So, this is my first year since having that dreaded camera up me and being told I had IBS — something I had never really heard of before.
After my diagnosis, I decided to read up on IBS as much as I could. I downloaded an app that has really helped me understand what I can and can’t eat. It uses a simple traffic-light system: foods on the green list are generally okay, amber foods are best eaten in moderation, and red foods are ones to avoid. I’ve found it really helpful while learning what works for me.
It can be hard when you live with someone and have only just been diagnosed, because it takes time for them to get their head around it too. When they go food shopping, they don’t always think about food in the same way you suddenly have to.
One of my favourite things is chicken goujons, and my mum will sometimes buy me some because she knows I like them. Then I have to tell her I can’t eat them because they have breadcrumbs on them. I have to explain that even something as simple as breadcrumbs can be a problem for me.
When she goes shopping with me, she is always picking up bread, fish, pasta or other things, and I’m constantly having to say, “I can’t have that.”
I know she doesn’t do it on purpose, and it’s hard for her to remember everything too. But when you’re newly diagnosed, there is so much to get your head around yourself, let alone trying to explain it all to the people around you.
It’s a big change, not just for the person living with IBS but for the people you live with as well. Suddenly, you’re thinking about ingredients, reading labels and checking foods that you never used to give a second thought to.
Over time, it does start to become more normal. You learn which foods work for you, which ones don’t, and which alternatives you actually enjoy. The people around you start learning too.
It’s definitely a learning curve for everyone.
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