Any other treatments successful?

I think they were definitely worth the money and I'm cheap I will say I was a bit skeptical when I first learned about them and it took me about a year to go ahead and do them. But it is so worth it. They are better than general relaxation tapes since they are directed at the IBS specifically. he talks about dealing with symptoms and visualizations for them which many of us use even during the day. I will say it's the on thing that has given me control over this too. Even if I am having an attack, I am far bettre at being able to control the pain and even hold off the D if I need to. This is a huge win.It's not a cure, but it's a big help. I do wish I could point you to the hypno board for more infomation but the forum is down right now because of too much bickering. it's unfortunate, because there was a lot of good stuff there. feel free to ask me anything though and I can try to dig up more info. nancy

Matt, I know exactly what you mean about the ruts -- i was in one for a while this summer and it was awful until i got out of it -- bad thing was that it happened to coincide with a trip i took with my boyfriend and his family to the beach... You will get out of it - sometimes thats what i need to hear. As for foods - if you figure that out let me know because i still haven't gotten that one - when i'm "off" anything i eat is going to hurt me. If you are in a D circle, be careful with the redmeat and strong veggies (broccoli, etc) - chicken and rice is my standby. Also, have you tried fiber? Sounds cliche but it works. Holly and Cris - i graduated with a biology degree and i used to laugh about the hypno myself. But i can't stress how much it has helped me deal with this and i'm not "new-agy" in any way I've also played with "self-biofeedback" to control stress and that was pretty useful as well. Hope you all are feeling well today!kac

Matt, some food info for you. http://www.ibshealth.com/ibsfoodsinfo.htm Hypnotherapy and IBS information."Why Consider Hypnosis Treatment for IBS?by Olafur S. Palsson, Psy.D.Hypnosis is only one of several approaches to treating irritable bowel syndrome and may not be the most suitable option for all patients click here for discussion of treatment options for IBS. However, hypnosis treatment has some advantages which makes it an attractive option for many IBS sufferers with chronic and severe symptoms:- It is one of the most successful treatment approaches for chronic IBS. The response rate to treatment is 80% and better in most published studies to date. - The treatment often helps individuals who have failed to get improvements with other methods see for example: Whorwell et al., 1984, 1987; Palsson et al., 1997, 2000.- It is a uniquely comfortable form of treatment; relaxing, easy and generally enjoyable.- It utilizes the healing power of the person's own mind, and is generally completely without negative side effects. - The treatment sometimes results in improvement in other symptoms or problems such as migraine or tension headaches, along with the improvement in IBS symptoms.- The beneficial effects of the treatment last long after the end of the course of treatment. According to research, individuals who improve from hypnosis treatment for IBS can generally look forward to years of reduced bowel symptoms." http://www.ibshypnosis.com http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/HypnosisPalsson.html http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/hypnosis.htm http://www.ibshypnosis.com/IBSresearch.html http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/hypnosis.html http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/hypnosis.htm The tapes have helped a considerable number of people on the bb here and elsewhere. FYI, when the HT forum ccomes back online there are some personal experiences there worth reading.This is mine however. It was the best thing I have ever done bar none. http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...c;f=17;t=000002 This is worth reading to. http://www.med.unc.edu/wrkunits/2depts/med...fgidc/relax.htm

hi matt17 like you i am 23yrs of age. i've been ibs-d since i was maybe 15. i know what you mean about avoiding sports events and serious career jobs. i really feel my ibs has dented my confidence alot making me feel inferior to normal healthy people. after 1 of my symptoms i evenually found the courage to seek medical advice, and like most ibs people was found to have a health normal digestion system.after this i just tried to live with my symptoms until i found this site. it was like realising you were'nt alone in the world. with alot of the suggestions on the board i'm determined to try beat this even if subconsciencely i'm thinking i've had this for so long that no matter what i try nothing will work.at the moment i'm tryin calcium, imodium and chinese herbal med.gonna start including all the other supplements vitamin b c etc. also increase my fibre intake and try cut out all my trigger foods. also gonna try this live yogurt and herbal teas.i'm hoping all this might do the trick but i know my number 1 enemy is anxiety so i may try hypno to help my symptoms. i did try 1 session of hypno before and it was amazing i remember feeling so good for the rest of that day. but i didnt have the disipline to keep it up and so my symptoms returned.i defo recommend hypno to anyone especially anxiety pron ibs'ers to try at least. has anyone had success with the supplements, fibre etc i mention above?

Matt, I was about 23 yrs old when my IBS/D really started up and in 2001 at the age of 54 yrs old I finally got Mike's Hypno. 100 program on cd's. After years of suffering and not being able to go places and enjoy life even after MD's/Psychiatrists/Psychologists and all kinds of meds including AD's and Benzo's I kinda tried Mike's program as a last resort after Lotronex was taken off the market. Lotronex did stop my IBS/D symptoms even though not approved for males. Anyway I found that putting the correct cd in a portable player at my bedside and listening through earbuds at bedtime worked great for me. No more sleep problems, no more anxiety and best of all I have been IBS/D symptom free since late 2001 and wish everyone could try this first instead of last. I always felt my IBS was anxiety related and Eric explained to me that the Hypno.100 program seems to correct brain/gut dysfunction. I spent thousands of dollars and many hours of wasted time over 32 years, the cost of the tapes is cheap in my opinion. I feel like most folks will get significant relief if you do the program per instructions and every day as directed. We are soon going north for the fall colors and I don't even worry about finding bathrooms nowadays! NorbPS: I did in person Hypnosis with a Psychologist several years ago and it helped with anxiety but was not "gut specific" and did nothing for my IBS. I still listen most nights at bedtime to my favorite cd #4 as it puts me to sleep quickly and no nightmares either!