have all the answers, they may not be able to do much, but they can be there for you and give you support and guidance to the best of their abilities. That is something to appreciate and that is something to hold onto. If nothing else, let them give you hope and strength to keep fighting towards answers and normality. Don't shut the people who love you out because you are scared, lost, and frustrated. 

Water Intake: I've found that drinking about a gallon to a gallon and a half of water each day keeps my digestion moving and regulated. This is a lot of water, yes. I am aware. However, if you have digestive issues your food has a harder time making its way through your digestive track. Drinking a lot of water helps move it along and keep things somewhat "on track." Water intake can also help with constipation and regular bowel movements. With any type of digestive issues or IBS, bathroom regularity can be an issue. Want the brutal honest truth? I am going to give it to you anyways. I have gone anywhere from one day to two weeks without having a solid bowel movement. TWO WEEKS. Yes, you read that correctly. It is hell. Drinking water is the last thing you want to do when you are backed up and bloated, I GET IT. But, it will eventually help things re-regulate and digest. If you are consistent with your water intake, it will often help avoid long periods of irregularity like that. Before I was drinking adequate amounts of water, the periods were much longer. I still have times where I am like WTF, this is awful, but not nearly as long or irregular as they once were. Flush your system. Regulate your digestion. DRINK YOUR WATER. 

I want to conclude this blog post here. I decided (just now actually) that I'm going to turn this into a series. This will be Part One (of IDK how many parts LOL). I have so, so, SO many tips, tricks, and pieces of advice that this blog post will end up LONG AND BORING if I keep writing. Plus, this will get yah hooked and coming back for more hehe :)!! Stay tuned for Part Two friends.

-Mik <3