IBS - 1, Olivia - 0

My poor body hasn't had much fun recently; constantly tired, tummy aches, poor appetite.

I'm off work today yet again, and for another pathetic reason which sounds so small but feels awful. We've come to the conclusion that somewhere in the past year or so I seemed to have developed irritable bowel syndrome, probably as a result of stress, and now things such as eating and nausea have become a major problem in the last 12 months or so.

It's one of these frustrating things that my mental state and physical state are so entwined together that they have to both be working and co-operating for me to get by each day. Also as there is no known thing that necessarily sets off any symptoms (mainly stress, and I'm usually at least a little stressed!) it means that I can feel any way at any time without knowing how things will effect me. Which stresses me more. Ahhh!

Anyway, in an effort to save some money and to try and eat a bit more healthily, we've been trying to cut back on meat, much to the disgust and horror of Tom who is a pure carnivore. So whilst trying to stretch what we have over the week for the three of us (and remember we don't have a freezer so it's all fresh so has to be eaten quickly) last night I cooked a nice if interesting dinner: sausages in tomato sauce with roasted root veg. I needed to use up all the parsnips, carrots and potatoes, and added cooked sausages to the standard tomato sauce I make (garlic, onions, chilli and sieved tomatoes, then herbs as desired) and it all worked nicely.

However I had also eaten some dried apricots and had a dessert of banana with strawberry yoghurt. Maybe that was the overkill...

Either way for the past 14 hours I have needed to stay within proximity of the bathroom and am a bit apprehensive about eating anything lest it aggravate things further. Decided to call in sick because although I usually feel a bit rubbish these days this was different and I really didn't want to risk anything or go the entire day at work without eating.

So I'm stuck at home, trying to do a bit of housework to keep me occupied and keep my fluids topped up. Also had to clean out Rusty which was horrific because it made me want to hurl everywhere but I survived without anything eventful.

So even if I eat things which in theory should help me and make me healthier and generally better, it doesn't work! Grrr...