Always worried I'm going to need a bathroom...

I can relate. When on the road, the best restrooms are motels because they always have one in the lobby and no one questions if you belong there. I have an app on my phone called SitorSquat that gives you the location of the nearest potties in your area. Not totally reliable, and do not always have time for it to load, but it is sometimes a help.

I also have no issues with using the men's restroom when the women's is occupied. I have also been known (on more than one occasion) to run to the front of the line and request to cut in line. No one ever questions.

There is no perfect solution and this is a terrible thing to deal with but it helps to know we are not alone and other people understand.

I recently had to go on a cross country flight and this is a difficult thing for me as I also worry about the call of nature on the Red Phone.

I took Sudafed for the trip because I recall earlier in my time when I took Contact for a cold that my digestion settled down. The Sudafed is also a bit of a downer which I think helps a bit with calming my mind. Once I get into the "OMG where is the bathroom mode" or it is occupied then I really need it and it gets troubling.

I also took some hard candies that were infused with marijuana. I usually take MJ at night in a tincture form. This has helped me a lot to keep my digestion under control. I believe that it calms the gut and by doing it every night my digestion gets a break each night.

For my trip I risked taking MJ with me and all went okay. Here in Oregon I have a card but once I leave the state I am in some legal risk. With this said to me it was important enough and effective enough for me to take the hard candies with me. These each had 10 mg of THC but I think this is only a guesstimate. When I would get what I will call digestive tension I would take one or two candies. I didn't notice any "high" or mental effects until I get to about 3 candies. Really when you feel bad is no time to "enhance the effects" as MJ can. FYI, I can fly out of PDX with cannabis as a card holder so leaving wasn't an issue. I had the TSA people looking closely in my bag on the way back but there was no issue from the unmarked hard candies at least on this trip.

There are also some strains of MJ that are high in CBD (similar to THC) that have the therapeutic effects without the high. This is what they will tend to give to children with different issues many times.

I think there may be a bit of a placebo effect in taking the candies but whatever....if it makes the conditions more normal then I will take a placebo.

I wouldn't recommend to everyone to violate the law of your state if you are not in a state that allows for medical MJ. Work to move to a pro MJ state or change the laws locally. I have to say it really helps me.

On the plane I did the Sudafed ahead of time and took a few candies along the way. For me being against the window or in some way blocked in is my version of "IBS claustrophobia." However, I was able to keep my self together for the trip which otherwise would be hell. I recall an overseas flight where I had to make enough trips to the bathroom that the stewardess commented.

Another thing I did on the trip back was to pretty much go without solid food so that I was not "locked and loaded" as this can put me into panic cycle. I would rather be hungry for a day than to have the IBS rage on me on a 6 hour flight followed by a 5 hour flight and a last 2 hour flight. To do that while actively engaged with my IBS would be challenging.

Overall with the daily tincture doses I can keep myself about 90% better with just that alone. If I do get a bit of an issue it will clear up in a day or so. Before MJ I had issues that would go on for 3 weeks or so.

I know a lot of people don't think much of MJ and the people that use it but I will say that it works for me. It did take me about 6 months to find my methods and dosage. If you are taking it for IBS then I feel that it is best to take it orally and allow the chemicals in the MJ to be in contact with your intestines which is where I think that inflammation happens. I haven't yet tried it but I have heard good things about taking just the green vegetative leaf and juicing it to have a good effect for different symptoms without the high.


In other information I see that there is a thought that IBS is started by a digestive attack like a flu and that it leaves the intestines in some way damaged or impaired in about 10% of the people that get IBS after the flu gets them. To me this means that there may be a way to reverse the situation potentially. And another thing recommended was to take 1.5 teaspoons of cayenne pepper a day to affect the intestines positively. I think people put this into capsules to get it down or eat foods with a lot of cayenne. Mostly, I try to avoid too much spice but it may be that we need some of the stuff in spice to heal and we avoid it because of our illness....keeping us locked into the trap of IBS.

Best wishes to everyone working to come to terms with IBS.

I have heard of this in Japan. Women will not want to have their bathroom sounds heard so they flush the toilet to make a sound cover.

The downside of this is that water is scarce in Japan.

But for me if I have to go and I found a spot then I will let other people worry about how bad it sounds.
I can only worry about so much and my capacity is full.

This is a normal process, not generally spoken about so we get messed up on the subject a bit.

I know for me that the fear of a 911 bathroom request will come at times similar to previous times can trigger me into a panic loop. Even though I know this I am still subject to my thoughts.

Best wishes to everyone and may each day get a bit easier.