Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hey everyone,
I know I've been really out of touch since coming to London on June 21. I thought I'd hop online and give you all a little update. Tummy-wise, it's been interesting. The first couple of days were rocky, but then I got REALLY stable. So stable, in fact, that I completely went off the diet, including any SFS, and just took Hyoscamine as needed. For three weeks, everything was functioning more normally than I can remember in the past 2 years (since IBS started). I thought I was cured. Then, I found out at the very last minute that I had to go to my school's website, upload my resume, and rank in order of preference 35 of about 70 law firms, about which I knew nothing. Well needless to say the IBS came back with a loud rumble. I spent most of that night and all of the next day running back and forth between the computer and the toilet. What is weird is that before, when I would have an attack, I'd get a little warning pain, and then make one trip to the bathroom, have D, and that would be the end of it. This time, I woke up 3 different times during the night with really strong pain and urgency, but it wasn't until my 3rd trip to the bathroom that I actually had any BM. And, it's not like I had C during the day before or anything -- everything was perfectly normal. Thankfully I was at my bf's apartment, not the dorm, so I had a little more privacy. Incidentally all the romance and mystery is offically gone from our relationship, starting when I made him go spit his toothpaste in the kitchen sink so I could have the bathroom RIGHT THIS SECOND! Haha he's been a great sport though. He plays the piano, and was being silly and trying to cheer me up, so he started playing "The IBS Blues" for me ... "My baby has a tummy ache ..." You get the idea. Anyway it really makes me laugh and does distract from the pain. He does a good job with the lower-back massage too, so I guess being sick at his place is not so bad afterall. So, since this started about a week ago, I've been trying to be better about getting back on the diet (which I never cheated on for a whole year) but there is so much tempting food around when I'm not just cooking for myself. We keep going out for Lebanese food, which has plenty of vegetarian options (Falafel, hummous, etc) but like a jealous idiot I keep eating lamb and yogurt in various forms. Yesterday I was paying for it bigtime. Also, a second time last week I was woken in the middle of the night 3 times with the pain and urgency, and didn't have any releif until 8am. That time I was staying in the dorm (shared bathroom) so that was pretty much Hell.
Anyway, other than that I've managed to find reasonably safe foods when my willpower is strong enough to stay away from what I crave. Things with the boy have been very good, wonderful even, although I don't think either of us is any more certain about what we want to do with our relationship. I go back to NYC in a couple of weeks, and we'll back into the long-distance situation. We both know we can deal with that again, but obviously after being spoiled this summer it's going to be hard. I still have 2 years of school left and he still wants to work like a maniac (he's a bond trader for a big bank) for another couple of years before he can think about getting married. The good thing is we actually seem to be on the same page for once, so that is good. We both want to get from A to B, and we want the same B ... the question is just what happens between now and then. I'm sure we'll figure it out.
He's been spoiling me like crazy. Two weeks ago we went to Paris for the weekend and stayed in the most amazing hotel in the city. We even saw Val Kilmer, who was staying there too! It was a bit of a splurge but it was totally worth it. We also spent a weekend in Bath, which was about the direct opposite of Paris but also charming. My birthday is on Wednesday, and we'll go out to dinner and maybe to the "Wednesday Lates" thing at the National Gallery, where they are having an exhibit on Russian Landscapes in Tolstoy's Time or something like that. I am a huge Russian lit fan and I've read War and Peace and Anna Karenina, both twice, so I'd love to go see that exhibit. Then over the weekend, we're going to Salamanca, Spain, where I studied for a semester in college. It is the most amazing city in the world and I can't even think about it without getting super excited. So that trip is basically my birthday present, and I'm really excited about it. We're also kind of thinking about trying to go to Beruit (we are both Lebanese) before I go back to NYC, but I'm not sure that I'll have time or my parents' permission, so we'll see. It's funny that I'll be 23 on Wednesday and I still need my dad's permission to do things, but I am the baby girl, and I don't like doing things that I know will upset him. Anyway we might not even be able to do it logistically so I'm not getting too worked up about it.
Oh yeah -- I'm taking classes, too! Haha you can see how seriously I'm NOT taking them. My grades don't transfer, just my credits if I get a C or above, so I'm not too worried. However, my exams do start next Monday and I will have to study in order not to fail, so I'll be spending more time at the dorm studying and less time at the boy's, at least for the next few days. I know it's crazy to spend the weekend in Spain and then take an exam on Monday, but hey, I'm only young once.
Anyway, that's about it from here. I think about all my Living Room friends all the time, and I try to read the posts when I can. I hope you are all doing well!
Love and hugs,
Panda
oooooooooooooohhhhhhh PS -- I accidentally put the boy's green shirt (which has been washed a lot) in a load of my laundry and I turned my favorite khakis mint green. Is there anything I can do? They have not been through the dyer yet. I feel like if there is a cure, Bevrs will know it. And no, they do not look pretty as green pants.

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Amanda

I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin

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