I went to the doctor today hoping that a fresh face would give me a fresh take on my year long awkward illness. And I’m happy to say, I think it did. He is pretty sure that I have IBS, probably more anxiety- related than diet-related, but he thinks a serious change in my diet and some over the counter meds can help with it quite a bit. He seems to favor discipline over medication, which is both better for me and harder for me. As most things usually are.
What really caught me off guard, though, was his repsonse to my anxiety. I’ve been dealing with anxiety and OCD for most of my life and only brought it up at John’s request, just to check in with it. The doc said, “Well, of course you’re anxious! You’re a new Mom, you just moved, you’re still trying to figure out who you are. Sure, you’ve got a man… [I especially loved the use of the word 'man'] but that doesn’t meant you know who you are. You probably won’t know that for 10 years or so. Or 20. Or 30. I know everything is going to be ok in your life…but you don’t know that, yet. Everything important is up in the air right now! I know everything will be just fine, but I can’t put that into a pill for you.”
Yup. I am apparently sick with a normal/quite typical/totally incurable case of being 25, married, a new mom with OCD and have IBS on top of it. That mixture is sure to mix things up sometimes. We’re definitely getting an ultrasound for the gallbladder (which he said could be a problem on top of the other things) but as for now…he wants me to a) eat better b) exercise and c) try to manage my anxiety on my own without meds. Which I agree with. He is hesitant to write a script that will condemn a 25 year old girl to life-long medication unless absolutely needed.
Part of me wanted some meds, but the other part of me is glad that I have someone that I felt listened to me and seriously considered what I’d been through in the last year, and just wants me to take care of myself before we try meds. My only question is: why can’t fiber taste good???
So we’ll give this a go. Shall we?
Tags: prognosis
Well I am happy to hear of the good attitude you have about dealing with this. I do agree with trying to minimize the meds, that in itself , can become a big problem. I was also fearfful that being given a script would mask a problem. So good for you, you can do it! I Love You P
After struggling with anxiety for the majority of my life, I spent ten years in extremely productive counseling and have been on meds for about ten years. Once I started the meds my real life began. Seriously.
I used to be proud that as a mom I could juggle ten balls in the air WHILE I was doing laundry. Now, with the help of meds I can decide what three “balls” have priority.
It is really cool that your doctor things it is something you will be able to work your way through, but I say phone-a-friend or insurance allows a psych appointment just to make sure it isn’t more serious.
If one of your parents suffered from anxiety or dpression you have a twenty five percent of having those issues. If both parents have issues the chances of it being an issue for you escalates to forty percent.
I love your light-heartedness about this, but I’ve battled this my entire life and it wasn’t until a very concerned outsider pointed me in the right direction that my life completely changed.
Sorry to go all pro-meds on you but if you want to “talk” more, you’ve got my email address.
Cute site, I came over via BlogHer.
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