Ablutions

I was very pleased to see two swans doing their morning ablutions on my walk. For a long while i've been seeing only one swan. As I was watching them a man came by and told me the female had lost her mate last year and this was her new partner! He also pointed out their nest just a little further down the river on a jetty between 2 dinghies! I don't think they will be used this summer! They have a very nice view!
In the afternoon The Exile drove me to the Dr's. I made the appointment 3 weeks ago as I wanted to be certain it is IBS that I have. It's not getting any better and I didn't want to continue just living with it if perhaps it wasn't IBS - that thought has been niggling away at me and causing anxiety. If it is IBS then I  wanted some clearer guidance on how to live with it. I was also miffed that not once had any Dr examined my stomach - which is huge! 
Well the appointment was even more imperative as I had spent most of the Easter weekend on my back - often with a hot water bottle! The cramping was severe and this was the only position that relieved it - can you imagine a hot water bottle being necessary in the glorious weather we had?! At the moment I seem to be existing not living - even walks with Oscar are often not pleasant as my belly just cramps and my legs feel weak so I feel like I might collapse at any moment. Maybe the car accident and all the fall out dealing with that and getting a new car were the cause. It's so hard knowing what is fueling the problem, the pain making me anxious or the anxiety causing the IBS! It's a very chicken and egg what came first situation! To me it feels like I am mentally strong and it is the physical pain and what is causing it that is causing the anxiety.
Anyway, my Dr was a mature man who had read my notes and as soon as I explained the problem asked me to lie down so he could examine my stomach! He then gave me a home poo collection kit to send off to look for blood not visible to the naked eye, booked some blood tests to see if I am gluten intolerant and gave me a different tablet for the cramping as I felt the other ones had given me constipation!  He also agreed that I should take laxatives regularly! What a relief! I don't think I have bowel cancer which the testing kit is partially for, and I don't care if it's a gluten intolerance - I did try cutting out gluten but am not sure I did it for long enough and I was still having panic attacks at the time so too many variables - aren't there always?! If the tests come back negative then that will put my mind at ease and maybe then the IBS will settle, along with a better management plan.