# Hey, I have a suggestion!



## Aeeda (Nov 27, 2001)

It seems that a lot of the psychological problems related to IBS have to do with the fact that the subject is so taboo. We are always anxious and in pain, trying to make plans to go about the day and get things done, but we can't express it. We have to look happy and normal because that's what everyone expects. Otherwise, they'll ask us questions we really aren't supposed to answer. I go to the School of Visual Art in New York and live in the dorm. I have some semi-friend neighbors who I spend time with. Two of them are guys, and I feel uncomfortable telling them about my condition. (I'm a girl.) Sometimes, I just wish I could be straight with people and tell them what's on my mind and not have to act.So, I was wondering... Maybe we should arrange a little get-together for people in the New York area. We don't even have to talk about IBS related problems (although we could.) What's important is that we could just be ourselves. It'll just be an underground IBS culture, where going to the bathroom every 20 minutes and complaining about a stomach ache will be considered normal behavior.-Julia


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## dima (Aug 11, 2000)

not a bad idea... try to organize somethingdmitry


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## Aeeda (Nov 27, 2001)

Are you from around the area?


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## linnie (Jan 7, 2002)

hey,i think this idea sounds great. i haven't shared my problem with anyone my age yet, only my doctors, my parents, etc. it's scary, to think about explaining it all! i go to school in canada but i live in new york state during the summer. so if you wanted to do anything from may on, i'd definitely be up for it.


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## dima (Aug 11, 2000)

I go to Stony Brook out on LI, but live in Queens. Unfortunately school takes up all of my time and it's hard to find time to leave campus. But there's always email!!! So if anything email me.dmitry


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## Aeeda (Nov 27, 2001)

So it looks like we have two people who'd be up for doing something in the summer. I'm with that. Summer is not that far away. We just have to think of a way of doing this. I thought of meeting up at a restaurant (at least for the first time we meet.) After that I may be able to invite people to my house in Brooklyn. I live right near beach. We could hang out on the beach. Linnie, how far from NYC are you? Would you have to find a place to stay for the night if we were to meet up in the city?


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## Tamgirl21 (Sep 2, 2001)

Hey, I'm def up for it too, I'm 21 and I just moved to LI from Queens. I also go to college for graphic design!!!!!! Let me know what you guys decide







Tammy


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## Aeeda (Nov 27, 2001)

I'm gonna start looking for the restaurant where we could meet up for the first time. If anybody is on a special diet for IBS please let me know what your restrictions are via e-mail. (I don't have any restrictions myself. Food doesn't affect my condition.) I'll try to organize something for sometime in the beginning of May.


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## dima (Aug 11, 2000)

hey Julia,I kind of liked your beach idea more. My sis lives right near Manhattan Beach and I visit the area quite often. I don't know if that's the beach you live next to, but how many beaches are there in Brooklyn? Anyway, I think it would be easier for everybody if it were a relaxed, casual setting. Oh and Julia, it's only March. Let's not plan so far into the future because nobody, at least me, can say that they we'll be free. Anyway, I still like your idea. I have told two of my friends about my condition, but I can't discuss it with them. And my parents think it's all in my head. So it would be nice to talk to somebody who knows what it's like. I think you have AIM, my sn is Goldni0Blinging. That's a zero in the middle. So if you want to chat or anybody else for that matter, just IM me. dmitry


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## Aeeda (Nov 27, 2001)

Hi, Dima!O.K. You are right. What we should do is meet up on the beach, and if anybody needs to use the bathroom, they can go upstairs to my house. (It's Brighton Beach.) I'm Russian, btw. I came to America in '92. Yeah, I'd definitely be up for a chat sometime. My IM screen name is in my profile. You know, it's funny, my classmate/dorm neighbor shows all signs of IBS. He has Metamucil and fiber cereal in his room, he goes to the bathroom pretty often, he is always late, he does yoga, and the other day he told he had to leave early from a concert because he was "feeling sick." I'm not sure if he suspects anything about me, though. I'm thoroughly hiding it. I wonder if I'll get up the courage to bring it up. ...I was waiting for the elevator today, and I saw an ad on the dorm buletine board. It said:LACTOSE INTOLERANCE TOLERANCE DESSERT-A-THONhear the plight of an actual SVA student dealing with the day-to-day struggles of this crippling disease and enjoy milk-free frozen treatsI suppose everything is relative. When I started having cronic diarrhea, I actually prayed to God that it would turn out to be this "crippling" disease! Turns out I am FOOD intolerant.


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## linnie (Jan 7, 2002)

hey,i'm a couple hours north of NYC, but i could take the train down and i have someone to stay with in brooklyn, so that'd be cool. it's probably too early to plan something right now (personally i don't have a clue yet of what i'm doing this summer), but getting together is a great idea i think. i'm just curious, can you swim on these beaches or is the water too cold? (or shark infested?







just kidding about that one.) i'm just an upstate kid who has only go to cape cod beaches...


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## dima (Aug 11, 2000)

if you were from NY you wouldn't ask that question, lol. The water on those beaches is so dirty that I don't even want to walk in it. It's full of plastic bags, cans, towels, used contraceptives, and Gd knows what else. I think Julia just meant that we'll hang out on the sand, not swim.dmitry


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## Aeeda (Nov 27, 2001)

We could just hang out if it's too cold, but I actually swim in it. Yeah, it's dirty, but I don't really mind. Just take a shower afterwards.(Don't listen to him. A lot of people swim in that water.)


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## dima (Aug 11, 2000)

exaclty, a lot of people swim in that water. same people who leave their towels, plastic bags, rusty cans and used contraceptives in the water.







dmitry


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## methical (Feb 11, 2000)

i'm down to meet up as well....for the time being, i live in northern nj and commute to school at nyu (pain in the *ass*)..no pun intended....i don't know about my summer too, but as long as i'm in the area, count me in on meeting up.when i first started dealing with D and ibs, i thought i was the only person with such problems and these feelings of course made things much worse (i'm sure many of u could relate); i became pretty open about it, tho, mainly cuz after a while, "embarassment control" started to matter less to me. i took the 'in your face' attitude about it, and altho i lost some friends and lotsa "acquaintance-friends" during this time, maybe because of my lack of sugar coating my ibs problems (i got lotsa 'ewwws'), in an unfortunate way i'm very lucky, because a close friend developed ibs himself a year or so later, and a surprising number of friends/acquaintances have come to me their stomach/ibs problems themselves since then, often seeking advice. with someone else around you with ibs, it may not do anything for the actual symptoms, but it definitely helped me deal with it, and i express myself openly when things are bad, instead of adding the additional stress of keeping things discreet. on the downside, both of us discovered that marijuana calms our ibs down extremely well, and we both became potheads for a year or two (still like that today, tho i left school and we both toned down the smoking).so....what i'm trying to say is that having ppl around you who are comfortable about the ibs and not having to hide the ibs issue when it gets bad, makes things so much easier at times. i couldn't imagine if i had kept ibs away from my friends, what i'd be like today. much lonelier with all of this, i guess.geez.....i gotta learn how to get to the point faster.ok, so i'm definitely interested in meeting up. my aim sn is 'jayzey10', drop a hi to me, i'd be happy to talk with other ibs'ers.-meth


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