While the credit of the world goes all crunchy and we all face difficult financial times, we also, of course, have to continue coping with our bowels. IBS can be incredibly hard on our finances, for a number of different reasons – some of us can’t work in the first place, or can’t hold down the better paid jobs because of the pain and the fact that we need to be near a toilet. Some of us have to spend lots of money on drugs and supplements. Some of us take Lotronex, which is reaching increasingly ridiculous price levels.
And so I was pondering this situation this week, and wondering if there might be something that the IBS Tales website could do to help. I remember I had a donations button on the site a few years back, which was really for donations to me to pay towards the web hosting costs etc, but I could set up a donations button again that goes straight to a deserving IBS sufferer’s Paypal account. Perhaps we could nominate a different IBS sufferer each month or couple of months, someone who was really struggling right now, and take away a little bit of their burden together.
What do you guys think? Would you be interested in helping out? Do you think anyone would donate, or need the help? It would be very easy to set up, but it would rely on IBS sufferers who are prepared to help each other out. I do think that people generally look for causes to donate to that they really care about, and if you’re reading this you’re probably someone who really cares about IBS (unfortunately). So maybe it would work?
I’d be interested to hear anybody’s thoughts and ideas!
I think this would be a fantastic idea
.
At the moment I cannot work because I had a huge flare up and had to quit my PhD. I don’t qualify for benefits because I’ve never had a job and hubby earns just enough to be over the threashold.
We have a mortgage and bills and all manner of expensive things and while I fight city hall for something to replace the wage I could be earning or my uni funding until I’m better again, this would be a fantastic scheme.
I don’t know if anyone reads Terry Pratchett, but they have a race called Igors and their motto is what goes around comes around
. So people who receive this in hard times can give back in better times 
(no obligation obviously).
Hi Liz – thanks for your thoughts. I’m definitely considering this further, I do think as you say it would be a nice thing to do in the karma scheme of things! To be honest though it would probably only be small amounts of money, both because it would rely on the generosity of strangers but also because I’d feel uncomfortable if large sums were being given out to people that I didn’t know, there’d be too much potential to take advantage. But hopefully even if it were say $100 that would make a difference to someone who was really struggling.
I’ll keep thinking about it and announce any news on the blog.
I think even if it was just a small amount (I’m from the uk btw I just watch far too much american daytime tv) it would be appreciated. Really just to know that people with the same condition realise what a bugger this affliction is.
I say this now between trips to the loo because my body thinks that eating food is over-rated and therefore should expunge as much as possible as quickly as possible with added cramps to bring the message home.
That’s a pretty good idea.
I can’t even work from my severe IBS and still live at home! I’ve had this since I was in my teens and now I’m in my mid twenties and nothing helps.
I think that this is a great idea, though I think that there are a lot more people in need of help than in the position to give help. IBS- D is life-ruining. I don’t know how it is possible to hold down a decent job for any length of time…
Hi guys – just to say I’m still thinking about this as a future idea…I would want to make sure it wasn’t misused in any way, and that any money raised from very generous IBSers went to worthy causes only, and people who really needed the money…
I was thinking perhaps we could have a different recipient each month, and they could write a blog entry to say how they have used the cash…it would only be small change but it might just help someone out. Watch this space!
I had mucous running continuously from my bowels for two years. It was so bad I wanted to die. I had a small polyp removed but it wasn’t cleared up until I stopped eating anything that had milk in it. There’s a protein in milk, perhaps more than one, that the body reacts to as a foreign substance. It causes inflammationa and kicks the immune system in gear so your immune response is probably hyperactive. And if you’re continuosly eating products with milk, it won’t go away and you’ll never learn the cause. The milk also creates mucous on your intestine so your not absorbing/processing food as efficiently. I also feel my milk consumption created the polyp.
I hope this helps you, and wish that doctors had been smart enough to figure it out. But they weren’t. It took a while for me to find the source of the problem but now I’m okay unless I have milk products: then it starts up again. Good luck to you.