My weekend was a bit like the curate's egg - good in parts. I had a good time with my daughter and her partner, although my IBS nearly spoilt things - I had two bouts this time, once in the cinema and I had to go running to the loos as the film (Kick Ass) was about to start. The film was OTT violence and bad language - but was so slick and fast moving it didn't put me off. Both my daughter and her partner enjoyed it.
I didn't get to see my grandson - my son, his wife and the baby were all unwell. My son certainly was, but probably not helped by the stress of living with an incredibly demanding wife. However, it strikes me as ironic that her parents have been there since Henry was born, yet I haven't actually touched the child yet, although my relationship to him is exactly the same as her parents. I can only conclude I am being excluded again, which I know upsets my family including my son - but his wife is so controlling, and with her mother's broomstick seemingly permanently parked there, I feel sorry for the two humans who reside there, my son and grandson - their life must be hell at times.
I did have a nice day out with my ex, although she is upset by the recent death of her cat and the aggro from our daughter in law. Despite that we had a good day together and seem better able to cope with each other than for some time.
Finally, before I left today, I bought my daughter a new bike from Halfords, only it had to go back as there was a problem with it. It was only a cheap and cheerful one to replace her previous cheap and cheerful one from the same shop. I did offer to buy her something better and part of me wishes I had now.
The other good news is that my garage door has been sorted at last although I shall have to go in there and tidy things up so I can get access more easily to my bikes.
As I write this, I'm being bullied by Izzy to throw silver paper balls to her which she then knocks all over the room. She doesn't go out very much and likes me to entertain her, a couple or more times an evening.
Thanks to all my well wishers from the previous blog. At least you only missed one episode of Bike.
Comments
IBS suggestions
My ex-partner use to have IBS but living with me had apparently cured her, mostly. The conclusions we had as to what may have helped was the consumption of large amounts of ginger since I had cooked Chinese food quite a bit and I use lots of ginger in it.
Alternatives include the consumption of slivers of fresh ginger daily. Also, in the states there is an over-the-counter medication called Equalactin that works very well with IBS. I suspect the regular consumption of fresh ginger root is the cheapest way to go about it.
Kim
Ginger
I wonder if the Japanese pickled ginger served with sushi would have the same effect. Great stuff, comes in jars and is yummy.
IBS..Irritable Bitch Syndrom? no doubt brought on by that IB of a daughter in law?
IBS
I had IBS when I was married, but mine was really accute and painful constipation. The pain was so awful that I would faint without warning. Usually, the impact of my falling body on the floor would free it.
Oddly, or NOT, the IBS disappeared after I was thrown out. I dramatically changed my diet to include things like Cauliflour, Brocholi, Asparagus, and almost no beef, but chicken and fish instead.
I also had TMJ bad enough that I had broken a few teeth off or ground them down to the gumb line. The divorce cured that too. :)
Gwen
More IBS
I discovered during my teens that, while I liked the taste of tea and drank copious quantities of it, it didn't like me. I had to switch to instant coffee to prevent it causing me severe stomach disturbances.
I can get by these days if I need to drink a cup or two while out of the house, but sustained input is no good.
Fast forward to the nineties, and I got diagnosed with IBS. No obvious reason, but I was getting pain, bloating, irregular habits, the lot. During this time, I'd started drinking tea again, as I'd assumed that my body had got over whatever it was. It hadn't.
I've also discovered, the hard way, that my digestive system can't take raw vegetables. OK, maybe on rare occasions as with the tea, but in practice it means I can't eat any salad stuffs. Cooked veggies are all okay. Like Gwen I get through quantities of broccoli, carrots, beans, etc. In our household we trust what's in the beef much more than what's in the chicken, although these days you can't really get away from either. (I understand that in the US the beef is full of hormones and antibiotics, that figures. Most of our chicken seems to come from Thailand or Brazil. WTF?)
So, IBS may be down to something you're eating. I'd try eliminating one thing at a time for 2-3 months and see if that makes any difference.
<digression>
I can't drink instant coffee any more, either. Since the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia I've discovered that there are compounds in instant coffee that don't exist in ground, that do painful things to my head. Anything with mint in it is no good, either - serious night-time disturbances. (Try finding a toothpaste or mouthwash which doesn't have mint in it.) I'm stuck drinking herbal teas most of the day. Redbush aka Rooibos is quite good, I'd recommend it to those who have caffeine issues, as it has none.
</digression>
Penny
IBS and Wheat
IBS is a bit of a catchall diagnosis. The docs will give you it when they can't find anything more substantial. It's also a bit idiosyncratic. Ten different people can have ten different versions of it.
In my case, I thought for a number of years that I had IBS and lactose intolerance. I consumed tons of lactase enzyme, and eventually gave up all dairy foods, with only minimal improvement. Then, one day, I was over at a friend's house, one who is a gourmet cook, and he was perfecting his version of Tuscan pizza, or something, a version made without cheese. It had been so long since I had a slice of any sort of pizza, that I enjoyed it immensely.
Shortly after I got home, I had my very typical, surprise rush to the bathroom, complete with pain and discomfort. Eureka!
Wheat. I'm allergic to the protein in high-gluten wheat flours. I don't have sprue, the very dangerous and chronic intestinal disease that's caused by gluten. Instead, what I have remarkably resembles lactose intolerance in symptoms, except it's triggered by wheat protein. Unlike sprue, I don't have to avoid oats, barley, or rye. Whatever I've got, it's remarkably specific to wheat.
Anyway, I've stopped eating the stuff, and no more symptoms! Wheat is particularly insidious because it's such a staple of the western diet -- bread, pasta, pizza, noodles, dumplings, etc. As it happens, people often get sensitized to whatever food they eat the most of.
Many cases of IBS can be due to food sensitivities of one sort or another. Going on an "elimination diet", where you start with only a couple of generally safe foods (foods with very low incidences of allergy -- yams and lamb is one version), see if you feel better, and then slowly add back in ingredients until you find the one that bothers you, can "cure" this problem in many cases.