We all know that having IBS sucks. But, being a woman with IBS sucks even more. Because IBS reacts to hormone fluctuations. In particular, it reacts to my menstrual cycle. UGH! So for a couple of days a month, no amount of meds, fiber, relaxation or begging and pleading can put a dent in my IBS symptoms. I’ll admit, it used to be a lot worse before I had my son. It used to be so bad that I could not function the first day or two of my period. I had manipulated it with my birth control pills to make sure it always started on a Saturday because I couldn’t leave the house. Between menstrual cramps that I had to take prescription medicine for and the diarrhea from hell, I was totally useless one weekend a month.
But for some reason, since I had my son things are better. The menstrual cramps respond to OTC meds (yay Aleve!) although sometimes it wears off faster than the bottle says it should. And for some reason the cramping and diarrhea are no where near as bad. I think part of it is a new type of birth control pill that I have been on since I had my son. In an attempt to decrease some other bad side effects, my OB/GYN put me on a pill that has different levels of hormones through the month, gradually increasing as the month goes on. I think this gradual change is much much easier on my body. I don’t have the emotional upheaval that I used to have and I am way more friendly and less cranky. And best of all, it seems to be much easier on my bowels. YAY! But still, I feel icky a few days of the month and I know there is nothing I can do about it. Kind of a bummer really. But my period starts in the middle of the week and I survive it. At least, this month I survived it. Although Tuesday afternoon at work was a little iffy. I ran to the bathroom 5 times in a hour for what was thankfully false alarms. But ended up having a bit of a rough evening. Oh well. Small steps I guess.
Luckily by today, day three, the added effects of my cycle are wearing off. Thankfully. Now if only this head cold the Kid gave me would go away so I could get some sleep.
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April 12, 2007 at 3:58 pm
david
ditto on the “yay for aleve”. Best otc anti-enflamatory/pain reliever there is. It’s helped me out alot over the past year. My mother suffered with really bad menstral pains for a long time. I kept telling her to try aleve, many dr.s prescribe naproxen for women, wich is the same as in aleve. It’s hard to get her to try anything though. When she finally did she got some relief. Now she takes it religiously for her pains.