A few years ago I started being plagued with serious stomach aches. I never knew when it would strike but it was always after eating. Years later, after many many tests, I was told without any having had results from any of them, that I had IBS. This plagues thousands of people in the United States, and now I was one of them. Slowly since this discovery, I have figured out what causes outbursts and what to avoid. Of course the things that cause outbursts are thing I love (i.e. cakes, cookies, basically any high fat foods, and coffee).
It's so hard to stay away from the things I love but I've become better at it, making substitutes, so that my stomach isn't always causing me pain. Here are some tips that I am promising myself to improve on:
1. Eat more fiber - Whether it be in pill form or just more fibrous vegetables like spinach and kale, and whole wheat bread.
2. Avoid the "bad" things - I'm trying my hardest to do this but I am not Ms. Willpower by any means.
3. Drink decaf coffee - This is a change that I have made already, even though it makes me sleepy at work. =(
4. Less stress - My work can be extremely stressful sometimes. I need to keep reminding myself that things will never be THAT bad. And will always end up alright.
5. Drink peppermint tea/peppermint extract - Peppermint has been shown to improve stomach reactions to foods and this would be nothing but good.
One of the things that comes with growing up and going to a real doctor, (aka not a pediatrician who also sees 2 year olds), is that you get a ton of blood work done and results are read over the phone in a list form. I was completely overwhelmed by this process. Not ready to write down anything, I tried retaining everything she was telling me, which was fairly impossible. What I did retain was that I was extremely low in iron. This wasn't surprising, as my mom is as well. I promise I will also take iron supplements, as without it, I get very tired very easily.
So here is my first change and first promise.
<3 S
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