Must IBS folks give up travel along with all the other “not possible for us” situations? It is a serious question considering the disasters most of us have already experienced when we venture away from our comfort zone.
Many of us have gone out for dinner and spent the entire time occupying “il bagno” with either C or D episodes we prayed would end well, but probably didn’t. Many of us have spent the night at the homes of friends or family and had an embarrassing episode that we may have had to share with them or had to hide from them. None of these scenarios make us want to travel. But life is too short not to try.
Here are some scenarios and lists of take alongs that might help you safely maneuver your next vacation or business trip without any IBS incidents.
For example, last November, shortly before the pandemic, my granddaughter chose Nassau as her destination wedding and there was no way I could refuse to go. It sounds divine right? Island music, island charm – oh wait – island food!!
Everyone else in the family was chatting away about what to wear on the island, and looking forward to the special drinks and food at the lush resort where we are staying.
Meanwhile, I’m busy wondering how to pull off this challenge of food and il bagno from the time I step on the plane to the day of my return flight. What to wear while I am there is clearly not the priority. I think most of my IBS friends feel the same way. We dread these trips because so much can go wrong.
First of all, going through security could stymie my trip or yours from the get go. I usually have small baggies filled with Citrucel fiber, grits and oatmeal that I carefully label, hoping security will take me at my word. But no, it all looks like cocaine or drugs to security, so I am pulled aside while they carefully scrutinize every inch of my carry-on. This search also means whatever food I pack might be thrown out, and the extra time it takes could cause me to miss my flight.
So try to avoid this security issue. Put anything that might look suspicious in your check-in bag, if you are checking any baggage. If you only have a carry-on, label your baggies clearly and hopefully you won’t be pulled aside. Arrive very early in case this could happen.
Second, if you bring snacks and meds, be prepared for keeping it under your seat rather than in the overhead. Choose a large tote handbag to fit everything into. Then claim that as the one piece you are keeping under your seat. I make sure mine is large enough that I can place my handbag in it as well. I do this to keep my food and medicine available at all times. Sometimes a snarky stewardess asks me to put my tote in the overhead, but I try to resist that. lol.
Third, when drinks come around always ask for water. In my handbag I keep small tubes of green tea or lemonade powder (crystal light) to add to the water because that is safe for me to drink. Choose something safe. Soda is not safe for people with IBS. Those bubbles you love cause gastric distress.
Fourth, try to avoid eating any of the food offered on the flight. You don’t know what is in the bread, the sandwich spreads, the dinners, etc. Bring your own food such as a safe sandwich or safe snacks from home. Sadly, experience has proven that airplane food can cause IBS attacks. Usually just as the seat belt light goes on. lol.
In my handbag I also keep the following:
• Corn Chex, honey nut cheerios, or gluten free pretzels. Do not eat chocolate, or fibrous bars, or anything you are not sure of.
• Gas X which contains Simethicone that can stop an IBS flare
• Peppermint tablets which also help with a flare
• Peppermint tea bags or Fennel tea bags
• Equal packets to sweeten tea
• Citrucel fiber
• Phillips Colon Probiotic
Taking some fiber helps soothe the colon. In fact, everything mentioned here helps fend off IBS attacks, keeping you safe until landing at your destination.
Once at the hotel or destination, we are in enemy territory for sure. Especially at a high end resort. All their restaurants, food bars, snack areas seem designed just to torture us IBS folk. Appealing to the sophisticated traveler, the hotels and restaurants go out of their way to put exotic foods on the menu. Probably these are foods we don’t dare try, not knowing if just a few bites might send us to our room for the duration.
Fifth, what to do in order to not starve or get slammed by some sneaky ingredient that is poison to our colon? Order simple foods.
For example:
• scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast or even lunch
• grilled chicken sandwich with tomato and mayo on gluten free bread for lunch
•grilled salmon, baked potato (plain) and carrots for dinner
Do not order an island special, restaurant special or foods in a sauce, a stew, a creamy soup, or anything at all that contains unknown ingredients. Play it safe, even if everyone else is enjoying divine island or vacation food everywhere you turn. It isn’t for us. (sob.) Better to stay safe and enjoy all the fun the vacation spot or even your business trip has to offer. Right?
When it comes to vacation special drinks, you know what you can tolerate, so stick with that. I know it seems unfair that everyone else is guzzling down fun island or bar specials that look gorgeous and probably taste divine, but we can’t do it. Say this 40 times!!!
Sixth: What to do if the destination seems rife with food land mines? For example, immediately after the announcement of the wedding venue, my mind was under siege. What foods could I take with me; what could I eat while there; where could I find “il bagno” should I have a desperate moment? I planned for every emergency as well as I could, but nothing prepared me for the inconveniences of that resort.
It was a nightmare for folks with IBS. It was built on the top of a rocky, mountainous cliff, with the beach and pools so far below that we had to descend in an outdoor elevator. After that, we walked a maze of narrow pathways with very little guidance from signs or hotel employees. No matter where you wanted to go – dining, beach, pool – you had to walk too far without knowing where “il bagno” was. The few and far between food venues near pool and beach, including a few food trucks, had menus that spelled disaster for my gut. It would have been such a dilemma to be so hungry, yet have so few food choices for me. This scenario could occur at business destinations or anywhere we travel outside of our comfort zones.
Fortunately, in spite of the rocky terrain and inconvenient pathways around the resort, I still came prepared with food, snacks and meds. My beach bag was filled with helpful meds, snacks, a map of the resort and safe drinks. You too should always -as the boy scouts wisely say – “Be Prepared.” It is the only way to keep your gut safe from an IBS tragedy while away from home.
Since I have traveled to unknown places before, both for business and vacay, here are some of the travel tips I have used successfully to make my trips safe and memorable.
•Pack a small suitcase with food items such as:
– Grits and oatmeal packets
– peppermint and fennel tea bags
– tea or lemonade packets for changing plain water into something delicious.
– GF pretzels, crackers, buns, cookies such as homemade Rice Krispy treats and Social Teas biscuits.
– carrot sticks and pared, sliced apples for the plane (put this in your travel on tote (lol)
– small bottles of water with lemonade or green tea packets
– anything else you love that is IBS safe and portable
– meds from your doctor to stop an IBS attack asap
– Gas X (it has simethicone which soothes gut or colon spasms)
– Citrucel or any fiber you use that helps you
– a probiotic (I like Philip’s Colon Probiotic)
– Altoid peppermint drops
• In your check-in bag, pack non constricting casual outfits for the resort. Tight panty hose, tight spandex type garments can bring on an attack. Loose waisted pants, shorts, dresses are all good and don’t cause painful constriction that might set off colon spasms.
•Avoid alcohol or choose drinks you know you can tolerate.
• Look up the destination on the Internet. Note their restaurant food menus, and a map of the area, if possible. (Days before my departure. I saw how impossible it was to get around the resort or have a handle on where the bathrooms were, so I made a point to ask at the desk when checking in. They gave me a map of the resort that I could use whenever we ventured out of our hotel room.)
• Look at restaurant menus. If nothing looks safe, stick with breakfast items. (They all offer eggs, toast, bacon, ham, oatmeal, waffles, biscuits and pancakes. At the wedding resort, I planned on eating a big breakfast every morning and then taking breakfast snacks with me to the beach or pool.)
As for my wedding venue vaycay, dinner was trickier because the first night was the rehearsal dinner with a set menu and the second night was the wedding that also had a set menu. Luckily, my thoughtful daughter-in-law made sure there was always an alternative menu choice that I could have.
Also, because a tropical storm came up unexpectedly, the venue for the reception was moved to one I could walk to easily and an “il bagno” was right outside the reception room, handy as can be. Praise God. So while my granddaughter’s destination wedding choice made finding food and “il bagno” a challenge, with planning and prayer, the trip was a lovely and memorable one for me.
So those are my travel tips that helped me enjoy the destination wedding and before that, several trips to Europe. Not that I didn’t have a few beginnings of an attack, but I used my meds, home snacks and careful food choices to manage my IBS while enjoying the wedding weekend without a debilitating flare-up.
I also believe in the power of prayer. Jesus tells believers to turn to Him and He will help and that is exactly what I did each time I felt an attack coming on. He was my strength, my comfort and my support. He doesn’t mind if we ask His help for small things as well as more important issues. He is there to help us navigate through life. Don’t ignore His love and guidance when it is there for us at any time.
