Travel Life In Peril

I have been suffering from a bout of diarrhea for over 3 weeks, which makes for a tough time on the aircraft. This is a little embarrassing to admit but it needs to be shared so that perhaps I can help someone else.

On Saturday, May 16th, I ate both a salad from the grocery store that was expiring that day and a grilled chicken sandwich from McDonald’s. That night I didn’t feel so well and with one sip of water began the viscous cycle.

Originally, I thought that I had food poisoning. After about 5 days of dysentery, I called my physician. A few more days later the tests came back negative and there I was without an explanation. I watched the food I ate that consisted of mainly liquids. Every time that I felt a little better and a lot hungry, I would attempt to eat something more solid with no avail.

So, how does a flight attendant work in this situation and how does a person stop it? After some serious thought and research, I have to wonder if I too have been suffering with   IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) since it is genetic and runs in my family. Ok, assume that I go with this possibility. What triggered it? Salad? Grilled chicken? According to the list at Helpforibs.com, it could be the salad dressing. I have had salad dressing a thousand times before and not reacted like this!

After the first week, I had to call in sick. I could barely get up my stairs because I was so weak. I still have not been back to the gym in almost a month and recently fit back in to a size 6. That’s the only good news but a really difficult way to reach a smaller size. So now, I need to return to the original research that I was doing if I can stay out of the bathroom. Before all of the excitement, I was trying a Gluten Free diet. It started out as research for an Autistic project and turned in to so much more. I wonder if this could help IBS?