Well it's all gone a bit Christmassy now and I'd rather not get into great reams of IBS stuff at this fluffy time of year, so I thought I'd subject you to one of these random blog posts where I just tell you a bunch of facts about me that you never knew (and never wanted to know, probably, but here you are anyway).
Feel free to add your own interesting facts in the comments section to let me get to know you too!
1. I like sheep very much.
2. This year I bought a teddy who is dressed up as a duck, and I think I love him more than I am supposed to. (His name is Benny).
3. I have never smoked a cigarette.
4. I have never been on an aeroplane (this is somewhat IBS-related), although I have been in a helicopter.
5. After being frightened of cooking for many years I am now learning, and am able to gut fish myself.
6. When I was eight I broke my ankle when I was hit in the head by a football and fell down in a strange position.
7. I have at least 30 pairs of socks, most of which have daft things on them like hedgehogs, Eeyore, guinea pigs, laughing snails, etc etc. Every time I do laundry I promise myself that I will throw them all out and only buy identical black socks from now on so I don't spend three hours matching up the pairs.
8. My hair is brown but I have a number of white hairs in patches. I am 29.
9. I was once in a hallway at university when Germaine Greer walked past. She looked grumpy.
10. I have two reccurring dreams - one where I fail my degree because I have forgotten to turn up to a poetry class for an entire year, and one where it is Armageddon and the world ends in an exciting manner (so far I have had floods, lightning bolts from the sky, and random piles of dead bodies for no apparent reason).
11. I wear glasses.
12. My mum sometimes reads this blog to check that I haven't collapsed in a heap. (Hi mum!).
13. I hate clothes shopping, and I haven't bought any clothes this year at all. Luckily my mum normally buys me pants for Christmas. (Hi mum!).
14. I have been inside Brixton prison.
15. I am good at spelling. I am rubbish at crosswords.
16. I once met Martin Amis and he told me not to read "Sophie's World" because it wasn't very good, so I didn't.
17. My mobile phone is one of those rectangular Nokia phones that was very fashionable about seven years ago.
18. I am quite careful with money. (See 17.)
19. I have a goldfish called Flufflesven who is at least nine years old and lives with my parents.
20. I passed my driving test on the second attempt and have not driven since.
I also hate shopping for clothes, and also haven't bought any clothes for a year. Thanks for the unChristmas list.
Tummyblogger
I just discovered your blog and I want to thank you for writing about IBS. I don't know anyone else who has it and I've recently been having a terrible time trying to manage it this year and I feel like I have no one to talk to about it because, hell, who wants to hear about bowl movments? I forget that other people suffer from the same condition and it's just nice to have a site where I can read about IBS and get new information about treatments and hear funny stories. I laughed so much reading your blog and it's just what I needed right now. Thanks for having a great sense of humor and for being honest.
I also wear socks with funny pictures on them! My mom gets me some for Christmas every year.
Hi Sophie! don't worry about the oblong Nokia phone - I have got one as well - that makes two of us - all my friends etc. have got tiny things that take photos, text just by pushing a button - and all the etceteras that one simply can not do without these days ! I sometimes wonder how I survive - I haven't got a CD or DVD player, no dishwasher or tumble drier...but I do have IBS!!!! Juliet.
Who needs good bowels when you have a good sense of humor? You're a very funny woman Sophie. Sharon
Hi Sophie,
I found your site a couple of weeks ago and found it helpfull. I don't suffer as bad as you or some of the other people on here. But it's nice to resd some of the stories.
Why do you like sheep?
Thank god for Mum's as who would buy us clothes at xmas that last all year!!!
I've never smoked a cigarette either!
Wonderful to find your blog/website!!! It's been so nice to read and know I am not crazy nor alone...wonderful tips-especially the confirmation that magnesuim helps with ibs-c. Thanks for the info--I'll definitely be checking back regularly!
Hi everyone - hope you all had good Christmasses and the bowels behaved themselves.
Welcome to Kelly and Robin - you guys are definitely not alone! People are still far too reluctant to talk about their bowels. I mean, I know it's not exactly a pleasant subject, but it's far nicer to know that other people have exactly the same problems than suffering alone.
Juliet - glad to hear you're a fellow Nokia oblong fan! I know what you mean about the fancy phones, most people's phones these days can take photos and video and go on the Net and God knows what. Mine just about makes phone calls, but that's really it. But then it's a phone, right? That's really all I'm asking for from the thing!
Jason - you know I'm not really sure why I like sheep, and I think it's partly the fluffy woolly thing, and partly the fact that they are so docile and just stand around being sheep in fields, there's something just kinda nice about that!
Hi Sophie,
I just discovered your sight and wow I can't believe so many people suffer from IBS. I am 40 years old and have suffered with it for as long as I can remember. When I was young my parents never knew what was wrong with me and I suffered terribly. In college it was so bad I would wake up every night with severe stomach pains and just cry myself back to sleep. Now I have learned to live with it and avoid certain foods and use different tricks to make me feel better. I still have stomach pains, bloating, constipation and the "D" word but I have learned how to deal with it. It has not distroyed my social life and I have a very successful career. I just keep a positive attitude and deal with it. No one is perfect and we all have something in life we have to deal with.
Thank you for the website. :)