Tag Archives: IBS

Thoughts on Fashionable Illness

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If I don’t write this now, I will never get it done. If I do write it now I won’t get something else done. It’s a dilemma and it may also be a symptom of adult ADHD. However, although it’s fashionable for media personalities to have adult ADHD, it’s less fashionable for us ordinary folk, so I’m not going to worry about it. Though they idea I might be able to take a pill and become organised is attractive.

However, I have to be careful of wanting a bright and shiny (and fashionable) affliction, when I am merely lazy and disorganised (the symptoms are much the same) and am looking for a convenient excuse. It’s easy to jump on a bandwagon.

Soda bread

It used to be the same on the farm – people in baking classes claiming to be suffering from coeliac disease or gluten intolerance. When I read up on it I found that many cases were self-diagnosed and were simply Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I have IBS. It was originally caused, according to my doctor, by life as a salesman – stress, cigarettes and irregular meals. He told me that if I gave up smoking my stress levels may rise so there wasn’t much he could do for me.

So I became an antique dealer. Less stress, regular meals – it went away. It comes back from time to time if I have too much cheese but over the years even this hasn’t been a problem.

Wheatsheaf Loaf

I sympathise with anyone who has coeliac disease or gluten intolerance. I have sympathy for people who have IBS. It can be debilitating. But I have no sympathy with people who claim to have a problem with gluten, and disrupt an entire class with claims of gluten intolerance, when they don’t actually have it. If you have a problem with gluten you shouldn’t be in a room with flour in the air. Hence my reluctance to jump on a fashionable health bandwagon.

 

 

 

Study Number 1 - The Idiot

Tuesday Morning

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Today, as ever, started with the death of a good intention. I meant to get home and start decluttering before writing, but in the end I went to sit in the back room of a shop and drink tea.

It was relaxing, but not productive.

I then went shopping, even though we are supposed to be doing it by internet. We have somehow run out of bread again so I thought I’d get some in and buy a few extra bits we could do with.

I’ve had a problem with my stomach recently, lasting two weeks. It wasn’t quite Irritable Bowel because I didn’t have my normal stomach cramps, and it doesn’t seem to be cancer as I checked my output and it all seemed normal. In fact, it was quite impressive (thanks to my high fibre diet). Julia has told me not everyone wants to know this, so I will leave it. there. I will, however, assure you that I checked seriously and was not just going through the motions.

Those of you from overseas, who are wondering about that slightly out of place last sentence may want to check this dictionary entry as I fear it is only a pun in English, and even then only for people with school boy humour (or me and Derrick, if you really want to narrow it down). Possibly Charlie and Tootlepedal, but they, having been teachers, are probably on a higher plane than that.

It seems not to be the methotrexate either, as, after the first few weeks this does not seem to cause any reaction at all.

I’m trying to cut out the cheese sandwiches at lunchtime, as cheese and milk sometimes trigger the IBS. There is a pan of carrot and parsnip soup on the hob at the moment because, although I am back to normal I need to lose weight and be kind to my stomach. I will have it with a ham sandwich. In my book, there is little I could do to improve on that.  I’m going to follow up with some yoghurt which I also bought today – time to work on my digestion.

So far, so good, though this is borrowed time and we must soon go back to proper working hours. The days I work are now getting longer and Julia is back on public transport most days. I’m not happy about that, and she isn’t happy about the number of people not wearing masks, but there’s nothing you can do. You can’t challenge people because this is viewed as discrimination. You can’t ask for proof. You just have to sit there and out up with their germs.

It’s a shame that the non-mask-wearing idiots who pretend to be disabled can’t all be struck down by Covid. Instead, ironically, they will be the ones likely to survive and infect others.