Live better with irritable bowel syndrome: tips for your daily life
You may be wondering what steps you can take to live your life better with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The condition can be unpredictable—symptoms often change over time, and they can be difficult to talk about. These challenges can make living with IBS even more difficult. Furthermore, IBS affects not only the person who suffers, but also others who interact with him or her – family, friends, employers, students, teachers, and more.1
There is no cure for IBS, yet, but there are many ways to manage the condition. It may require discussion between you and your doctor before you find what works best.1 Here are some reminders and tips to help you and those close to you live with IBS: 1
- Don’t lose time worrying about what your symptoms may or may not mean. Start by getting a definite diagnosis from your doctor.
- Take an active role in your own health care. Learn all you can about IBS and the different treatment options available.
- Try to identify things that seem to make your symptoms worse and work on reducing their impact.
- Investigate lifestyle and non-medication treatments that may help reduce symptoms.
- Use medications to relieve symptoms. You may only need them from time to time or your doctor may prescribe a medicine for regular use.
- Talk to your doctor about what makes sense for you.1
You may also be wondering how your condition affects your relationships and how to communicate more effectively with loved ones. There are several steps you can take when communicating to better manage the condition and improve how you feel:
- Try to identify areas of conflict in your personal relationships and discuss them, while avoiding withdrawing or blaming. Problem areas? Addressing these issues can help reduce stress.
- Be specific about the kinds of support you need from your significant others. They may be misinformed about what is useful for you.
- Be aware that friends and family members may be projecting their own worries onto you.
Travel, whether for leisure or work, can also be very difficult with IBS. Given the uncertainty around symptoms, you may be afraid that you will be unable to control symptoms when away from home. If so, there are steps you can take to help manage your symptoms and create a sense of being in control when traveling.
- When planning your trip, consider driving if possible. Traveling by car offers more flexibility, allowing you to stop when necessary to use a restroom or take a break.
- Allow enough time to get to the airport on time without worry.
- When traveling by plane, ask to sit as close to the restroom as possible. Also, request an aisle seat for easy and fast access, so you will not have to ask others to move.3
| Remember, you are not alone: having IBS gives you something in common with literally millions of other people who live with their disorder everyday.1 Take the first step to improve your quality of life with IBS: make an appointment to talk to your doctor today. |
