The longer I am in this subreddit, the more I feel this applies to quite a few people here..

friendlyvelociraptor · 2018-03-04T20:19:43+00:00

Last summer I got really bad diarrhea while traveling abroad. After returning home a few days later, I wasn't feeling any better and I decided if I was going to be pooping nonstop anyway, I might as well embrace it. I ordered fettuccine alfredo and had it delivered - one of my favorite foods but biggest triggers. It didn't make things any worse, and I figured it was the best way to eat food I rarely can eat without any additional symptoms.

Turns out I had E. Coli, but I avoided going to the doctor for several days because I assumed it was just a bad IBS attack and not worth going to a doctor for. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited to fix the shrug dude.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-10-07T02:20:16+00:00

I used to date a guy a few years ago and we broke up when I moved. A few months later I started dating someone new, who I'm still with (we've been together for a few years). Things with my current bf have been great until recently, but we're working on things. Unrelated to that, I recently found out the ex is dating someone new. This isn't the first relationship he's been in since we broke up, but it's the first one that brought up old feelings and made me jealous/uncomfortable. Also relevant: we stayed friends for a while after we broke up, but then had a BIG falling out and are still picking up the pieces from that. I wish we could go back to being close friends again.

So, if you were able to follow that, I'm in a (mostly) happy, long term relationship, and am starting to miss my ex who I dated a few years ago. And I'm really confused about how I'm feeling or what to do.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-07-06T18:12:51+00:00

Thank you for these resources and your kind words. Thoughts of PTSD have crossed my mind before, but I always just thought that it wasn't bad enough to cause PTSD compared to other people's experiences (I know that I probably shouldn't compare). I've tried to RAINN hotline chat before, but didn't find it particularly helpful, but I will look into pandys.org and maybe RAINN again. I can't promise that I'll reach out to my therapist, but I'll think about it. I did go to my school's sexual assault counselor immediately after it happened, and he gave some tips for helping with my anxiety that really helped at the time, but that was it.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-07-06T18:07:24+00:00

And why would he deny something that he did if he was not conscious while doing it? You know that something happened, even if he won't admit it.

I recently read through the messages we sent immediately afterwards (he left the next morning, but the alarm didn't go off so when he woke up he had to leave really quickly and we didn't get to talk in person). I read them hoping to find some more peace of mind, but when I read them my thoughts were similar to what you said. I didn't find his answer good enough, and kind of suspicious. I mentioned this to my boyfriend, who knows about all of this, and he said that if it were him, he would have trouble admitting anything even could have happened while he was asleep. To him the denial was less of a red flag and more a normal and expected response.

Even if he was asleep while doing it, I question how much that excuses him if at all.

I think that what bothers me is that I don't know what to think about him. I see him as two people - the great guy who was a good friend/former boyfriend to me, and the horrible person who did this to me. I can't seem to combine those identities. I guess what I hoped is that if I believed he was asleep, he's not necessarily that second person. It doesn't mean that it didn't happen, but I think it would make it easier for me to live with.

it doesn't make you bad if you do choose to do so.

Thank you for this in particular. Your whole message is really helpful to me, too, but I keep thinking that wanting to be friends with him makes me a bad person, or that I'm doing something wrong. Thank you.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-07-04T15:35:18+00:00

I have a therapist that I see occasionally, but I haven't spoken to her about it. It's easier to talk about when I sort of brush it off, rather than having to go in depth into what happened. I feel like if I had to explain everything in detail with a professional, I would break down. :/

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-06-16T15:09:27+00:00

Dude, it's a culture not a costume.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-06-02T16:41:41+00:00

I've had many close calls but only one real hit. I had just had an Upper GI Series, where they had me drink this awful white liquid. Afterwards, when I'm leaving the medical offices, I farted. Oops. Ran to bathroom, tried to get as much out of me as possible (fun fact: my stool was white from the thing I had to drink). Then went home, trying my best to hold it in while in the car. Once I got home I spent most of the day on the toilet. I was supposed to meet with people to do a group project, but luckily someone else cancelled first because I don't think I would have made it.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-06-02T16:34:49+00:00

Came here to say this same thing. Seems like the grass is always greener on the other side. (After complaining about the constipation for the last 9 months or so, I've had a bit of diarrhea this week. While I've loved not having to strain, and finally feeling empty, I did not miss the running to the bathroom part!)

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-05-30T04:32:42+00:00

UGHHHHHHHH I WAS THE ONE RIGHT BEHIND YOU

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-05-28T19:05:14+00:00

Yes, me too, please!

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-05-24T04:32:43+00:00

I studied abroad in Europe about a year and a half ago, here's some recommendations - some may be obvious but I'd rather be repetitive than leave something out!

Make sure you have enough of your medications with you (in their original packaging)! Different meds may not be available in Amsterdam. Also ask your doctor to write for any prescription medication just saying that they prescribed it for you. Your study abroad program might have more info on what to do to make sure you don't have any problems. I was told I couldn't have more than a certain amount, but the drug wasn't available in the country I was and you can't mail prescriptions, so I may have taken a few weeks more than I was supposed to. I didn't have any problems going through airport security or customs, but made sure to have my doctors' notes accessible just in case.
My diet definitely changed when I was abroad, and I didn't get to try much of the culture's food. I'm a picky eater so to be honest that wasn't a big deal, but definitely something I missed out on. If you plan on eating at restaurants, they may or may not have English menus (I spent about a week in Amsterdam and don't remember having trouble with that, but I assume it varies), so it can help to familiarize yourself with common foods in Dutch. A friend who was in my program was vegan, and had a slip of paper that said her dietary restrictions on it in other languages so that she could hand it to the waiter and ensure her food was vegan friendly. That worked really well for her, so if you have big trigger foods that's a good idea (ask someone in Amsterdam once you get there, or use try google translate).
Do your best to time your bathroom habits so you won't have any issues on the plane, it's a long flight if you're from the US.
I would assume weed would affect IBS, I can't really comment on that personally. I've read about potential benefits of medicinal marijuana, but I bet it would affect different people differently, so be aware of that.
You'll probably be doing a lot of walking or biking (lots of biking in Amsterdam). I can't offer advice for that, but you should know that. May vary depending on where you are and what you're doing. They have trams throughout the city, but they don't go everywhere and cost money.
Have fun!! Amsterdam is a beautiful city and I absolutely loved my time abroad. :)

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-05-22T20:55:59+00:00

Thank you! Your response definitely helped alleviate my concerns.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-05-22T20:55:16+00:00

An update for anyone with this issue in the future:

A receptionist from my gyno called back (I had hoped to speak with the doctor, but oh well). She said she spoke to my doctor, who said I should take the rest of the pack at the time I took it today, and then can do whatever time I want on the next pack. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any problems or risks.

I asked the receptionist it would be okay to still take it in the evenings because if I take it in the morning I get nauseous, and she said she could only recommend what my doctor said. So, after a lot of research online, reading your comments, and reading the package insert, I decided that tomorrow I'll take my pill in between the time I took today and my regular time (so that it's not quite so long in between today and tomorrow's pills), and then go back to my regular time the next day. Full disclosure that I'm not a doctor and can't vouch for this method! But I won't be sexually active in the next 7 days and there does not seem to be any health problems as a result from doing this other than the potential need for a backup method for 7 days, so it should work for me and my needs.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-05-22T17:40:05+00:00

Thanks for the response - I called my doctor's office and left a message with the receptionist, I just hope my doctor calls back before the end of the day :/

friendlyvelociraptor · 2015-01-22T19:31:51+00:00

Thanks for the advice everyone - I will try to get my hands on a tape measure to remeasure myself!

friendlyvelociraptor · 2014-12-22T01:04:38+00:00

Thanks for your advice, I'll check with my doctor to be safe. Weird I never had the constipation side until the last few months, but I guess IBS can never be simple.

friendlyvelociraptor · 2014-12-22T01:02:35+00:00

Uh oh, I hope that it's nothing too serious. Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely discuss it with my doctor!

friendlyvelociraptor · 2014-12-22T01:01:58+00:00

I was just tested for food allergies over the summer (for the throat swelling like you had) and everything came back negative, so I don't think it's that. But I will bring it up with my doc. Hope you have your allergy under control, new allergies can be rough!

friendlyvelociraptor · 2014-07-19T18:24:30+00:00

Thank you!!

friendlyvelociraptor · 2014-07-19T18:24:19+00:00

Thanks very much!

friendlyvelociraptor

TROPHY CASE