With a normal illness, you have it cured and move on. With chronic illness, you can only treat symptoms, and a lot of your health choices will be less getting rid of symptoms and more like choosing new ones. Here's a few from my life.

-With IBS, I have a very fluctuating appetite. Usually this just means being very hungry one day and not wanting to eat a thing the next. But following an oral surgery, I found I had no appetite at all and lost a scary amount of weight. I'm already naturally petite, but my eyes sunk in and well, I actually started looking sick. So I had to force myself in to a better diet, but I also started eating on any and every impulse I had. If I ever even sort of wanted a snack, I'd eat a big one. I kept food around at all times. I got up to healthy weight after a few months, but my already failing teeth started sustaining major damage. They say that having lots of small meals and grazing is good for you, but believe me, it's not good for your teeth! I got my healthy body back, but I got a few new fillings too.

-Being active is always a healthy thing to do, but with chronic illness and specifically chronic pain, light exercise can wipe me out for the rest of the day. Does it even count as being "active" if you have to spend the rest of the day on the couch?

-But resting is just as bad! I always try to listen to my body when it insists on resting. It helps so much with chronic pain and IBS. But resting also tends to make my back ache from cuddling up and getting comfy. Chronic pain may be at bay, but I just create new pain for later!

-The easiest treatment for endo symptoms are prescription pain meds. I've always been overly very cautious about proper use and not becoming addicted or overdosing. But while medication might help me get through a day of work, I'm not doing my organs any favors in the long run. And on top of that, I recently learned that hydrocodone, my medicine, WEAKENS YOUR TEETH. My poor teeth, they just don't stand a chance do they? I'm really not exaggerating when I say I have more fillings than actual teeth in my mouth at this point. And as a chronic pain sufferer, I have a high tolerance for pain, but tooth pain is unbearable.

-Recently I've been learning all the fun facts about the two kinds of fiber. With any stomach problem, most doctors will recommend eating more fiber, but how can that help with constipation AND diarrhea? It won't. There are two kinds of fiber, one that treats each. Ideally, one would live in a perfect balance between the two, thus reaching the poop equivalent of enlightenment. But, if you're like me, you figured this out while already, *ahem* unbalanced. So you ate one kind of fiber. Over-corrected. Ate the other kind. Over-corrected. And now spend a very stressful tightrope walk hopping from yin to yang, so to speak. This is not fun.

Ah, geeze. Too much yang, not enough yin.

Rachel Sykora Author of  www.doilooksick.com .

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We give a lot of attention to severe diseases like AIDS, cancer, heart attack but a many a times common problems can also lead to a lot trouble. One such common problem that people usually suffers once in their life time is irritable bowel movement. IBS is the common functional disorder of gut. Though the signs are not variable but it causes a lot of distress. Irritable bowel syndrome can affect any age group but teenagers and adults are mostly prone to it.

                                   

Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Movement

1. One can experience pain or discomfort in various parts of abdomen.
2. You can feel pain during the bowel movement. Pain can vary greatly with the periodic bowel movement.
3. Pain can vary from mild to severe from person to person and also time.
4. One can also develop bloating or swelling in the abdomen. 
5. Will have bouts of diarrhea or constipation.
6. Stools can be watery or ribbony and there can be mucus mixed with stool. 
7. You can also feel nausea; have headache, backache, poor appetite, muscles pain. 

Causes of Irritable Bowel Movement

• Though the exact cause is unknown but experts agree to related factors that can lead to IBS

• Problems with the digestive system like 

• Food Poisoning

• Over activity of the nerves or muscles of gut

• Stress or being emotionally upset 

• Intolerance or being allergic to some food

• Suffering from any kind of infection in the gut

• In some cases, taking antibiotics can also lead to gut disorder

Ways to prevent Gut Disorder

• By making some changes in food and the lifestyle we follow, we can prevent any kind of complication related to gut disorder.
• High fiber diet is very beneficial in easing any kind of bowel symptoms. Some food items that are rich in fiber are oats, nuts, seeds and vegetables. 
• Try to minimize insoluble fibers from your diet like corn barn, wheat barn and some fruits and vegetables that contain insoluble fiber.
• Don’t chew gums or candy that can contain artificial sweeteners
• Avoid spicy food
• Have regular meals and chew food on time
• Drink regularly a cup or two of peppermint tea that relaxes your intestines and reduces spasm
• Eat yogurt for it contains good bacteria like acidophilus which is good for digestion
• You can also try for ginger tea. Ginger has proven to be beneficial  in relieving all problems concerning digestion including  irritable bowel disorder
• Drink sufficient amount of fluids on regular basis
• Avoid caffeine 
• Avoid drinking alcohol
• Restrict the amount of fizzy drink to minimum.

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