You're Fine; Try Harder

Cherry

By HattyNatters

Sat, 11 Feb 2023
  • 297 reads
5 comments
 

'No gluten, no caffeine, no lactose, no stress,

All your own fault is this illness.

Try yoga, meditation and peppermint tea,

And all sorts of potions that are far from free'.

Tests return negative, 'you're fine, nothing's wrong',

But your symptoms won't cease to drag on and on.

At first you had hoped this would all go away,

But here we go again. At home you will stay.

'Care less about dance, exams and your friends,

You're too busy and invested to be on the mend.

Sit at home, read a book, see how you feel',

And wonder why our stomach still feels far from ideal.

'Why did you cancel? Don't give up and postpone,

No wonder you claim to feel low and alone.

It's like you're not even trying to be happy or well,

You've not even tried the probiotics I sell'.

Am I a hypochondriac? It must be in my head,

If I'm really this poorly, I'd be in hospital instead.

'You're fine, just try harder, buy one more thing',

Or they'll tell me I'm careless when I give them a ring.

I wrote this to reflect on the issues I have had with IBS for the last 8 years and how draining it can be to try to find the things that soothe my symptoms. 

Certificate U
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Young Writers
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Biography
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

I hope you find something that helps you Hatty - it can be a horrible thing to have (one of my sons has it)

 

Submitted by HattyNatters on

Ahh thank you, I hope your son finds useful things too! For me, going gluten free has really helped so I'd recommend that :) 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

I really liked this, only got a bit confused about who was speaking, as "I" for both the shopkeeper selling probiotics/therapist? and the subject with the problem. Your feelings resonated with me too, it is a very interesting point, how if it is not treatable with medicine people are left to fend for themselves as if shoved out to flail around in the jungle of supplements and diets with the threat being to fall prey to expensive bogus cures rather than from poisonous insects etc

 

Submitted by HattyNatters on

Thank you for the kind words, useful feedback and shared experience! :) I'll add some quotation marks now to help make it a little clearer. 

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Hatty,

you know I do feel for you, I've suffered with IBS all my life...well as far back as I can remember. It's one of those problems that just won't go away. I enjoy my food, but try to steer clear of too many fatty products. There's no easy solution once it takes a hold of you, but I'm sure you'll find a way of coping.

I think it's got easier to manage as I've got older, but I still get those moments, but keep on pushing through. Hope you find that solution that relieves your symptoms.

Jenny.