11/05/2026
You set the alarm for 6:30.
You left yourself extra time. You planned everything the night before.
And you're still going to be late.
Not because of traffic.
Not because you overslept.
Because your gut woke up before you did โ and it had a different agenda.
So now it's 7:47.
The coffee is cold.
And you're typing the same text you've typed a hundred times before.
"Running a bit late, so sorry."
Nobody at work knows the real reason.
You stopped explaining years ago.
Because how do you explain that you left the house, came back, left again, came back again โ and somehow still didn't make it on time?
How do you explain the mental math that happens every single morning before you can do anything else?
Is today a good day or a bad day?
Can I make it through the commute?
Should I eat or wait?
What if it hits at the wrong time?
This is the part of IBS nobody talks about.
Not the pain. The planning.
The invisible tax your gut charges you โ before your day even begins.
You're not lazy. You're not unreliable.
You are managing something no one can see, every single morning, before 8 AM.
And you deserve more than "just avoid trigger foods and it'll be tolerable."