DEALING WITH A PAINFUL BELLY: MY HEALTH JOURNEY

**Please note I am not giving professional medical advice. Also, this may be a sensitive topic to some readers. **

I have been on a discussion regarding ‘my health journey‘ for a few months now. This month I would like to share more about my gut issues. You see, I was diagnosed with IBS about 5 years ago and it has not been easy. I have been learning from day to day how to manage it. Let’s take a moment to discuss more about, “Dealing with a Painful Belly.”

I have learned the importance of paying attention to foods that affect me and discussed this on my “Mindful Eating” blog. I noticed that there really is no known cause for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) but it can be so painful and uncomfortable for sure. At this time, it is not believed to lead to other serious medical problems such as colitis or cancer. However, anyone who suffers with this, knows how much it can affect your quality of life if you do not learn to manage it.

For years, I suffered so much with pain on the lower left hand side of my belly and did not know what it could be. I mentioned it to a variety of doctors who made light of it honestly, but I knew something was not right and knew I needed further tests to make sure all was well. It was not until my second colonoscopy that it was diagnosed. Although, I tried prescribed medicine for a few months, I honestly could not tolerate them because of the side affects so I just stopped them altogether. I began on a journey to journal more about my food and what things were causing an increase in stress.

As already mentioned, I continue to work on ‘mindful eating,’ staying aware of the foods I simply cannot tolerate. I have come to accept this will be a constant part of my life to maintain a proper diet and quality of life. I also make sure that I get all the vitamins I may be lacking that I may not be able to consume through foods. This has been difficult but necessary because as I like to say, “Food is not my enemy but a necessity.”

“Food is not my enemy

but a necessity.”

Now regarding managing stress, this can be a little trickier for each of us, if we were to be honest. There are things that impact us in a variety of ways that simply increase our stress. So many can handle something different than the way we do and so the stress may hit us harder than it might someone else. You must be ok with that and learn to do the things that will help you during those more stressful moments. For me, I love to take time alone with God in prayer. I call this, “time with God moments” and/or “a necessary pause and pray moments.” I also absolutely love to take walks outdoors with a loved one while enjoying the sunset and talking about things that I may have on my heart. I think it is good and necessary to be a good listener and it is important to decompress and share the things you may be concerned about with a confidant.

“I also absolutely love to take walks outdoors with a loved one while enjoying the sunset and talking about things that I may have on my heart“

Overall, this journey has taught me the importance of paying attention to my body and what things I can do to manage stress better. It’s amazing how much our bodies are communicating, if we would only listen. Also, stress may not be avoidable all together but it can be managed better when we work on it. I think it is also important to recognize what is worth your time and energy and what things can be altered for good in our lives to have a better outcome.

Thank you so much for staying on this journey with me regarding “My Health.” Next month, I would like to continue to share more with you. I have other gut issues, I would like to discuss. Let me know your thoughts and if you have dealt with these issues too. How have you learned to manage them? We can all learn from one another. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Read more about “My Health Journey” today.