My Experience with IBS

I wanted to share my experience with irritable bowel syndrome (ISB) because I just recently discovered digestive problems have become all too common in this day and age. Hopefully the things that helped me out can help someone else out who may be going through a similar problem.

A few months ago I started feeling unwell and began my journey of going through grueling doctors appointments (with specialists) to figure out what was wrong. I will spare you the graphic details, but long story short: I was getting constipated on a daily basis and it was quite painful to say the least. I thought I was doing everything right: eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, eating food high in fibre, working out. All the things you are supposed to do to stay healthy. But nothing seemed to be helping. Some nights I would have to take milk of magnesia right before bed. It would clear up by morning but then the entire cycle would start all over again.

There were days I just wanted to stay home because I was in so much discomfort. My husband dragged me out a couple of times, suggesting that getting some fresh air and seeing other people might help me feel better. We had a family potluck coming up which I was conflicted about. I wanted to go because I wanted to see everyone. However, I knew there would be lots of food there that I couldn't eat. The potluck took place a day before my Birthday. I was going to be turning 30 and although I wanted to celebrate it at first, I lost my mood for it afterwards. I know I am still young, but it was just a reminder to myself that as I was getting older, my body was slowly deteriorating.

The day of the family get together arrived. When it was time to eat, people filled up their plates with all the delicious food at the table. I barely filled my plate and ate very little. The little that I did eat, I had a feeling it would still make me constipated the next day, but I couldn't starve myself. People made comments like, "It's your Birthday, that's all you're eating?!" Or people would be telling me to try some of their dish. I tried explaining why I wasn't taking more food, but they would say not to worry because the food would easily digest. In my head I was thinking: sure in a normal body it would digest, but not in my body. They were not trying to be rude or offensive, they just didn't fully understand the problem/illness. I barely understood it myself, so I couldn't blame them.

Despite people trying to force feed me stuff I couldn't eat at the party, in the end I was glad I went. For my potluck dish, I brought a red velvet cake (which I baked and decorated). Since everyone knew it was my Birthday the next day (because I very shamelessly announced it to everyone), when it was time for dessert, they called out for me to cut my cake. I cut the cake while everyone sang me Happy Birthday. It was a small gesture on their part, but it meant a lot to me and was very special. I had fun and it temporarily distracted me from my pain.

I had a follow up appointment with my doctor the following week and she told me what I have is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS.) It's basically irregularity in the bowels and goes from constipation to diarrhea. For me, it was mostly constipation. She gave me some tips on how to handle the illness and I went the next couple of weeks taking her advice. She suggested to take Metamucil if necessary but also to make sure to drink lots of water through out the day along with it. Another thing she said was to keep a food diary and see if there are patterns of what foods were triggering me to get constipated.

The more I spoke to people about it, the more I realized how common digestive problems have become. I also realized that everyone's bodies are different. There may be some foods that trigger me, but another person with IBS is totally okay with. I made small changes to my diet such as the following:

• Dairy was one thing that was triggering me so I switched to almond milk. It comes in a variety of flavours such as vanilla, chocolate and coconut (sweetened or unsweetened.)
• I did not eat any meat for a couple of weeks, and only stuck to fruits and vegetables.
• Rice, white flour, white breads and pastas were another trigger. Instead of rice, I now have other grains like couscous, and quinoa. (I bought brown rice and brown pasta but haven't tried them yet.)
• My husband and I visited our local farmer's market and bought all organic fruits and vegetables. Some of the fruits/veggies can be a bit more expensive, but not by much.
• Making sure I drink at least 6-8 glass of water every day.
• I drink a glass of Metamucil every morning and every night.

The minor changes I made to my diet seem to be helping (so far). When I began telling some of my family and friends about the diet changes I made, they started feeling bad for me making comments like "Oh my god, how long will you live like that for (with no meat?") IBS is a chronic problem. Some people's bodies settle after a year or two, and they are able to slowly add stuff back in to their diet. I don't pity myself for what I went through. God made me this way and I'm going to stop complaining about it. Sure, there are times when I feel sad I can't eat some of my favourite foods anymore (well I could if I wanted to, but I know I will regret it immediately afterwards). However, there are still also lots of things that I can eat.

In the meantime, I have discovered what to do to control my issue and keep my body healthy. Besides, people have a false notion that vegetarians miss out on all the good food in life. The truth of the matter is, there are plenty of non-meat dishes out there that are very delicious. My experience expanded my horizon to so many new recipes and dishes that I normally wouldn't have tried if I hadn't gotten ill in the first place. It is what it is and I will have to deal with it. I'm not ashamed of it and I don't feel sorry for myself (anymore) so I don't want others to feel sorry for me either.

Diary of 2 Cats: Medical Edition.

My husband and I had been planning a long weekend fam jam for the last few months and on May long weekend, the day had finally arrived. We were going to have people over Friday evening and a few families were planning on staying until Monday afternoon. All our plans were running relatively smoothly. Once Friday morning came around, we were getting Pepper and Tiger ready to go to a pet boarding service for the weekend (since they don't do well around crowds and/or around strangers.)

As I was trying to catch the cats, Pepper suddenly squatted in my dirty laundry basket and let out a little bit of pee. Since he's done that before, we knew what was happening: his urinary infection was coming back. However, the first time around was far worse. He was squirting bloody pee all over our (condo at the time.) So in retrospect, this time around wasn't so bad. At least we knew what was going on with him and knew what actions to take to help him feel better. We booked an emergency vet appointment with a nearby vet where they kept him overnight to collect a urine sample for testing.

After we dropped Pepper off at the vet, we still had lots of party preparations to do. Plus, we had to go back home to pick up Tiger and drop him off to the pet sitters'. Mind you, we live in a small town where our vet and pet sitters are on opposite sides of town, both about 30 minutes away from where we live.

Through out all the party craziness, Pepper was still at the vet and I kept calling to see if he had urinated yet (he didn't until the next afternoon.) When he DID finally urinate, my husband had to leave the party in a hurry to pick him up from the vet, and drop him off to the pet sitters'. As previously mentioned, the vet and pet sitters are on the opposite side of town.

Male cats have a higher chance of getting urinary infections then female cats. Furthermore, once they've had it once, there's a chance of the infection coming back, which is exactly what happened. Pepper was put on medication for a few days and is now on a prescription diet, which we have to buy directly from the vet. (FYI, If anyone's pets are acting oddly, I strongly encourage you to take them to a nearby vet immediately to treat the issue.)

The vet clinic we went to is open 24 hours which I found very comforting. Furthermore, the pet boarding service is a husband and wife who work from home and they board both cats and dogs. The dog kennels are in a completely separate building behind their house, and the cats stay in their house with them where they feed, play and watch over them. Despite all the unfortunate events that took place with our kitty, we had a wonderful experience with both our (new) vet and the pet boarding service.

Tips and Tricks on going Sugar-Free

Hubby and I are still limiting our sugar intake but we do cheat from time to time. Our rule is: we get to eat one sugary treat once a week. Sometimes we do end up eating sugar more than that. Usually twice a week at most. By going sugar-free we are not only cutting junk food out of our diets, but sugar all together. Meaning: we are not taking sugar in our tea, coffee, oatmeal, baked goods, etc. We watched a documentary, in which they did a study on lab rats of the addictiveness of sugar and cocaine. The rats got addicted to sugar faster than they did the cocaine! That right there is a red flag on the danger of sugar.

Going sugar-free doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds. The key is to substitute white granulated sugar with a healthier alternative. We started using honey in our tea, coffee, baking, etc. instead of sugar. However, hubby has a client who's a registered nutritionist. He told us that once you put honey in a hot substance, the heat takes the benefits of the honey out of it. He suggested to use agave nectar as a sweetener and to eat honey straight. Agave nectar is sweeter than sugar, and doesn't have a strong distinct flavour like honey. So now we've started sweetening our food/drinks with agave nectar and we really like it. You should be able to find it in any health or bulk store. It makes our morning coffee tasty and we feel good about ourselves for eating healthier.

My husband went cold turkey on cutting out his sugar, and he said it was really hard (as you could probably imagine.) For me personally, I slowly decreased it week by week. We both have sweet tooths, so it was definitely a big adjustment. However, the neat thing is that once you cut it out of your system completely, you don't even crave it anymore. It takes a lot of self-control and when you are hanging out with family and friends and they are all having some sweets, it can get very tempting. The key is to keep yourself disciplined and remind yourself why you cut it out in the first place.

First Sugar-Free Week was Bittersweet

In our attempt to start eating healthier, my husband and I have decided to reduce bad sugars from our diets. We've substituted our sugar intake with honey. So instead of putting 1 teaspoon of sugar in our tea/coffee, we put half/one teaspoon of honey. It's not easy because we both have really bad sweet tooths. However, we are doing our best to keep at it. I admit, our first week was not completely "sugar-free" but we certainly did reduce our junk food consumption. Instead of having dessert after our meal(s), we have fruits. Also, I baked my first sugar-free treat this week. I made carrot muffins and substituted it with 1/4 cup of honey, as opposed to the 1/2 cup of sugar that the recipe requires. The baking rule is: if you replace sugar with honey, use half the amount of honey. Honey has such a distinct flavour that it can overpower the other flavours in the dessert.

We've agreed upon still allowing ourselves to eat dessert once a week, so I've given myself the weekends as my "cheat day" or "dessert day." On the contrary, we need to remind ourselves that instead of having 2 large slices of cake, we can only to have 1 small slice. It does take a lot of self control and sometimes it can be really tempting to reach for the bowl of ice cream, instead of a piece of fruit.

Our largest junk food purchase is when we do a Bulk Barn haul, which usually includes chocolate almonds, chocolate raisins and banana chips. Those usually finish within the week. Also, when ice cream is on sale, we tend to stock up with 2-3 containers of them. Now we have a whole lot of ice cream in our freezer that will take a lot longer to finish than originally planned!

Carrot muffins baked with honey.

Healthier Lifestyle Choices

We moved to our new house in early June, July was busy with our fasting month, and August/September we hosted a few parties with my and my husband's families. We had my immediate family over for Eid, my husband's entire extended family over for a housewarming (which was almost 50 people) and a small group of hubby's cousins over for the long weekend before school started again. Now that we are semi-settled into the new place, I am trying to get back into my daily workout routine.

Last year, I was extremely vigilant with my diet and workout. I logged everything on my fitness pal app, followed a strict 1200 calorie diet, drank 2 litres of water regularly, and worked out on a daily basis. I managed to lose 20 pounds in about 5-6 months, which was a huge accomplishment for me. It was half the weight I wanted to lose, so that was such a great milestone to know I reached such a big stepping stone. However, I then went through some extremely painful and uncomfortable medical treatment, causing me to gain all that weight back again, due to lack of exercise and being on pain killers. Gaining all my weight back took away my motivation to get back on the horse and start working out again. However, I am slowly getting back into the game.

I started using my fitness pal app again, and am watching every single thing I am eating. I am trying my best to workout regularly, but in all honesty, it can be really difficult. It just feels like a chore, and I really don't enjoy it. I took swimming lessons last year which was fun and was such a great workout. I live in a very scenic little neighbourhood, so I am changing it up by trying to go for walks and jogs on a daily basis and enjoying the scenery simultaneously. I am really pushing myself and remind myself that it took a few months to gain all that weight back, so it will take a few months to lose it all again.

My husband and I started this "no sugar" thing earlier this week. It's very difficult, considering I have a really bad sweet tooth! I am taking baby steps the best way I can. With my hubby cutting his sugar intake with me, that will make it much easier for me to eat healthy, and stay motivated. I also feel like the "no sugar" rule will help me lose weight a lot quicker than I did the first time! I will still have a treat from time to time, but I will control myself around desserts. I do hate to use the word "diet" because that just puts me off. So instead of saying "I am on a no sugar diet", I will say "I am making healthier life choices." Wish me luck! Here's to eating healthy, working your butt off (literally) and a better lifestyle change!

What I Do and Don't Miss about City Living

When we first decided to move to the countryside, of course I was excited but a part of me was also nervous. I felt like there were certain things I would miss from the city that wouldn't be readily available in a small town. It goes without saying, that I would miss seeing my family and friends. However, this adjustment has gotten much easier because many of our family and friends have been visiting us more often, now that the weather has gotten so beautiful.

The one thing I can honestly say that I do miss about Toronto is when I used to volunteer at my local animal shelter. I would go there every weekend and volunteer as a "cat cuddler." Playing with all those homeless cats and kittens would make me feel so happy. Nothing ever made me feel as happy as I did when I was around those cats.

The best days were when we would get to see the animals get adopted. It was hard not to get attached to some of them, but deep down inside, you always wanted to see them leave the shelter, and never come back. The most fun I ever had was playing with numerous kittens simultaneously. The workers and volunteers knew it was the older cats who needed more attention. The cats would stay in the shelter for much longer than the kittens. Even so, there were times when we (the volunteer cat cuddlers) were selfish and played with the kittens anyway because we couldn't resist their cuteness.

There were a few superficial things which I thought I would really miss once I moved, but in all honesty, I've not missed them one bit. It's amazing how the mind work. Once something unimportant is taken away from your life, it really makes you reflect and wonder if you ever needed it in your life in the first place.

Same City, Different House

The last few months have been quite hectic. I usually love reading before bed, but the last book I completed was The Crimson Crown almost three months ago! We recently moved to another house (in a different part of the city.) So I've been exhausted by the end of the day from all the moving and unpacking that's been going on. We were in between houses for the month of May, so had to stay with some family member for the month, which had it's ups and downs. For the most part, we were grateful we temporarily had a place to stay.

We're still not done unpacking and setting everything up yet, but we're slowly making our way there. We've met many of our neighbours so far, and they are quite lovely. A few of them have lent us their lawn tools. In fact, one of our next door neighbours ended up mowing our lawn because he knew we hadn't bought a lawn mower of our own yet! There is a cute little ranch nearby, where we always see dogs, horses, and sheep hanging out on the lawn. The owners let us come in and see some of their animals the other day.

There is a lot of farm land nearby, and every time we drive past the farms, if one of the farmers are out, they always smile and wave at us. That is probably what I love the most about living in a small town. People always wave and say hello, even complete strangers.

Aside from the lovely people we've met, we've also met some lovely animals. The wildlife we see the most is cottontail rabbits. We always see them hanging out in the yard. We've seen them playing, perched up on our bench, eating grass and at one point, also saw one getting nice and comfortable and falling asleep right in our own backyard. Other animals we've seen are skunks, lot of chipmunks, turtles, snapping turtles, wild turkeys, muskrats, racoons and I went for a walk the other day and saw a little deer trotting right in front of me.

We were sad to be moving out from the sweet little town we (previously) lived in all winter. However, our new neighbours (human and non-human) have made us feel comfortable in our new home. We're also happy to finally be enjoying the city in the summer.