Digestive symptoms can occur in all ages. They do not discriminate. IBS impacts 1 in 6 in the US…mostly females…and this includes some of our kiddos too.
Today, I am featuring a story from a 13 year old girl. I think what is so telling in this story is that Haley’s uncomfortable digestive symptoms after eating became her ‘normal’. When you normalize feeling poorly after eating, you might miss the red flag, that something is wrong. And, yes, you can feel better when you get the help your body needs. Always talk to your doctor about your digestive symptoms. It’s not normal to not feel normal after eating!
When you always have GI symptoms after just about every meal, …you simply expect them to happen. That’s normal right? NO, it isn’t.
Here is Haley’s story:
“My story started with a glass of milk. I loved milk, had it every day, every meal. But something wasn’t right, something didn’t feel good. I didn’t notice it right away, I am not going to lie… it just felt normal to not feel good. I thought that everyone felt this way. I went on the low fodmap diet right before Halloween 2017. I didn’t feel that good at first because I kept eating things I knew I shouldn’t be eating. But when I really started on the low FODMAP diet, I realized that it wasn’t normal to feel terrible after every meal. I felt fine after I ate, it was amazing.
But this wasn’t just about how I felt on the inside, I had always felt bloated and gassy. I didn’t just feel better inside I felt better on the outside too. It changed my life, it really did. I knew that I could eat foods with FODMAPs if I wanted to. I knew that I could but I didn’t because I knew how I would feel. Yes, sometimes I want blackberries, and now I can have a few because eventually you find out what is causing symptoms, and eventually you will too.” HM -age 13
Haley is a creative cook and has mastered the low FODMAP diet in the kitchen! She has figured out how to make her favorite recipes low FODMAP. She uses my Low FODMAP grocery guide app when visiting w/ her friends to remind her of what fruit is low in FODMAPs and what snacks she can enjoy without enduring symptoms. I shared one of my favorite treats that Haley concocted in her kitchen on my blog in a past post. You might want to make some too…check out Haley’s Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Truffles with Sea Salt. YUM!
Thanks for sharing your story, Haley! 🙂