#these prompts are from my perspective and experience which is that bowel prep is hell

[galwithalibrarycard]

I am having Such a Bad Gut Night (something i ate), and it is inspiring me to complain about the lack of gastrointestinal whump and hurt/comfort in fanfiction. Yes, bathroom distress is gross, but vomiting is gross and fevers and flus are gross, and there’s whump about those. So why not fic for those of us whose intestines hate us?

- Character A has ulcerative colitis. Character B cooks them gut friendly meals on the regular, joins them in avoiding dairy and spicy/greasy/fried things, and when a colonoscopy is coming up for their partner, B goes shopping for clear liquids and low-residue foods for bowel prep day and the day before prep day respectively.

- Character A is doing bowel prep and feels like hell warmed over. A can’t stand to be seen by anyone or do anything but groan feebly. Character B camps out outside the bathroom door and talks to A through said door, so they have their privacy but aren’t alone.

- Or, Character B goes away, but keeps catching themself hovering outside the bathroom door anyway, wanting desperately to provide comfort but knowing that A wants to tough it out alone.

- Character A is sleeping off the anesthesia from their colonoscopy. Character B is curled up sleeping next to them, after a night of being woken up unintentionally and then laying awake worrying and feeling guilty that their partner has to make themself sick for this medical procedure and there’s nothing B can do to ease their discomfort. Little do they know A was also feeling guilty for keeping B up all night.

- Character A has ulcerative colitis and is having nausea and/or abdominal pain and/or tenesmus. Character B massages Character A’s stomach until they feel better.

- Character A is in the mood to complain about their IBD. Character B listens and commiserates and even cracks a few jokes to cheer A up.

- (I don’t have a stoma but for those who do) Character A has a stoma and Character B is instrumental in helping A still feel sexy and at home in their body.

And I don’t care how much you like anal stuff, colonoscopy is not sexually pleasurable at all (looking at you, that one fic on ao3).