My IBS Journey Part I
Walk It Off
No one really knows what causes IBS, but it's thought to be hereditary. I wouldn't know, because sickness is an interesting subject in my family. Growing up in the South came with a cure-all tagline of sorts: "Walk it off. No harm, no foul." It was applicable to sports injuries, sibling scuffles, and such. My father grew up a farmer and his parents before him and so on. Doctor visits were a luxury. So, home remedies and spiritual I.O.U.s were the norm; chronic ailments were considered a sign of unrepented sin in your life. As strange as it sounds, many small towns in the South are deeply religious and this is a serious belief. Even though I received excellent healthcare as a child, there was always some caveat.
When I was fifteen, a sudden, horrible pain sprang up in my lower abdomen. It was bad enough to bring me to my knees in tears. Everyone in my family had the answer - appendicitis, a stomach ulcer, not enough exercise. We gave it time and when I didn't develop any symptoms of appendicitis, we ruled that out. I carried around a bottle of Pepto with me and chugged from it with every wincing pain. That didn’t have any effect, so I increased my exercise, making the pain even worse.
Gumming Up The Works
After a couple of weeks with no relief, I finally saw my doctor, who asked me only two questions. One was about bowel habits (awkward) and the other really surprised me. She asked, "Do you chew gum?" I really had no idea where she was going with this, and the thought, “quack” crossed my mind, but I answered, "Yeah, I chew two or three packs of gum every week."
Her response surprised me even further. "Well, stop,” she said. “I think you have IBS and the artificial sweeteners in gum are the most likely cause of your abdominal pain." I didn't completely stop chewing gum, but I did cut down, and the pain completely disappeared! Was it science or coincidence? I had no clue what IBS was and that two-question conversation with my doctor would be the extent of my knowledge for fifteen more years.