# Hey guys! Fellow IBS-er here!



## Broz00 (Apr 22, 2018)

Hello everyone, I'm Brandon and I'm an eighteen year old male with IBS-C predominantly. My IBS began out of the blue after a day of Muay Thai, kickboxing, and Jiu-Jitsu, grappling. Prior to this condition, I would often get a cold every other week due to my anxious nail biting and rolling around in human fluid - (gross, but I couldn't help it!). I've since stopped biting my nails frequently, and this was about at the age of sixteen when I've really started to feel the effects of my IBS. I began thinking it was the constant flush my immune system went through that caused it; ever since the one day after the gym I had 'the big D', my IBS really began to show.

For about two years, I was frequently missing school because I could not sit for long periods of time, and I still can't, but I've improved a lot. My largest complaint is this random odor, almost like a passed wind, randomly. It doesn't happen too often anymore, but it does occur. Some people would ask what the odor was, and I would shrug it off like I didn't smell it because, well, I truthfully didn't. As a few years passed, the wind was still there, but it wasn't as frequent - I was a muffled toot cannon. I've applied the low FODMAP diet, and it has helped tremendously to all symptoms. Occasionally I'll get these horrendous stomach cramps that last for over 24 hours, leaving me curled into a ball sleeping on my bathroom floor. I'm an average male, a little on the skinny side, but I do exercise regularly and I can say it helps a lot, too. If I could, I would surrender the toots for constant dull aching pains.

I was diagnosed with depression and GAD when I was fifteen, even being admitted to a hospital recently in December for redacted information - this isn't a sob story! I have found my issues subside mostly when I avoid the following foods accompanied with the FODMAP diet:

- Little to no fructose

- Refined sugars (still eat it because horrible sweet tooth)

- Soy emulsifiers/emulsifiers in general IE: Soy lecithin, pea lecithin, sunflower lecithin

- Soy in general

- Sucralose

- Tangerines/Nectarines. (I separate this from fructose due to the misconception the fiber will help, while it does, but the fructose can cause some unwelcome problems.)

- Sugar alcohols IE: Xylitol, Mannitol and anything ending in -ol. Sorry lads, breath smells? Don't eat that stick of gum!

- Too many carbohydrates

- No caffeine (Sorry, chocolate lover.)

- Alcohol

- Too much lactose (I generally digest it very well, but it does cause some foul toots)

- Greasy foods, opting to rather bake a pizza from scratch rather than store bought. Yuck.

It's easy to say what I avoid, but many people don't say what they enjoy. IBS has too many sufferers constantly in this anxiety, even myself, of what I could and could not eat. I'm a typical teen, I like candy, I eat ice cream, I drink fruit juices minimally other than cranberry juice which is my weakness and actually healthy! I enjoy cake, I enjoy going out with friends, and I have had enjoyable relationships.

I don't take supplements other than vitamin D and an zinc/magnesium combo, and they've also helped beyond compare. I also find pineapples are a huge bonus fruit due to the fiber and low fructose.

While we all suffer differently, at the end of the day, we all suffer together. Miles apart, intestinal pain variations, we all are no different from anybody else! We did not chose this, and it's important to remember that. I know the feeling of wanting to hide inside all day, but that'll only make the double-edged sword of IBS even worse! I know anxiety and stress triggers IBS, and I know IBS triggers stress and anxiety, but it's important to not let it rule your life into an abysmal, dull ball of social fears. We are social creatures, we thrive off of even a minor form of positive social interaction. I could be writing this from the toilet and you would never know! I know we may all feel secluded and different, but we are nothing more than people who need a little extra care.

Love you guys!

Sincerely,

Brandon.


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