# AM foods



## dipsy627 (Jan 30, 2003)

I have suffered from IBS for about 3 years now. I just found this website and am so relieved to know that there are people out there who know how I feel! I'm in college and have found that morning classes worsen my symptoms, so recently I have been struggling with being able to make it to class. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of things I can eat or drink in the morning that will help. If I don't eat anything I feel nauseated, so I can't win.


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## TheDude (Jan 2, 2003)

Hmmm, maybe try eating some crackers or something small and light like that. Rock on and God bless!


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## roma1080 (Jan 30, 2003)

I recently graduated college and suffered from the same dilemma of morning classes. There are a few things that may work for you, that worked for me:1) Don't wake up 10 minutes beforehand and run to class... this will not only stress you out but will also will not leave you sufficient time to use the restroom before going. I used to wake up at least an hour in the morning before each class (even though it may be difficult to wake up!), this helped me a lot.2) Also, don't stress yourself out too much about needing to use the restroom during class. If you need to go... go! I would always try to take notice where the restrooms were for each of my classes-- just for the feeling of security. & by taking it easy on yourself and accepting that you may need to use the restroom and reducing stress will probably bring on less attacks. 3) I personally drink a glass of water before bed. & as far as food in the morning... maybe try something bland like a bagel (with very little butter, if anything on top at all) I just recently read that chamomile tea is excellent to relax you and reduce spasming of your intestines. The hot tea should soothe your stomach as well. I've started drinking it myself and it does chill me out!Hope this helps at all. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about what I have said!


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

This is the problem i have found getting much worse for me this year. I can't seem t make it to morning classes anymore.I still haven't found a solution. It sucks. But try eating something light, like toast or something. Not coffee or orange juice.Hope this helps.Best wishes


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The colon in everyone is most active shortly after your usualy wake up time.So start by waking up with enough time to have some bathroom time.Eating also makes the colon more active. So popping out of bed and slamming down a breakfast can be a double whammy. And this is regardless which food.You might start the morning with some peppermint tea or an antispasmodic (if you have long acting one take one at bedtime...some people find Imodium at bedtime helps blunt the morning response) when you get up.Avoid the get up drink coffee thing as well. Only do the caffiene AFTER the colon has calmed down again because caffiene tends to stimulate a bowel movement as well, so you add that to getting up and eating..... and you have now triple whammied your gut.K.


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## LittleBonJoviGirl (Nov 30, 2002)

Excellent advice, Roma!







I couldn't have said it any better myself. I wake up 3 hours prior to my first class (yes, that's very early but I NEED that time and even more time sometimes) and take an Immodium on an empty stomach 30 minutes before I eat breakfast. When I do eat breakfast, it's usually plain white toast (though I know white toast may be a trigger for some), two plain Eggo waffles, and a cup of tea. Very bland. The timing and the bland foods are key, as is trying to overcome the fear of using the restroom either right before your class (in the classroom's building) or in the middle of class. It's a hard issue to overcome, but once you've made the conscious decision to listen to your body instead of conform to what other people think of you, it will help -- I hope!God bless and take care -- I know how you feel because I'm in college, too, and deal with all of the problems you're facing!


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## WaveyR (Jul 22, 2002)

Personally i find morning classes to be very difficult, I think I only got to two 9.00am lectures in the whole of last semester.If I have an early start I have to prepare for it starting the day before.


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## WaveyR (Jul 22, 2002)

umm, that shouldn't have been posted - I'm not finished yet.







Sometimes - like the night before an exam - I'll take several immodium just so I know my bowels will have stopped by morning. This tactic worked really well, I didn't miss any of my exams last week.







I don't recommend doing this regularly, but exams are the most important things for me to attend and also the hardest on my stomach. I had three exams in five days last week, the stress was too much no matter what I ate. Make sure you don't get dehydrated if you take immodium like this, I always drank a few pints of water as soon as the exam was finished.For early morning classes, I don't eat any large meals the night before. I give myself about 45 minutes extra in the morning in case my IBS flares up. I'll have a drink of peppermint tea, but nothing to eat until all my lectures have finished for the day. At first I would find my stomach rumbling in class, but it must get used to it because I don't get hungry till about 2.00pm now.I'll put a little box of meds in my pocket, and make sure I've got my CD player with me. If I start to feel ill in class, I'll take the appropriate med. If that doesn't work, then I just stand up and walk out. This is where the CD player comes in handy. If its a bad day and you have to spend a while nursing your bowels, its a lot less stressful/boring/depressing if you have some good music with you. I take quite a few CDs with me because I often end up sitting around until I'm sure my stomach is ok before I head for home. Umm sorry 'bout that, I went a bit off-topic for a minute there.Oh well, if you struggle to get to early morning classes do absolutely everything you can to try to attend. You may get there, you may not. But once you do get to early morning classes, the next one becomes a lot easier.Wavey


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## Peony (Aug 27, 2002)

I had the same problems at the beginning of college last semester. This is what I do, and it works like a charm. I happen to be one of those people who can get up ten minutes for class, and have trained my body to go between classes. It doesn't ALWAYS work out, but for the most part it does.I bring a cup or mint or peppermint tea with me to class. Also, I bring LUNA bars to class, and eat them very slowly.


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## reprisal (Sep 18, 2002)

This situation sums up almost all of my anxiety. I too go to college, but I go to a very large university, over 35,000 students. The hardest part of my day is the morning, and getting to classes is not fun. I have to drive 10 minutes to a bus stop area, then wait and get on a bus and take a 20 minute bus ride to campus.....AS you can tell, this isn't fun.I too wake up about 2 hours before I have to leave, so I can take my meds and let my stomach settle down. I usually don't eat much in the morning, if anything at all. One thing I would eat every now and then is a peice of bread, some Toastchee crackers, or a granola bar. In a way, I figured that eating something would keep the stomach acid from building up when I'm stressed. But I still don't eat much at all when I am gonna be out for a while. IBS sucks, but I'm not gonna let it prevent me from getting my degree.


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