Aside from the pain and discomfort that Irritable bowel syndrome causes, living with the symptoms on a day to day basis can be challenging at times. For instance, you may experience guilt because you have to frequently cancel social engagements or you may feel lonely or isolated at home because of bathroom issues. Whatever challenges you face it is important to look for ways to address these issues in a healthy way. Many people with IBS practice yoga meditate and exercise and eat diet free food from trigger foods. Unfortunately, there is no one diet that will work for people with IBS though some guidelines may help. Bu incorporating some of the things into their lives people with IBS are often able to live a happy and productive life in spite of their condition. If there is one thing that certain with IBS is that it is not easy to live up with. Apart from coping with the discomfort you may spend your day often with an unpredictable bowel movement or making accommodations so that you can east without worsening your IBS symptoms. While these and other struggles and be emotionally draining and challenging, there are other strategies that can help you out to adjust and live the best life despite your IBS.
Emotional:
IBS can interfere with your ability to enjoy family meals and get-togethers with friends. It can affect your ability to be a parent or a partner that you would like to be or to fulfill commitments that you have made. This can lead to feelings of guilt and self-blame as well as stress. It is important that you cut yourself from some slack. You are not making a point to miss out but the condition is preventing you to do so. Make accommodations that will help you relieve from this emotional burden. For example, ask others to serve as a backup should your bathroom issues prevent you from handling things the way you normally handle. In many ways, a calmer mind means a calmer body and in your case, a calmer gut in particular With this mind do your best to make up your mind for relaxation and activities that you enjoy as well.
Physical
If you are like people who have IBS trying to figure out what you like to eat is difficult. and quite confusing. Food may not cause symptoms one day but might cause you to run out to the bathroom the other day. In this way changes to your diet is difficult and coping with it is difficult as well. Follow your doctor’s instructions as to what to eat and work in concert with her as you try eliminating foods to see how they affect your IBS. Start and keep up with the food diary so you can look among the foods that you eat and your symptoms.
If constipation is your predominant issue, try to keep your body on a regular schedule of meals to try to keep your intestines moving. You may find that eating a large meal with a hot drink and some healthy fats can serve as a trigger for a bowel movement. You may also want to follow the steps of bowel retraining to encourage your body to return to a state of regularity. If dealing with frequent bowels of diarrhea is your biggest challenge, you will want to focus on the activities that will keep your system calm. This means eating small meals at few hours utilizing stress management techniques and feeling like you are prepared for emergencies. If your bathroom issues flip back and forth between diarrhea and constipation, you will want to use an approach that encompasses all the above tips . in particular you will find it helpful to use bowel retraining and regular meal times as a way to help your body to be on a regular schedule as it can be.
Avoid fatty and other trigger foods and make sure to eat dietary fiber particularly soluble fiber and if you are planning to try low FODMAP diet the elimination of foods that are high in certain carbohydrates for several weeks works with a qualified dietary professional for best results.
Coping with pain: The experience of having recurrent bouts of abdominal pain is a defining symptom of IBS. Working with your doctor on the overall treatment plan is a great start so that you can try to head off some symptoms whenever possible. But when you find yourself dealing with bad cramps and spasm or other types of IBS pain there are some things that you can do :
- Try placing a hot bottle or heating pad over the abdomen over your clothing
- Sip some IBS friendly herbal tea
- Take peppermint oil supplement Peppermint oil has an antispasmodic effect in treating the spasms that lead to IBS pain
- Use relaxation exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation deep breathing to help soothe the nervous system and reduce pain experience.
These are the ways to cope up with Irritable bowel syndrome.
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