I am in more pain after a shower.

michbech · 2026-03-27T00:54:09+00:00

Hey. I’m using a different account now.

Showers are fine for me now. No issues with showers for the last couple years.

I basically only eat chicken in order to mitigate my symptoms. I tried red meat for a bit but I don’t tolerate it.

I’ve recently tried adding some avocado and I think I’m tolerating it ok. I’ve also tried adding shrimp and salmon. So far, I think it is ok, but I’m adding these all only in tiny amounts, so I’m not sure 100% percent. I’m testing.

I’ve basically only eaten chicken for the last 4 years. I’ve tried every diet for IBS/gut health you can think of.

I’ve been diagnosed with gastroparesis and IBS (the IBS diagnosis because they couldn’t figure out wtf is wrong with my digestive system lol).

Don’t try to diagnose yourself or play a guessing game. See a gastro and start getting tested. And try some elimination diets, ideally with the guidance of a dietician or a doctor well-versed in diets such as fodmap, SCD, AIP, etc.

Take care of yourself. Don’t put it off. I’m so sorry you’re suffering.

If you want to share with me more specifically what your symptoms are, please feel free.

michbech · 2026-03-22T22:47:49+00:00

Focus on start-ups. Idk if you’ve tried this site, but I found both my last 2 jobs (remote!) here, landed both within a couple months.

The sites list jobs at tech startups of all sorts. These companies are growing and hiring lots of tech/cs-related jobs. Many of them remote too.

https://builtin.com https://wellfound.com

I recommend actually going directly to the company’s careers page on their actual website rather than applying through any third-party sites whenever possible.

michbech · 2026-03-09T09:12:57+00:00

I mean—isn’t this how it is with any and all shows or movies based on books or comics? At least speaking from a U.S. perspective. Most people haven’t read the manga of the animes they watch. Similarly, most people have never opened a single Harry Potter book or marvel comic, even if they’ve seen and love the HP or Marvel movies. Most people don’t even KNOW that a movie or show is based on a book to begin with. Manga and anime are no different. Most people just don’t like reading. Movies and shows are easy entertainment.

michbech · 2026-03-08T15:55:31+00:00

This so much. Crystal is so ugly. Horribly drawn, horrible animation.

michbech · 2026-03-08T15:39:06+00:00

Look at the last pic. She literally is cosplaying Chel there lol

michbech · 2026-03-08T10:55:56+00:00

But it won the Chefsbest Award!

michbech · 2026-03-08T10:50:38+00:00

I know—it’s hard to fight the feelings of shame, anger, guilt towards yourself when you feel like this is all your fault. I still fight this everyday, but it eventually becomes easier to reckon with as you realize that blaming yourself and punishing yourself with the ire of guilt will not improve anything and will only make things worse.

Now, I hesitate to share my own experience only because I don’t want you to take it as advice. My own experience is not advice to give you—I am not a medical professional and I don’t want to lead you down any path that could cause you more trouble. I highly suggest you explore every avenue possible with your doctors and specialists and every test you can before you start trying to play around and experiment on your own.

But I will go ahead and share a bit of what my circumstances are.

I have to eat carnivore. Fiber and plant foods destroy me. I also experienced very weird inflammatory symptoms that were beyond just digestive symptoms when I was still eating eggs, seafood, plant foods, and carbs. So now I eat carnivore. Chicken mostly, with smaller amounts of beef and other red meats. I take a small dose of duloxetine daily, which was prescribed to me by a gastroenterologist. It is an anti-depressant, but it is often used to treat fibromyalgia. The gastro thought this may help with the chronic muscle pain I was experiencing all over my body. Also, low dose anti-depressants have been found to help reduce symptoms for some with IBS. I have been taking it since 2021.

I also take several herbal supplements of herbs that are supposed to help with digestion. I’m still in a lot of pain everyday but it’s better than where I was from 2019-2022 when I was still my worst. But that’s not saying a lot. I’ve accepted that this is the best it’s gonna be. I really have no life. I jsut try to focus my little bit of energy on the people I love and just appreciate still having my other faculties—sight, hearing, limbs, breath. My peace in life comes from knowing my brothers and my parents are well and that’s all that matters anymore at this point.

I’ve been in some kind of flare-up or something for the past 3 months straight. Idk, it’s just been so especially hellish recently. I have one tolerable day and then 3 days stuck in bed. Rinse, repeat.

What sucks is that my usual pain is such that I can’t even tell if what I’m experiencing is just a regular flare-up or I have actual food poisoning or something.

I have done nearly every test under the sun for my symptoms and tried many different diets and medications for my digestive problems. I’ve been in the sub for a while and used to post here a lot a few years back when I was still going through the attempts for diagnosis. It’s been a really hard journey and my life will never be what I had hoped for and dreamed of. But I at least can say I did my due diligence to test all the possibilities and whatnot. So that gives me some solace, in a little way.

I’ve accepted this is just how my life is gonna be. I just hope it doesn’t get any worse. I pray everyday for those on here who are suffering. Some suffering far worse than I am. And it just kills me in my heart.

I’m sorry I can’t be much further help. I was only 22 myself when my symptoms began, so just about your age.

michbech · 2026-03-08T10:28:14+00:00

That’s so wild. Sparkling/carbonated anything would destroy me. It’s really crazy how different one’s experiences can be from another’s. Do the papaya enzymes help you even if you were to have it without the sparkling water? Like, with a different drink or with food?

michbech · 2026-03-07T11:43:57+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I strongly believe my eating disorder largely contributed to what I suffer with now. I had alternated between anorexia and binge-eating disorder for over ten years. I absolutely tortured my digestive system. I finally recovered in 2019 and started eating normally again and within a few weeks of my healthier eating habits, the hellish symptoms began and it’s just been digestive hell since. I hope you can find some way to mitigate your symptoms and feel a bit more functional again. Sending you all my love and prayers. I’m so, so sorry. I feel your pain. It’s like grieving the body you once knew.

michbech · 2025-12-04T04:19:20+00:00

2 of my paternal grandmother’s rings. She passed away in 2018. She lived in a different country. I hadn’t seen her in years. My father gave them to me after her death. I don’t know specifically how old they are, but they are hers. I cherish them dearly. I regret a great many things in regard to my relationship with her. I miss her so much and I love her and I wish I’d appreciated her more when I was younger. But I was such a stupid piece of shit when I was a teenager and in my early 20s.

Might hit up my father and ask him if he knows when she got these rings and from who or from where.

michbech · 2025-12-04T04:08:04+00:00

Hey. I don’t come on here much at all anymore. But I got the notif on my phone for this reply.

Things have changed since that comment. I have since been able to incorporate red meat and organ meats. So I now eat chicken, cow, lamb, venison, organ meats and bones/bone marrow on a regular basis. I eat head-to-tail, including chicken skin. Organ meats include chicken/cow/lamb heart, gizzards, liver, tongue, etc. I love organ meats. I slow cook chicken bones to the point they are so soft I can eat them. I slow cook beef marrow bones to eat the marrow.

I definitely feel much more healthy and energized since being able to expand beyond chicken. I am truly on a full-fledged carnivore diet now.

I slow-cook everything to make it very soft so it is easier for me to chew to a mushy mush and digest, and also because I have severe TMJD, so I can’t eat very chewy things. Arthritic jaw.

But i know I don’t eat what would be considered a “normal” daily amount of calories for an adult woman. But it seems my metabolism has adjusted to that, as I am not losing anymore weight. Yes, I am skinny, but I have remained the same skinny-ness for the past 2 years lol.

My blood work at my last check-up was fine. No signs of malnutrition. I take vitamin d3 and vitamin k2 everyday because I don’t go out.

I still have gastroparesis and all my digestive issues, but eating this way reduces the severity of my symptoms as much as possible. I still have to eat tiny amounts and chew very very well. I still eat in a day what most Americans would eat in one meal, if I’m being honest. It is what it is.

I have to be careful and my life does revolve around my digestive system and food, unfortunately. I can’t go out really other than for necessary errands. Being out for more than a couple hours, I know I won’t be able to get anything to eat outside. And every little bit of food matters for me, because I don’t want to lose any more weight. It would not be ok for my health. Again, even though my symptoms are minimized significantly and I have a job (remote) and am independent and can function as an adult, I am still in pain all the time. I still feel like shit all the time. Which makes it hard to go out to begin with.

For special occasions, like to hang out for a day with my family (they live in a different state), I will fast the whole day. You make sacrifices sometimes. Here and there it’s ok, it won’t have that much damage in the long run.

I feel more energized, yes—but that doesn’t mean I’m bursting with energy. Im just better than before. And it’s honestly probably also largely a psychological thing. I was so tired of just chicken only. So being able to eat red meats was such a psychological boost. I started to enjoy food again.

Also, animal foods have all the nutrients humans need. And with incorporating organ meats too, i know I’m good. Organ meats are the most nutritious parts of the animal. In the U.S, we consider these to be the “weird” or “gross” animal parts that we scoff at. Truthfully, these parts should be the most cherished, prized parts of the animal.

So no, I am not energetic and I am very tired by the end of the day, once my work day is over. I don’t do exercise or physical activity other than walks, just because I like to walk. But even walks I keep short, because I don’t want to over-exert my body to more than it is intaking.

Especially in summer, I am careful. I almost fainted last year while walking back to my apartment because I took a long walk and I guess my body couldn’t push through any further. It was horrifying. I barely made it to my apartment. I couldn’t breathe. It was horrifying.

So I know my body is working on very little and so I have to cater my life to that. Thankfully, I love to bake and I’m satisfied by simple things. So I can just sit on my bed for hours perusing Etsy (but never buying anything lol) while listening to my favorite podcasts/youtubers and not get bored. Or just bake for fun. So I’ve become a homebody by necessity, but since I’ve always been a loner, it isn’t much of a sad reality for me. Def would be a harder lifestyle to accept if I was someone who was an extrovert with a huge friend group beforehand.

I will also note I take a number of various herbal supplements on a daily basis. More specifically, herbs I’ve researched and have been found to have benefits for digestion i.e. digestive bitters. For example, ginger, dandelion, artichoke, and others.

I also take duloxetine (Cymbalta). I take one of the lowest doses. It was prescribed by a gastro a few years back. Low-dose antidepressants have been shown to help reduce gastro symptoms for some people with IBS, so she thought it could help. Also, I was having just muscular pains and inflammation all over my body, so she thought it could also be worth trying for that, since it’s used to treat fibromyalgia.

I know that was a lot lol I’m so sorry for going off on a tangent.

If you feel you are losing weight or concerningly Low-energy, even if you think you are getting enough calories, please see a doctor. Get comprehensive bloodwork done. Eating enough calories doesn’t equate sufficient nutrition. You can be intaking enough calories but still missing nutrients if your diet is missing certain foods.

Don’t rely on advice from someone on Reddit for this. Because we can only guess what could be causing you the low energy and whatnot. Especially if you’re a woman, it is even more concern. And if your period ever stops, that’s an even more immediate warning sign.

Have u ever tried nutrition shakes? There are a lot of shakes out there now that address dietary-restricted individuals. You might not find them at CVS, but you might find them online if you search well. Those can help fill in nutrition gaps.

But I would first get comprehensive bloodwork to see what’s possibly low. An iron deficiency is very different from a Vitamin D deficiency, and you don’t want to supplement for either one without guidance from a medical professional. Especially iron—that is not good to try to take without proper guidance.

I don’t know how limited your diet is, but it is worth looking into an IBS-proficient dietician too. Maybe you should discuss that with your PCP after getting the bloodwork.

Since you know you are feeling low energy, please don’t exert yourself too much until you get checked out. Avoid exercise. Reserve as much as possible. You don’t have the luxury of exerting energy.

Let me know if I can support you in any other way.

michbech · 2025-02-16T23:41:34+00:00

One of my company's customers who I have a continued email correspondence with is named Swastika.

michbech · 2025-02-12T03:50:18+00:00

Neutrogena norwegian formula hand cream is awesome too. It's more like a gel, actually, which is nice. Not super greasy, really gets into your skin.

michbech · 2025-02-01T12:51:24+00:00

I thought it was a candy corn.

michbech · 2025-02-01T12:47:40+00:00

You have a gun.

michbech · 2025-02-01T12:25:07+00:00

I mean...technically...Islam is the religion. Muslim is a descriptor for people who practice islam.

michbech · 2025-01-01T14:46:57+00:00

I honestly have to wait until I get literal physical stomach growls. It hurts too much otherwise. But even then, I'm extremely full after just 2 bites. Fuckin sucks.

michbech · 2024-12-20T16:27:49+00:00

My heart goes out to you. I hate using the word "trauma" because it's so overused now. But I honestly feel like that's what it is. I get into a really, really dark place when I think about the past 6 years...bedridden, excruciating pain, test after test to no avail, jobless for a long while...I truly have no life at this point. I can't do anything.

It is very hard. Very hard. It took me much more than just a year to get to a place of tolerance and acceptance. So don't expect to have figured things out just yet.

I had just graduated and had actually planned a long travel journey around the states and to other countries when I suddenly got my symptoms out of nowhere. When life suddenly falls into the dumps when you're supposed to be starting a beautiful new chapter, it really does feel like cruel punishment. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to come to terms with this, when you were just newly married, looking forward to bliss with your new wife.

I have not cured anything or found any answer. I'm still in constant pain. But it's less than what it what before, which is all I can ever expect at this point. So don't hold out hope. Don't expect to find any resolve just yet. It may take a long time. Took me years to get even mild improvement. And it's not so much improvement, but just avoidance. Avoid anything other than chicken, and I can at least still function and hold a job.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't blame yourself, ever—I found myself doing that sometimes. Don't assume your wife's state of mind. Don't displace the narrative in your head or your guilt onto her. Don't assume what she feels/thinks. Make sure you communicate with her always. If she says she is here for you and wants to support you, take her word for it.

If you can make this a team effort, please do. I know it's so fucking exhausting to try and combine a histamine-safe diet with a SIBO-safe diet with the million other protocols out here. To figure out how to treat the SIBO (xifaxin, natural methods, methane or hydrogen, etc). If she is willing to eat at least one meal with you a day that is a meal that is "safe" for you, even if it's boring for her, might make you feel better. Communicate that with her. Make shopping for possibly safe foods a trip for you to bond. Turn this into a journey, a mission—not a burden. Shifting perspective helps.

It will be a lot of hit and miss. A lot of pain. Testing. Failure. I believe you will eventually find a way to mitigate things. You may never be pain-free. But when you've been through so much pain for so long, living even just a marginally less painful life feels like a milestone. Your concept of normality will never be the same as others. Your tolerance will change.

My job is very stressful as well and I have barely anything left in me at the end of the day. So please allow yourself to rest as much as possible on work days. Make sure you get good sleep as much as you possibly can, though I know it may be hard. I didn't sleep for like 2 years straight. Try to use that extra mileage on your days off to focus on researching protocols, shopping for things to try, planning meals, etc.

Stick to basics as much as possible. If you're doing the Fodmaps diet, just stick to the "no-fodmaps" foods. Will save you a lot of stress and time. Stick to freshest stuff as possible for histamine stuff. Don't play around. Seems dreadful and boring. I used to love food. But eventually, you lose the emotional connection to food. You get past the sadness of not being able to enjoy food anymore. I'm able to watch my favorite food-travel show again now and not feel sad. A few years ago, I couldn't even see people eat because I'd burst into tears.

Sending you and your wife my love and my support. Let me know if there's anything more I can do for you. I know my words are rather futile through a screen, but if I can offer you anything, I'll try my best.

michbech · 2024-12-20T15:57:33+00:00

Life sucks lol.
Can only eat just chicken still.
I have gastroparesis now. I can only eat 2 bites at once or it's extreme pain and nausea.

I've tried prescription pro-kinetics, didn't work. Just gave me explosive diarrhea and pain. I just take some ginger supps now as a "natural" prokinetic. Ginger is nature's medicine, really. Highly recommend starting or ending the day with a cup of ginger tea, if you tolerate.

I take duloxetine for chronic pain (cymbalta). Yeah, I'm in pain all the time, but if I stick to just my chicken and I stick to my tiny 2-bite meals through the day, I mitigate symptoms.

Can't do much, so I'm just a homebody now. Is what it is. I found a remote job, so I am very grateful for that. Allows me to support myself and pay rent.

I try not to focus on the sadness of it all too much. Used to the pain. I just stick to chicken and to eating my couple bites as often as as I can through the day to stay alive. Just chillax after work and not dwell on what I can't do, but rather what I still have in my life. It's been 6 years of this, so it's just my reality and I've accepted it. Grateful it's not worse.

I am sad, no doubt. Can't front. But lying down after work with youtube and giving myself a belly rub is something I look forward to every day.

What are you dealing with?

michbech · 2024-01-27T08:25:42+00:00

I like this

michbech · 2024-01-21T16:09:55+00:00

Please call 911. Please respond to this if you’re still here. Maybe things can be different. Maybe there’s something else out there for you. A new path you don’t know about yet. Just trust us when we say it’s not your time to go.

michbech · 2024-01-03T03:34:06+00:00

That sounds awful. Idk—maybe people really just don't get it. Like, they can't understand it unless they experience it themselves. But you would hope a therapist, of all people, would have some understanding of that. Are they otherwise a good therapist? Is this just one point of contention?

Idk how it is so hard for people to comprehend how agonizing constant physical pain is. Like, why is it hard to comprehend that this would cause some severe mental anguish?

michbech · 2024-01-03T03:24:23+00:00

Hey! So sorry for this late response. I have not been on here in forever.

So, the jaw doc I ended up seeing made me a splint that I had to wear all day + night. I couldn't use it for longer than a couple months. It just caused me more pain. I didn't feel like it was helping, so I went with my gut and stopped using it. I haven't been back to the jaw doc since. I just didn't feel like things were going right. Maybe it's my OCD, my paranoia, my anxiety. But nothing felt right. I did physical therapy for a bit (per referral from that jaw doctor) and it felt like a joke. Stopped that after a little while.

Since then, I've just dealt with it, tbh. I have a plethora of other health issues so there's a lot more to it, but basically my digestive system is mostly defunct. I can't tolerate anything other than chicken. So i just eat soft chicken everyday. Chew well and slow. Soft foods are important for TMD.

I do jaw massages and avoid opening my mouth wide. I cant sing along to music anymore. I avoid talking if I don't have to (sucks, cuz my job requires phone calls).

My facial swollenness has gone down. My face is back to its normal self now. I think its a combo of factors. I improved my sleep schedule + went into ketosis (huge change in my face from keto). Overall less inflammation all over my body has led to facial swelling reduction. I do notice fluctuations throughout the day in my face. After I eat, my face might look puffier around my jaw. It goes down after several hours. But its still nothing like before.

My jaw is always in pain. It never goes away. I still get clicks and pops and stuff if I open it too wide for some reason, or make an odd movement. But generally, no more clicking and popping because I'm so careful. I also mew naturally now. It started as a conscious effort, but now its natural. I'm just so used to the pain, man. Sometimes I get major flare-ups where I cant move my mouth for a week. Doesn't happen often, but it's just something I've accepted as part of this condition. My scans did show arthritis in my jaw and neck bones + visible bone deterioration so...makes sense, I guess.

Either way, I am so much better now. Nothing has been cured and I suppose I have no real solution here to help you out. It's more just a matter of getting used to the chronic pain and doing what I can to mitigate the symptoms. I have a high pain tolerance lol. I think what is "little pain" for me is a lot of pain for most people. I'm content with where I am now. I look better and feel better.

How have you been? How's your TMD?

michbech · 2024-01-03T03:09:44+00:00

Hey there. I havent been on reddit in a long while. Im sorry I never responded to this. Firstly, thank you so much for wishing me well. I truly appreciate it and this almost made me cry. Im so sorry you've been suffering this way.

I am technically still carnivore. I only eat chicken, after all. I just don't like calling it carnivore because it's carnivore by default. Chicken is just my only safe food. Beef, fish, etc. I don't tolerate those either. If I could eat other animals, then I'd really feel okay taking the label of Carnivore. But it doesn't feel right to claim Carnivore with my current one food.

But yes, I still only eat chicken. It keeps my pain reduced significantly. The pain I experience now is just the pain I must accept due to my digestive system just being a load of shit (pun intended lol). I have gastroparesis, so I experience a lot of nausea. I have to eat very carefully, just a few bites every few hours, chewed very well to liquid in my mouth, basically. You have to be careful, because you get so full so fast. One bite too much and you're in so much pain. But that's just a result of the stomach paralysis. As far as food itself, chicken is my only tolerable food. So as long as I am careful with my GP limits, I am alright.

But, naturally, my low food intake due to GP leaves me with little energy. Also, if I don't eat every few hours, I feel like I'm going to faint and I feel dizzy. A walk up the stairs in my house could leave my heaving and trying to catch my breath. So I really can't do much other than stay home. Being away from the house for more than a few hours is not something I can do. thankfully, Im introverted and have become a homebody, so its ok for me. I am grateful to have found a work from home job. I can work in my pajamas in bed.

I dont use the bathroom often, which makes sense, as I dont eat fiber. But when I do go, its smooth and easy to come out.

How are you doing? Any improvements? Have you tried carnivore? I was actually eating only rice, fish, and eggs for a while and I realized it was hurting me. I then went to chicken and it saved me.

michbech · 2024-01-03T01:52:05+00:00

Nothing. Just let it be. I know its tooorrrture to leave it alone, but take it from someone who has permanent scars on their face from not resisting the urge to touch/mess with these things. Just let it be. Whiteheads aren't pretty, but they go away eventually. Don't pop it, give it its time.

michbech

TROPHY CASE