Question about tapes......

Hi Megan...hope I can help a bit...well that "torn up tummy" feeling can be a lot of things..It can be just the physical aspect of having muscles in spasm..and my Gastro had told me since the system is so interconnected, sometimes the tummy is reacting to the intestinal spasms. Or it could be stress and anxiety being localized there...or just another vague part of the IBS. I too have MANY heating pads in various stages of newness!!! At any length, the sessions will help you to relax, and thereby release those tummy muscles, which in turn may help that feeling. However, it is important to eliminate other possible causes. Is this tummy feeling most certainly IBS? Make sure that it is, because other physical problems could also play a factor! So be sure your IBS was diagnosed to rule out anything else. (I am speaking from recent experience!) But for my IBS, the tapes helped to relax muscles, and in turn, that type of feeling you describe, became less as well. Hope this helps you a bit...feel free to ask if this wasn't clear...And also..if you have wires on your heating pad that are exposed...toss it..really!!! I saw a program where a fire and skin burns, as well as acrid smoke from the pad burning resulted from a worn heating pad...Be safe!!! Take care and hope you feel better soon!!------------------Marilyn

HI Marilyn and thanks so much for the information.I've had IBS, well, probably most of my life. I was constipated most all the time when I was a kid. But I did ok during highschool, unless I ate in early morning hours. I'd wake up soooooo hungry, but if I took even one bite of a cookie, I'd end up in the bathroom with the big D while the school bus went sailing on by without me. Anyway, I could always deal with that, it was no big deal. Then it just got a bit worse and worse with some food limitations, not many, but some. Then when I was 26 years old I had my first child via cesarean section. I've had trouble in my lower abdomen ever since that surgery. I also have bladder problems. Thickening of the bladder was found on ultrasound months back, and I was supposed to see a urologist pronto for a cystoscopy. I'm yet to get the nerve up to go in for that, and besides I really believe it's intersticial cystitis. Anyway, like I said it began to get worse after the surgery and so my doc sent me in for the colo and endo. IBS got worse after those procedures. But still, it was mostly stress related or what not. Food triggers do play a huge role in my IBS, but I really stay away from most of the no-no's. For instance, in October of 99 I was in the worst shape with the IBS that I had ever been in. I was convinced that it had turned into the big C, cancer! I've never experienced pain like that. I would end up in the floor, crawling to my bed and no sooner would I get there, that I'd have to crawl right back to the toilet. Many a time I would have went to the ER, and probably needed to, but I couldn't make it for having to "go" so much. 17 times in a 2 hour time frame some days. I had changed my diet when this began. I was trying to combat the constipation which would turn into the violent diarrhea at any given moment. I figured if I could just keep myself "going" that I wouldn't end up so C and that I'd be all better. I began eating fiber in small amounts, such as bran flakes and oatmeal. I was eating too much at one time though and really got into bad shape. I gave those fiber things up, but the diarrhea with the horrid spasms and cramps still kept coming. So I remembered that I had also just added tuna fish to my diet also. I figured it strange, but it was the only thing left in my diet that I hadn't been eating before these terrible episodes. So I gave it up too. In about 3 days the bad episodes began to subside. It was the TUNA!! I didn't even have an episode for about 3 months, but then they came back, but not HALF as bad as before. Some don't believe in the food trigger thing, but for me and my particular case of IBS, it is VERY real!I also have mitral valve prolapse syndrome with dysautonomia. Everything and I mean, everything is sensitive about me and this wacky bod of mine I have anxiety and panic, due in part to the dysautonomia. My system is just really overly sensitive and so is my bowel. It's just all strange and I really don't know if the hypno will help me, but at this point, I'm trying to be more open minded. I believe it would have helped in the beginning of my IBS, but I just don't know about now. Well, thanks for replying with that really helpful information Megan [This message has been edited by runnl8 (edited 04-19-2001).]

Hi Jackson....Well, I know what you're saying here. But I don't do doctors for my IBS anymore, quit that a long time ago, and I don't do meds for my IBS.....so I'm not out of any greenback really.....I am skeptical I guess. Don't want to offend anyone here that is doing well on the tapes, I really don't. And I do intend on ordering the tapes, as soon as I can handle it financially. I don't work outside the home, and I've got 2 kids, so money is really tight these days. But I will get a break soon and I will be able to order the tapes and see for myself how it goes.A couple years ago I ordered a video tape off tv. It was a doctor and about 5 or 6 IBS patients talking about the hypnosis thing. It is a great tape and it really, really made me want to do the hypnosis. That was a couple years ago before I had my puter and before Mike had these tapes to offer, I suppose. I think that if I could go to a doctor and do this in his office, I would feel more confident about it. I just, for some reason, don't trust myself to be able to do all that well on my own.Well, I don't know. I'm so glad for the great results that you are seeing. Keep up the good work!Megan

Hi Kmottus and thanks for the information. I'm supposed to be starting some CBT next week. Hope it goes well, I believe it will!Thanks Eric, I know that you will help me out any way that ya can, and I appreciate that! I've made up my mind that I AM going to give this a try and I really believe that it will go well. Hey there Tania....I've a question.....have you ever tried an SSRI before???? I can't speak for everyone with MVPS and dysautonomia, but I can speak for myself and tell you that I have HORRID reactions to the SSRI's! I mean, really horrid! Are you doing Mikes tapes? They say that they really help with anxiety. That's one of the big reasons that I want to order them. The panic is a result of our screwed up auntonomic nervous system ya know. And of course, the lovely IBS just happens to be another one of the wonderful consolations of our messed up autonomic nervous system. Take a look-see at my MVPS home page and please email me. Maybe if we put our heads together, we can come up with some good ideas right?? Can't hurt to try My email is ronty93###yahoo.comHugs to all,Megan http://www.geocities.com/ronty93/index.html

Megan and others, I've also tried most anxiety and depression meds in an effort to stop the anxiety, panic and IBS/D. These meds put me in a fog but never really helped. Funny thing is the benzo-tranquilizers cause a calming fog, but gave me unbearable insomnia. Then when I quit them I didn't know if my body could live thru the withdrawl. It was tough! I am one of the males who took Lotronex and it worked great from the first dose. Like flipping a light switch, the IBS/D stopped and "all" the mental symptoms disappeared like they never existed. You can understand why I want Lotronex back on the market and think anyone with IBS/D should try it, only start on a low dose initially (1/2 pill per day) then increase as needed to work but not cause constipation. I have also taken the different therapies such as biofeedback,CBT, and clinical hypnosis. The hypnosis helped the most but was a general anxiety and relaxation therapy. I am using Mike's IBS Program 100 and it is helping immensely. This program is gut specific for our IBS problems and they are very relaxing. I have all hopes that this will have a more lasting effect and you can always listen to a favorite tape for relaxation after the program is completed. This helps with sleep if you listen at night and you actually look forward to the session each night. So far just the tapes and no medicine. Good luck, Norb