Travel = disaster! HELP.

Hello there - I was hoping someone more qualified than myself would have responded by now.

I have IBS/D like symptoms but I've been told they are a direct result of having had cancer/colon resection and the lower part of my colon they took out.

I struggle with trying to keep my diet plain, simple and amounts small in comparison to how I ate, before cancer, over 10 years ago now.

Traveling is the biggest challenge I face (another might be finding a job with more weekly hours, if I can ever pull off full time, I would have to cut back even further on solids intake).

Like you I cut way back on solids the day before I travel, the day of and depending upon where we are, even after arriving. I prefer sharing a hotel room or condo with just my immediate family. A hotel or lodge is the best set up, with more bathrooms available than just our room's bathroom. Just a bathroom near a restaurant or gift shop, or banquet room that is rarely used is such a comfort. Just knowing I can use THAT bathroom eases any worries I have. We haven't stayed with friends or family much, if at all since I've had cancer. I do that increases a person's anxiety level in trying to manage all of this - if you have to share a bathroom with people who do not have IBS or GI tract issues. You worry they will find what you do in there odd or unusual. When truth be told, unless you overflow the toilet or spend hours in there, I've come to the conclusion that I may think people notice how many times per day I go but in reality they don't pay much attention to me. If I were you, I'd take along extra TP, flush a lot to disguise any sounds you make, buy a can of deodorizer that is the orange scented type, this doesn't necessarily cover the room with an overpowering scent but neutralizes bad odors with a mild orange oil scent. I always pack extra TP in m suitcase. I make sure I take along extra underswear, Stayfree ultra thin overnight pads (they go way up in the back, for minor drips or accidents), drink a lot of water and go easy on solids. Return to eating when you come home.

But if at all possible, try not to stay with friends or family and find your own hotel. Even an inexpensive one with your own bathroom is worth the money.

My family owns a boat now so this will be my summer challenge. I don't eat before going on it and I don't eat while on it. I sip water, just water all day so I am not dehydrated but I have found that even if I'm starving, eating is not good. It's a ski boat, no bathroom and as my husband points out, most boat owners prefer you only go #1 on their boats anyway. Well, then, I say.......don't even tempt me with a possible bigger boat with a bathroom! So this will be my weekend pattern, I just make sure I eat very healthy all week long and pull back from solids Sat/Sun, daytime hours.

Hopefully someone else will post and have a good explanation for your exact symptoms.

I wish you well.

I do a lot of pretending too! At social events I often pretend A. I am not hungry, B. I just ate or C. I'll eat later. If it's a sit down dinner I accept my full - sigh - plate of food. The way I used to be able to eat. Then when everyone is chowing down, I pick at my food. I do eat a little, just not the entire plate and often times, not even half of it! Sometimes I leave the table to use the bathroom (not really, it's just an excuse to get up from the table but I can use squeeze out something, sorry for that lovely detail....LOL). Then when I return to the table sometimes if I'm lucky the dishes have been collected. I just say - oh well. I have a full arsenal of tricks up my sleeve. Sometimes - flat out lies!

But all of these combined are what I call faking it - I pretend I have a normal colon with people who have normal colons. It's all an act, LOL. But hey, it's better than walking around with my hands on my stomach, moaning and groaning (what I like to do at home, I usually shout out to anyone who will listen - I want a transplant! Right here!).

I think for many of us we all just need to figure what works best for each of us and then do these things when our schedules become very busy - summer time, traveling, social events such as wedding. My family enjoys grilling out in the summer, so much that I get very tired of it. I long for simmered beef stew or roast chicken. Winter type meals. Consequently, I love winter and actually go into a real funk when the last snowfall melts (I live in Ohio).

I would gently suggest you figure out what works best for you - faking it, food journal, plain diet, not eating, etc. Just make sure you keep your fluid intake up though. That is one thing you need to watch and then as soon as you can, go back to eating again. The longest I prefer to go without solids is about 18 hours. Any more than that and I'm light headed.

Mary/marsky

It's weird, but I am NEVER constipated....about 5 years ago gradually I started with more frequent trips, and it gradually went to diarhhea. And along with it this explosive gas, jet propelled poop. Disgusting. I feel like a zoo animal.

This is the wedding day...last night I ate the mashed potatoes and a little steak, 6 bites of salad. Ate the ice cream dessert because of course I had wine and went into denial, ha ha, about what I was eating. I HAVE found a restroom here at the hotel that's not often used. So far so good. A brunch this morning, and the wedding tonight. Airplane tomorrow. Thanks for being here it's a life line!

Just having someone understand helps.

Caffeine is definitely a trigger. Carbonated beverages as well. But like you with Coke twodogs, I'm addicted to Pepsi. I try to enjoy my Pepsi in moderation, since it does make things worse, not better sometimes. You could try pouring the Coke in a glass and waiting until some of the carbonation has escaped.

One thing I find comforting is if I am home and can put up with repeated, multiple almost D like bm's, is to sip several hot cups of tea. Just regular tea (Lipton's, etc.). The tea actually induces more bm's and whatever offended my system leaves it much faster because of the tea. I know people with normal colons would think, why not stop the bm's. But my stool changes to a weird consistency, it almost burns at times or has a bad odor to it. So I have found if I can speed this stage up a little (hot tea, orally, not by enema, LOL) I return to my "normal" much quicker. When I am messed up, I can feel the walls of my colon are swollen and irritated.

Lately I've wondered if I am sensitive to gluten. I work for a school district and we're out for the summer in 2 weeks. I plan on having a blood test to determine if I am sensitive to certain food groups. Some of my symptoms do fall in line with people who find gluten offensive to their GI tracts. You could be too. I just need to get my act together and see a specialist for the blood test. And then I'll go from there. One of the reasons I feel this may be true is one of my main go to foods is simple white rice. My gut responds very well to white rice. What if simple rice flour and other grains without wheat would be my solution? Again, don't want to try anything new without knowing for certain if I should avoid gluten and until I'm also off work and can experiment with other foods. Right now I have my diet about 75% figured out. Took me a daggone long time to get to this point too!

I like your nick too "twodogs". What type of dogs do have? Golden Retriever owner here. She's my therapy dog I joke, my dog seems to know when I feel my worst. She climbs right on top of me if I'm in bed and puts her head on my stomach, letting out a big sigh - as if to say, I'm here, I'll make you feel better! So cute.....

I go into what I call travel mode for trips.

The day before I travel - I eat very little and only foods that agree with me (half turkey sandwich, applesauce, yogurt, banana or a good but small in serving size dinner, roast chicken, mashed potatoes). I then stop all solids after dinner. I keep my fluids up though.

The day of - I eat a very small breakfast, 1/2 english muffin, or one small banana, one cup or yogurt but not all 3, just one of these. I take along Club Crackers for the car ride (haven't flown since I've had my colon resection). I only have a few in case I get nauseous from not eating much.

If everyone in my group stops for lunch, I have very little again to eat. Possibly the width of one inch wide turkey sub. Literally. Just enough so I don't pass out from not eating.

Then when I arrive at our destination, I begin eating right away. The foods above mostly. Certainly not chili or something that's a no-no for me!

This is the way I've been traveling for 10 years. It works for me.

In the early days of managing my situation I used to do an enema 2 days prior to traveling. This would clean me out and give me an almost 3 or 4 normal span. But the past few years they haven't helped me as much.

I also wear Stay free ultra thin overnight maxi pads. They go way up in the back of your underwear just in case you can't get to a bathroom.