Comments: There maybe a few doubles as people continued there comments.eric and Dr. Bolen,This is a wonderful forum and I thank you for it....Mike 001,Your tapes have made a tremendous difference in helping me with my IBS problems----I am a firm believer in them....Thanks so much.. Bettie ------------------ LET'S ALL PRAY FOR A CURE TO THIS IBS SOON! BETTIE EllenH, As a behavioral health practitioner � I�m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area � I�ve been using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Couples Therapy (when a partner is involved) to treat my IBS patients for several years now. I had been looking for resources to refer my patients to re: hypnotherapy, since I do not practice hypnotherapy myself. I had read the studies re: the benefits of hypnotherapy for IBS a few years back, but had difficulty finding hypnotherapists who knew enough about IBS. As an IBS sufferer myself since 1990 (now much improved), I was curious to see what hypnotherapy could add to the treatment options. After seeing the posts on Mikes Tapes, I decided to order them and try them myself , before recommending them to patients. I am on Day 34 now, and am thus far thoroughly impressed. Very high quality, and a real bargain for the price � one session of hypnotherapy in this area is about the equivalent of the price of the entire tape series. When I think of all the money that I (and my patients) have spent on IBS treatments over the years, the cost of the tapes seems like a drop in the bucket. I�m thinking that the combination of CBT and the tapes might be really helpful for many of my patients. Thank you Mike for developing this worthwhile resource � your expertise really shows. And thank you Eric for getting the word out � I hope that others will find them as useful as I have. EllenH I stuck with the program and finished it several months ago. I cant say enough about the tapes. My own experience was a positive one. Being new to hypnotherapy, I was open to anything that might help me cope with my IBS symptoms. I found the tapes very relaxing and looked forward to listening to Mikes soothing voice during each session. If life gets too stressful, I can still reflect on what I have learned from his tapes. I encourage anyone thinking of trying this, to do it. Be sure to realize the committment you will be getting into, though. You must stay regimented and true to yourself..the 100 days will fly by quickly...at least it did for me. It was never a chore to listen to the tapes. I truly did look forward it. Good luck to all! Michelle Hi everyone, I know I haven't been around lately, but I'm trying to be more "regular" now! Anyways, it's almost been three months since I finished the tapes and happy to report that I am still improving slightly. Don't look for a new chart in this update. I haven't been keeping close track, plus, who has the time! Also, I don't beleive the chart gave people the full story. I can best sum up my improvement like this: I am 70% better 90% of the time. More specifically, I feel about 70% better 6 days out of 7. That seventh day I may get an episode that last 3 to 4 hours or less. Interesting note here: I had a colonoscopy yesterday (routine after 3 years since my last one because of a couple of very small polyps found and a history of colon cancer in my family), did not find anything abnormal - everything was find, so thank God I won't have to go through that for another 5 or 6 years (hurray). However, during the exam, the doctor told me I was having a lot of spasms and that I had an enormous amount of trapped gas, most likely because of the spasms. I told him, I don't notice the spasms, probably because I've learned to control the discomfort and anxiety through hypnosis. Nonetheless, I definately have classic IBS, or what they used to refer to spastic colon. It seems waste and gas will get trapped in my ascending and traverse colon for exended periods of time and I beleive once a week or so, it decides enough is enough and out it must go causeing me to have those 3 to 4 hours of discomfort I mentioned above. There was some more good news in that he told me that he was the lead investigator for the upcoming clinical trials for Zelmac here in Canada, and if I wanted to participate, he would make sure I would get in since there were so many people wanting to do this trial. I then mentioned to him about this community. A little later while I was in the recovery room, he came up to me (having thought about it for a bit) and said that if there were other people here that wanted to get involved, he would be happy to speak to everyone and try give us priority status for this study Cool Huh! Eric, I'm going to contact Jeff directly about talking to my GI (Dr. Jeffery Axler), but I was wondering if you would mind if I posted a new topic in this forum for anyone who would be interested in the Zelmac trials even though this is the CBT and hypno forum? Good Health to all, Stef.Jennifer7 ,IBS-D for 11 years. I'm still on Lotronex (I'm so thankful to God) but even on that I would have "panic attacks" in stores, espe- cially the grocery store. I thought the tapes might improve that. I still have some problems shopping, but since the tapes I'm better able to cope. Sometimes I can get through without any problems. Other times I start to panic and I work through it. I couldn't work through it before. I hope to continue improving. I'm finished with the tapes, however I listen every now and then as suggested. Well, last night was day 100, I'm finally done with the program. I wish I could report "drastic" changes for the better IBS wise, I cant, but I do think that the tapes have helped me "overall" and therefore I'm hoping to see perhaps a gradual change in the days to come. I've been working with Mike and am now taking a bit of time off as he suggested. I can definately say that my IBS (which is C/D or just going alot)has seemed to be more on the C side since doing the tapes; not "normal" but a definate improvement as I am better able to function daily being C as opposed to D, so thats not a bad thing. Perhaps things will get more "normal" as time goes by. I also really appreciate everyones support and help while I have been doing the tapes. ------------------ Nancy Jane93 Woohoo... I seem to be doing a lot better..pretty much all my lapses have been stress and anxiety based and I find if I cut way back on wheat and avoid dairy apart from yogurt I feel great However avoiding them is tough..so I cheat every now and again...sometime I pay ..sometime I don't As you can probably tell I only either feel really good or really bad now. I rarely have C any more and get D when really really stressed or anxious still, but not as often. I have been really really stressed recently, but it has gotten a lot better this last week. I used to be C all the time and felt bloated and had loads of G. The G sometimes flares up, but now its more a matter of finding foods that won't give me G and being able to control the G. Since I rarely have C anymore I don't get this as often, but I still get embaraased by my own lack of control now and again In general not having C and bloating has given me loads of energy and made me feel more positive. Now if only the G would stop altogether..I wonder if that is possible? I already gave up fructose, dairy and caffeine. Now how soon can I start listening to the tapes again? I miss Mike's voice? JaneSOSI'm finally done and continue to improve, something I thought I would never say! Hopefully tommorrow I will have time to post on the success stories thread. Had a dentist appointment followed by a doctors appointment and now I'm trying to get caught up on laundry so I can pack for holidays. If I don't get cracking there will be no clean clothes to pack sickofsick BR,If you aren't sure if you should spend the money on the tapes, I can tell you it is a wise investment. I finished the tapes a month or so ago and like everyone says, I am continuing to get better and better. The stupid mind armies are still there so I still face my fears of going out to eat and things like that, but logically I know I don't have to be concerned like I used to be. By the way, I'm not associated with Mike in any way, but I do thank him from the bottom of my heart for making these tapes and himself available to help us. I feel almost normal! lol BREwink, Hi Eric and all, Well, I finished the tapes a little over a month ago, and have been doing great! Some of you may remember that before and when I started doing the tapes I had really bad D every morning accompanied with awful anxiety. The anxiety went away really soon, within a few weeks I think. I have to say that besides the tapes I also relied on natural supplements, such as probiotics, colostrum and calcium (and a bunch of others, especially in the beginning, I took about 10 different ones!). But the tapes definitely were a major "ingredient" for my improvement! I have kept improving after I finished the tapes. The last 10 days or so I've actually been struggling with constipation, and had to stop taking most of the supplements. Also having to change my diet, adding more fruits, veggies, whole wheat bread and cereal etc. Even had to take some fibercon! I finally had a normal BM again this morning. Eric, do you think it could be helpful for me to redo some of the tapes to get over the constipation now? After having D problems for so many months I can hardly believe I'm asking this. I have listened to some of the tapes a few times over the past month, although it's probably been at least 2 weeks now since the last time I listened at all. Overall though, I'm doing really great, eating everything (except really greasy and fast food, which I don't like anyway) and reaching my ideal weight (still a few pounds to add, but getting there).Take care,Edith JeanG,Hi everyone: I finished listening to Mike's tapes in March 2000. Prior to that I alternated C&D, with constipation and pain lasting 3 days at a time, and a lot of bloating. I rarely am constipated now, and only have pain around my period. Bloating is also to a minimum. I've found that the tapes have helped other areas of my life, also. I tend to hold my stress in my lower back, and now when I feel the tension in that portion I do self-hypnosis and it relaxes the muscles to the point they don't go into spasms. I'm extrememly lucky because I had only had IBS for about a year before doing these tapes, and so was able to nip it in the bud before it got worse. I listen to a tape or two once a week now just to relax. JeanGPermission from Donna to post her email. I of course told her to listen when needed. Thanks Donna. Shawn, The tapes were amazing as u suggested. I have had very few bad days of late..... I do however make a strong effort to keep stress to a minimal. That is my worst enemy!...............(I have kids so Big Time Stress is a given!) At this point, i love the voice, ("Mr.Michael's"), and the way i fall out to sleep so quick! Now.............. what can i listen to?..........I always have listened to the tapes at bedtime when the kids are asleep since that was my only option. ...............(It is the only time when i have a "Safe Environment")!.............So now that i have completed the program, what can u reccomend? Donna AZmom, This will be long, as I have had IBS D/C (D-predominant for 27 years. It's been a long road with IBS, and I want to share my struggles so you know just how far I've come using hypnotherapy. It began on the first day of school my junior year (1974) in my Modern American Literature class. During that first class, I noticed a girl get up to leave the room to go (I assumed) to the restroom. I thought "How embarassing, everyone knows where she's going." From that day on, I had to leave that first hour class to go to the restroom. At 8:20 each morning I would feel the urge to go. By 8:30-8:40 I couldn't take it anymore, and would leave the room. This is when my anxiety about my bowel patterns began. I began to worry about if I would have to go, what people thought if me, and that something must be wrong with me. The avoidance behaviors began. I tried not to do anything in the mornings, which was always the worst time. As I went through high school and college, I began starting my day later and later, until finally, during my senior year of college, I didn't start classes til 1:00 pm. I was ok later in the day, if I felt I'd been emptied out I could carry on with normal activities. As time went on, I'd have problems in other places. I always had to sit on the aisle seat of the classroom or theater, and be the driver of the car. Once I told someone driving that I had to stop, and they said "No, you're a grown-up, you can hold it." I didn't let anyone drive me anywhere again, til recently. The first Dr. I went to said it was normal to go several times a day, and not to worry about it. But I DID worry about it, all the time it seemed. So I went to a psychiatrist. It was too difficult to sit in a closed room without a panic attack. She gave me a relaxation tape, and that was it. I had two children by 1983. This was the most difficult time for me. I think a combination of being a young mother, working, going to school, trying to do what the modern woman was supposed to do, "Have it all," was too much stress. The panic attacks were horrible, and I was nearly housebound at this point. My marriage was in trouble too, just adding more stress. We started marriage counselling, which lasted only a short time. I ended up staying with the psychologist for two years, trying to get help for my fear, panic, and stomach troubles. I was diagnosed as AGOROPHOBIC. The referring psychiatrist prescribed a tricyclic antidepressant, I think it was imipramine. It was horrible, giving me the worst C/D I ever had. The shrink finally ran out of things to talk about. Let me tell you, psychotherapy does NOTHING for IBS. At this point I still didn't even know I had IBS. 1989 now, and we took a trip to England to see my husband's family. I had no idea how I would make it, and went to see a hypnotherapist. He made a tape for my panic attacks and taught me relaxation techniques. It helped the panic, but my D and urgency was still a big problem. I saw an ad in the paper for a talk by Lucinda Bassett about stress and anxiety. She could have been talking about me. I bought the stress and anxiety tape course. One of the tapes mentioned "IBS." This was the first time I'd heard the word, and finally, 17 years after my symptoms began, I knew what I had. I went to my family Dr, so excited that I had discovered IBS. He said he had always known I had IBS, and that he didn't know I needed a "name" for it. Well I DID, I thought I was crazy all these years. He prescribed BuSpar and Levsin. I hated both. Then gave me Xanax, which was a help. I mentioned hypnotherapy to him, but he said he didn't believe in it. On our 20th wedding anniversary, my husband and I went out to our favorite restaurant. I stopped at the restroom on the way out, and was in there for 30 minutes. My husband was waiting patiently. He was used to me by now. I had a horrible attack, but thought it was done. How could anyone have so much **** inside of them? But it wasn't over. On the ride home we got stuck in a traffic jam in a construction zone. Trapped, no way out. I couldn't hold it, and had my first episode of incontinence on my 20th wedding anniversary. I was horrified. My husband was understanding, telling me not to worry, I was obviously ill. It was that episode that made me look for a good Dr. I went online, found the IFFGD and this BB. The IFFGD referred me to a terrific GI, Dr. Kevin Olden at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, and he did a full workup on me. He sent me for PT and biofeedback. He got me on the proper dosages of medications (my GP prescribed me dosages too low to be effective) and supported my use of hypnotherapy. I had good success with it previously, and thought I would try Mike's tapes, which I found on the BB. I started Mike's tapes with enthusiasm. Change was slow. I went from D to C/D to C to D and around and around. I finished the tapes and was happy with the little improvement I had, maybe 35% at that time. But it wasn't until about 3 months after completing the tapes that I really saw a BIG change. It was then that I noticed my D was gone. My BMs were normal, usually one daily, sometimes two. I can now "hold it" for hours. Sometimes, I'll drive in the car, and notice that I'm not even thinking about where the bathrooms are on the route. That always surprises me. The anxiety is greatly reduced, probably 90%. I sit in the middle of the theater sometimes. I drive with other people. I've been on two vacations, been on 8 airplanes trips, been on a boat with strangers, with no attacks. I was even relaxed and had fun. At times the old thoughts make their way in. I shoo them away once I notice them. I have had two D attacks in the past 9 months. I can live with that. I think it's been a combination of things that got me to this place. I still watch my diet, although I have added back some things that were triggers, such as salads and citrus fruits. I do use a fiber supplement. I no longer fear my anxiety which had caused me so much trouble in the past. Bottom line is, Mike's tapes have been the best thing I've done for IBS. I'm more relaxed, my world no longer centers aroung when I'll have a BM, I'm a happier person, less crabby and less depressed. I'm a better Mom and a better wife. I'm more active, and I look forward to doing things I avoided in the past. That's my story. AZFrom Lou: Jeanne, Hypnosis works for Panic Attacks that I know. I suffered terribly from debilitating panic attacks for a number of years. This was 25 years ago when nobody knew what they were or how to treat you. How did I get over them. DETERMINATION. First I found in the library the book "Hope And Help For Your Nerves" by Dr. Clarie Weeks, great book. Second bought a good relaxation tape used it at least twice a day. Last took a course in Hypnotherapy which changed my life. I learned to hypnotize myself. Jeanne I was Agorahobic (couldn't leave our home). I was a mess. That all changed with the book, the tapes and hypnosis. Hypnosis does not help in one or 2 sessions, it takes time and a top notch Hypnotherapist. I beleive in Hypnosis 100%. I can still Hypnotize myself anywhere, anytime and relax 100% in about 20 seconds. I highly recommend Hypnosis. As a side note have your had your Thyroid checked or your Hormones. These can both cause extreme Anxiety. Best of luck to you. From Tiss Clair, I am using the tapes and love them. I waited until I could feel justified spending that kind of money. I've spent alot more money on loads of stuff that didn't work. I guess I got to the point where I thought, what the heck, what have I got to lose (except 100.00-which is alot of money), but if it works, then it's cheap!! I have gotten so much better (I'm a C type)-I just can't really even tell you why or how it works. The tapes have a rather pervasive effect with me, I mean, I'm calmer during the day, sleep 100% better, have a BM everyday and overall feel less anxious. My 16 year old son LOVES Side 2 because HE is sleeping100% better-he and I negotiate which tape he can use because I'm following the program that is outlined for you. I think there are some IBS tapes that are cheaper than the 100.00 tapes, and I don't know the difference in them. Someone could probably tell you the difference. I think the other ones are about 25.00, or something like that. As for me, I intend to keep using the tapes even when I've finished the program. Some people say that time is a factor that turns them off of the tapes, but I only listen to them at night while going to sleep, so really no extra time has to be involved. Good luck. I recommend them. From LG Ugh - before I started the tapes I was constipated all the time, I suffered from almost dialy nausea that would not let up, even woth motilium (a drug designed to eliminate nausea, whatever the cause), I got a lot of bloating - to the extent that my clothes would no longer fit by mid/late afternoon, cramping pains, especially in my lower right side, lots of flatulence, and almost more importantly I felt miserable most of the time. It seeemd that there was not much else in life except was I going to be able to 'go' today and even if I did would it bring relief or would I still feel like htere should be more, would I be able ot fit into my clothes and be comfortable etc etc. After doing the tapes I now feel alot more positive, I can remeber now what a good day is and can keep this is mind when things arn't so good. Yes I still have bad days, but they arnt as bad or as frequent. The incomplete evacuation feeling is almost never there, and I very rarely feel sick any more (this is great!). the bloating is less now, and I pass less gas. I got quite dispondant when I was doing the tapes because I didnt really feel any thing was changing until about 60 -70 days, but I emailed Mike and he was good enough to reply and keep me on track. This late action is probaly the reason why I like to carry on with the tapes now, plus I cant really understand how or why the effect of 100 days would last forever wothout some revison. After 11 years of having this thing and trying most things I have read about on htese BBs (including elimination diets, wheat free, dairy free, antidepressants, homeopathy, yogs, fibre suppliments, low fibre diet, high fibre diet, linseeds, laxatives, bulking agents, stool softeners.....de da de dah) I can honestly say that Mikes tapes have been the most beneficial thing I ve done, so well worth the time and money. Ugh, keep on witht the tapes, if you find they help even a little id say when you reach 100 days go back and start them again. Keep at it. I personally dont think that iBS is entirely brain-gut, but I think it does play a large part in it, even if only as a consequence rather than a cause. GOOD LUCkFrom Julie, Taken from a thread on the discussion forum. Every time I read your posts, I think "that was me!!!" Please believe this ... when I first found this BB in summer '99 I could have written the exact same post as you, except I had been in that horrible place for years, not months. And what "did it" for me was the Hypno Tapes ... as well as helping to reduce my symtoms by around 80%, within a couple of weeks (tho I think this is an unusually quick response) I was getting out of the house, and feeling perfectly calm and relaxed in doing so. I felt mentally normal for the first time in a very long time. All the "what ifs" and the "I can't do that becauses" just disappeared as if by magic. To this day I still don't fully understand why this happened - I can get a hold of why and how the tapes work on the physical symptoms, but it's like I just woke up one morning wearing my "old" head again.
