What is IBS?

Many of you have been wondering why I am ill all the time... I suffer from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome - nice!!) to which there is not really any cure. 1 in 3 people have it nowadays, but mine is really quite accute. I don't usually like to talk about it as it isn't exactly a conversation starter and I regard it as just an annoying thing that I have. However, today it is getting me down a little.

These are the symptoms of IBS that I get, not ALWAYS all at once but one or more of them every day (I lifted them from a web site, forgive their grotesque nature!):

Severe bloating
Stomach cramping and intense pain
Episodes of constipation
Feelings of exhaustion
Classic lower back pain
Shooting pain in your hips and legs
Inability to mentally focus
Anxiety attacks
Changes in heart rate and light headedness

These all come and go very suddenly, so it is rather unpredictable. Essentially my intestines just don't really do their job properly.

I woke up feeling like I had swallowed a ream of paper (imagine the weight in bloating), so today is quite a bad day. I finally struggled into work, walking through town clenching a stress ball as if nothing was unusual and feeling very anxious and very tired. It has been a bad phase recently. Still, I am here and as I reflect, I realise that my life is pretty great really! What am I moaning about? Still, at least you know now why I sometimes have to let people down last-minute. very sorry for that!