[18408]

hi all i am reading more and i will be trying the cd's more then likely as i read it worked for alot i will try and contact mike next week and see if he thinks a private therapist that he has trained can also help i am sorry if i started a debate over that just when master said they work for him i took the wrong idea that the site was here to promote his cd,s but yes now i sit back and read more i feel better , still in a hell of alot of pain and managedto eat a piece of toast woo hoo but then back to pain lol yup i laugh coz if i don't i would cry and that just ain't me i fight hard ok so shall we all drop it now and say new day new debate ,like whats the lotto numbers for tomo if you can tell me that i go halves with ya lolstay safe all sean

 

[eric]

Masterplan,Just fyi but my website IBS Health has been reviewed by UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders, by the experts including the Rome committee Chairman before it was listed. This site is as well and not many IBS sites make it there I can tell you.http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/links.htmYou might also want to look around that site by the way.Patient Education http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/publ...n_materials.htmMy site was also reviewed and listed as well as this one onIFFGDInternational Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders"A variety of self-help sites and commercial sites with message boards are available on the Internet. Examples that provide health related bulletin/message boards and other resources include the IBS Self Help Group (www.ibsgroup.org), and the IBS Health Online Bulletin Board (www.ibshope.com and www.ibshealth.com).http://www.iffgd.org/SelfHelp.htmlNot many sites make it there either.I also subscribe to Health on the Net Foundation.http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/I have had IBS now for over thirty five years. I have been in pain I would never fully be able to explain to anyone, except another IBSer and even that is not easy. I have had many other symptoms from it as well. Every day, day after day for thirty five years. I am now with global symptoms 80 percent better four years after Mike's help and many others are as well.I fully appreciate this condition and what it does to people. I also understand the internet and internet information. There is a lot of bad information out there. In regards to any diagnoses, treatment or whatever, always ask your doctor about it and read up on it from reliable sources. Sorry, you feel the way you do and perhaps maybe we can change how you feel about it with time.

 

[Car]

Getting back to the original question, I have used the tapes too and I think I'm the only person (or maybe the only one who'll say it) who found them no help whatsoever. Worst hundred euro I ever spent. I actually think I got more stressed out by the whole experience because the hypnotherapist's (Mike) voice irritated me intensely. Partly because of that and partly for other reasons (that is seems to help IBS/D more) they did nothing for me. I'm sure I could dig them out and send them to you free of charge steptoe if you wanna give them a go.

 

[18408]

hi slainte ty forthe kind offer i am going to see a personal therapist and see if that helps , i went and saw my gp yesterday who is amazed at the treatment i got from the surgeons and the specialist atthe hospital she started me on peppermint oil 3 times a day and buscopan she said these may help but i have to try for 4 weeks and then go back to her in the meantime she is getting on to the hospoital to find out what they are playing at saying i will have to deal with it , so lets hope someone comes up witha few ideas , i am making sure no milk and wheat as they said that was something i cannot tollarate but i am not on boiled fish and rice so lets hope it settles down some what , fingers crossed i have felt a little better today thank you againsean

 

[13540]

iam still working with the tapes and doing very well iam back to putting weight on!!And havnt had D in over a month in a half!!Axiety over health has seem to stop if i have only tried the tapes first i would have saved over 75000 in med tests!!Iam pretty much one of the ones that has had every test with todays modern science and have had them over and over again and have been threw several gi doctors to finding the underlining cause of my problem and as well beleaving i have ibs but for me mikes tapes have help me alot and there is alot of people on this board that new the old me very scared very worried and didnt know where to go so i owe it all to this site!!

 

[eric]

Car, I am sorry to hear they didn't help you. Of course if his voice irritated you, you can't relax enough for them to help. Did you ever email him about your situation?Over the years I have heard from many who think his voice is very relaxing, including myself. Of course a lot of those are from the USA, but many from England as well. I noticed you were from Ireland. I wonder if its some kind of language issue perhaps. In any regards I hope you find something that does help, CBT for IBSis a possible option of course.What money have you spent on treatments that do work and how much on ones that haven't worked?A question for you though, are you glad they have helped many other people with IBS on the bb here?There is a hypnotherapy for IBS unit at the "University Hospital of South Manchester, England " This is one of the UK top senior Gastro docs centers.This is important, they won't help everyone for various reason, Some we can help with, but they work for the majority of people who try them. We are all different and unless a person does try then they may never know if they work or not.That is true with every IBS treatment. Anti depressants help 1 in 3 people statistically. Lotronex and d, if I remember correctly helps about a third and zelnorm and c if I remeber right helps about half the people. OF course there are no serotonin meds for alternators yet.As well as the risks of medications, however I am personally not agaisnt meds. if they will help.HT about 8 in ten people are helped statically and for most the effects last lasts long after the treatment stops. That means something important.Somethings to read from experts in IBS.http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/hypnosis.htmlhttp://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/HypnosisPalsson.htmlhttp://www.ibshypnosis.com/index.htmlSteptoe, the kind of therapist you see for IBS greatly matters, they haave to have REAL experience and knowledge about IBS, regarless if they use HT or CBT or psycotherapy. On another note, while HT has been shown to work physiologically and psychologically on IBS, in c predominate IBS, anxiety can contribute to consitpation, in part by putting the gut into sympathetic nervous system mode.It is not the only way it works. It is also very effective for pain in IBS.From Jeff's notes at the "Patient symposium for understanding IBS and other functional GI Disorders was held by the UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders on July 15, 2006.Olafur Palsson gave a very practical presentation on the clinical uses of hypnosis.70-80% benefit in studies for pain and IBShome hypnosis shows an improvement vs. standard medical care with no hypnosis"http://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...261/m/131102842

 

[18408]

cheers ericthe info is great the therapist i am looking at is one recommended on mikes site and has a high rating and i think i have nothing to lose really money but what use isit if ya in pain day in day out , so far today only had one bad spell so thatsa plus just hope i can find a answer to this problem would be nice to get some life back after the last 8 years and getting me pacemakerthen this hitting home again , but we will see i got to try things to find out and no good sitting on the fence thinking it may or may not i keep saying hey this has to help oh well stay safe one and all and keep smiling coz a smile a day keeps the doctor away cheerssean

 

[Car]

Hi Eric,Being Irish I'm very used to every kind of English accent and can tell the regional differences between many of them. I just couldn't take his! It just got on my nerves that's all.I'm delighted the tapes worked for so many on here, I'd never be bitter to be resentful that it didn't work for me but worked for someone else. I know some people are just more receptive to this sort of therapy and how easily I got put off by his voice perhaps suggests I'm not one of those people! I have tried almost everything out there, my problem is a daily one as in 365 days a year for the last 12 years and I can eat NOTHING. Oh well...same sh1t different day

No worries Sean, they're not much use to me hidden in a drawer somewhere so I would give them away to a good home. Car

 

[23392]

Forrest, been meaning to say HI and glad to see you on the forum feeling better! I replied to some of your early posts--it's to great to hear you sounding, well, better! I do *not* sell Mike's tapes and make nothing by recommending them. I'm an ex-med student [as in, went thru 4 years, did not take boards or do residency] and medical writer and researcher in part of my life. I'd *like* to think I have a good evaluative mind and b.s. meter. If anyone wants to know, I can type in how many days I've been on the tapes, which symptoms have lessened and in what percentage, and which ones have lessened *since* I looked at the checklist.From what i have seen about hypnosis and on this list in general, the tapes do not work the same exact way for every individual--and no one's ibs may be exactly the same as anyone else's. So i don't know if my experience would help or not. Will if anyone's curious.But I *have* recommended them to several friends with ibs *not* on this bboard. [not medically of course. I only play a writer, not a doc. ]

 

[13540]

hiya angry optimist!!Yes is been awhile for me posting!!To me i still have a few problems but one thing at a time its not just mikes tapes for me i take clomipramine for a med with mikes tapes and life changes make a big change in how we look at ibs my mind and mood have changed alot on the way i look at ibs and with some help of a few great doctos in changing the way i was thinging as far as the health axiety that can come with ibs but my path iam taking right now seems to be working great no more d and eating everything got to love it...lol

 

[*Luna*]

I found the tapes to be very helpful. I only wish I had purchased CDs instead of tapes so I could continue to listen to them. After doing the course I would listen to my favorite session to help with stress and head off flares. I was soooo skeptical of hypnotherapy and very cautious about purchasing them. I think the price has actually gone down a little bit since I bought them maybe 5 years ago. Eric may (or may not) remember all the questioning I did on here. I knew there were big fans of the tapes, but wanted to hear from others who had tried them. What I found, and understood after using them, was that most people who use the tapes enthusiastically recommend them to others. You can't help but be enthusiastic about something that helps you a lot.Car, I'm sorry to hear you don't like Mike's voice. Many of us ladies find it quite nice. I find it to be incredibly soothing and easily fell asleep to it, which was big for me because I had been suffering from insomnia.BTW, I'm not sure how long Marilyn has been working with Mike, but I think she was just another user of the tapes when I first joined about 6 years ago. My understanding by the time I bought the tapes a year or so later was that she sent them out from her home so those of us in the US could lower shipping costs. I could be wrong on that part of the arrangement. But at that time I don't think she did any marketing or anything.The thing to remember with things that have helped people is many of us who get to a point where we aren't really suffering any more don't necessarily stick around, or maybe just pop in now and then. My biggest help has been Lotronex, but I did the tapes while it was off the market. The tapes helped me reduce the severity of my attacks and in general help me still to control the anxiety element of the attacks, which escalated them for me. And the only reason I'm not doing great these days is because I'm pregnant and off the combo of drugs that worked so well for me and pregnancy does all sorts of strange things to your poor intestines as they get squished around, so I don't feel as well these days.

 

[15636]

Please DO NOT TRY THIS !!! IT DID NOT WORK 4 ME IF U WANT THE SAME THING JUST TURN ON SOFT MUSIC IT WILL BE THE SAME EFFECT ! DONT LISTEN TO ALL THE SCAMMERS OUT THERE OK!!!!!!!! PLEASE THANK YOU !

 

[eric]

Wow, this thread is 2 years old? That was some interesting reading and valid issues.By the way at this time I am not working for Mike.Agony, I don't no what to say when somebody posts comments like those. I am however sorry you feel the way you do and they did not help you personally here it seems. Maybe another try with help, they might actually still help, HT works that way the more you do it. I can hear the frustration in your post. However we will still help you out, even if its looking for another method or treatment or IBS info.If your were having problems did you ask for anyone's help with them?You know if you have a medication or treatment for IBS and it worked for 80 percent of the people who took it or did it and really helped other would you tell everyone not to try something because it didn't personally work for you? While you may feel it was not helpful to you the Fact remains they have been very helpful to hundreds here and thousands elsewhere. Would you be happy for them?The list has grown on this bb since the two years of this post.http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5373Some people get better quickly, most start to around halfway through and then some are more refractory might take longer and for some they don't work. Marilyn listened a few times I know of while she did them and others as well many of which I guided through in the begining and now Marilyn helps guide people through if people need help. Lots of people who have did them now have left the bb. These are bb memeber though like everyone here real people and the tapes have been here before I even joined many years ago. How is that a scam?This however is not a medication and does not work for everyone, there is an important process to them The majority of those who try it about 80% are helped. It is a different kind of more holistic therapy for IBS using very structure methods. Mike's credential are upfront and reliable and people can check them out themselves. Almost every sound and word in the tapes is there for specific reasons. We all are well aware treatments don't work for everyone, but when you have a high percentage where it is really helping and long term, that is something to take notice of and perhaps look into for others.Discouraging remarks without some kind of discussion of how someone really feels, and I believe everyone with IBS understands the emotions to treatments here can be constructive and valid but also on the otherhand counterproductive as well and people who could be helped are then not, because they may have heard one person's harsh comments stand out more then the many who have offered their successes with it. I know for an absolute fact no one sell's the tapes to harm anyone in anyway and they are there because they have and do work and can and are helping people with IBS. Mike has won awards for his work with IBS and other conditions. So Agaony I know there are people who would be more then happy to help you at this stage if you would like it. The thing is to get better that is the goal.

 

[sunspot19]

Putting Agony's rant aside, one thing I have noticed is along with Mike's CDs I have also been separately playing soft soothing music as well in between and I do feel there is some merit to this...That is, to the extent anxiety is part of the issue in exacerbating things, I have found that doing things to relax me in between sessions with the hypnotherapy CDs has been a wonderful addition. So for instance I will listen to some classical music or even some soft pop like Enya or the like.Frankly it can be really nice if I get on the subway for my 40 minute ride (I live in NYC) and close my eyes while sitting down listening to some soothing music rather than watching everyone, listening to the clamor of the subway, and reading the paper.So again, putting aside Agony's rant which I think is a bit over the top, there is *some* merit to of course engaging in other activities that have a relaxing bit to them, like soft music or even doing something else like yoga, etc. Anyway, just my two cents...

 

[Kathleen M.]

I do not think anyone is saying that relaxation techniques of any sort are bad. Different techniques work for different people, and most everyone could stand to find something that helps relieve stress and anxiety, no matter what health issues they have. Even if they are currently well, most people could still benefit from finding what relaxes them and relieves stress.Unfortunately no one treatment works for everyone. Hypnosis has a good track record in clinical trials with a pretty high percentage of people getting better. I wish it could be 100% but that isn't going to happen with any treatment for any disease. Hypnosis does help the majority of the people in controlled studies, but even then there are people it just doesn't work for. Nothing is 100% effective. That is why we need more than one type of treatment for every disease. Different things work for different people because there are real differences in physiology, etc between individuals.Just because something works for you, that doesn't mean it will work for everyone. The other side of the coin is also true. Just because something did not work for you does not mean it can't work at all for anyone else.I'm sorry it didn't work for agony. I hope they find what does work for them.K.

 

[eric]

Sunspot, I am all for any kind of relaxation methods for IBS, especially in d and d/c as well as c predominate IBS where the fight or flight is a major issue. I believe its highly important, because for one the major influences on IBS and brain gut communications. This is well known in IBS research.But there are also important differences between just relaxation and HT for IBS which uses specific methods to treat IBS. HT for IBS though is not just about lowering stress and anxiety, that is a side effect of the process and it works other ways as well on IBS."That is, to the extent anxiety is part of the issue in exacerbating things, I have found that doing things to relax me in between sessions with the hypnotherapy CDs has been a wonderful addition."I am happy to hear this and the more a person can illicit the relaxation responce to counter the fight or flight the better. I like Enya and classical music How far along are you with Mike's cd's.

 

[eric]

FYIHOW AND WHY HYPNOSIS WORKSThomas Yarnell, Ph.D."The hypnotic state, by itself, is only useful for the relaxation it produces. The real importance of hypnosis to the healing and emotional change process is that while you are in the hypnotic state, your mind is open and receptive to suggestions. Positive and healing suggestions are able to sink deeply into your mind much more quickly and strongly than when you are in a normal, awake state of mind. I say positive suggestions because all research has demonstrated that while in the hypnotic state, you cannot be made to do anything against your moral values. "http://hypnosisandu.homestead.com/Everyone who does it knows you can't be made to do anything against your will or anything like that and "stage hypnosis" for entertainment purposes, which is of course is not what medical hypnosis is all about.

 

[sunspot19]

Oh, no doubt HT is absolutely different. I am on day 8 and am really enjoying the CDs. It is frankly just letting me carve out a point in the day I put everything aside and just concentrate on nothing (other than listening) which is a far cry from my usual routine of an extremely stressful job, two young active boys, etc.I don't ever (would never) suggest soft/relaxing music as a substitute for HT, but just that after I started Mike's CDs one of the things I simply noticed and enjoyed was how I felt (at least in these beginning sessions) that I was really letting the stress flow out. I then thought about the fact that in my rush around life, it might be helpful besides listening to Mike's tapes to also try to insulate things a little when I am on the subway, working, etc., to also listen to just plain soothing sounds.What I have found to date is that even if it is not directly helping reduce my IBS symptoms (which I am finding are greatly reduced already with probiotics, exercise, etc and hopefully with a knock out blow - or perhaps not - with Mike's tapes), it just overall makes me feel good and that good feeling does translate into if no lessening of IBS symptoms than at least tolerating or noticing them a bit less (and thus not getting all panicky and out of sorts).So I do think the relaxation of music (or yoga or other techniques) is helpful not necessarily directly related to the IBS elements but to those other aspects that may be affected by IBS.Maybe I wrote that incorrectly the first time - hope I am making some sense.

 

[cookies4marilyn]

Hi Sunspot - No worries - I got your meaning and I agree with ya! I have several different music CDs that I listen to in addition to Mike's CDs - and one of them is the background music used in the sessions on Mike's CDs without his voice - Simply Music. In fact, Mike encourages folks to listen to calming music, or even music that lifts your mood. Sometimes that may mean "new" music that has no other memories or attachments to it and other times it could mean some rock 'n' roll oldies, or whatever you like, that can get you into a happy mood!I say do whatever it takes to make yourself feel better - once I learned how to relax by using the program, it helped me to do so with other calming music - so that's a good thing. It is known through research that any type of breathing or relaxation techniques, yoga, music, etc. can be very helpful to the IBS sufferer - as well as to other sufferers of other conditions. Anything you do to reduce stress levels is a good thing! But some folks also need the direct gut-specific HT sessions to get at that brain-gut connection that is such a main component of the IBS condition - addressing the anxiety as well as the actual symptoms.Hope that the program works for you and glad you are enjoying them so far... all the best to everyone no matter what journey you take to feeling better.

 

[eric]

Sunspot, I was just pointing it out, but agree listening to soothing music is a good thing and understood what your were saying, but wanted to make clear to others as well here.I know some bass in certain music and the vibrations can set mine off even. Excitement can set it off even so this can go the other way too.I have watched a lot of people progress through the Program now and reading your post, it sounds like your on your way. Things like"It is frankly just letting me carve out a point in the day I put everything aside and just concentrate on nothing (other than listening) which is a far cry from my usual routine of an extremely stressful job, two young active boys, etc."Is all you have to do.

Let us know how you progress.I am truely sorry Agony does feel that way and I hope he or she went through the program schedule correctly or if they had any problem to contact someone. Maybe its something still fixable, but there has to be some discussion or something. Some people have some issues when doing them and usally Mike or someone gets them back on tract and they later have a successful outcome. Or maybe HT wasn't right for the person and maybe CBT or mindfulness meditation or whatever, because all these things are good in general and research shows they are effective for IBS.