IBS - My Story

 

After years of struggle with IBS, I finally find myself in a place where I am in control of my life.  To this point IBS has been in charge.  It has affected my work, my social life, my family and my ability to function as a normal human being.

As a teenager I developed the usual skin problems and was prescribed the antibiotic ‘Oxytetracycline’.  Meant to be taken as a short course, I ended up taking it for four years constantly. Antibiotics and the stomach do not get along.  I was left with an utterly useless digestive system.  Every single time I ate, a fear would ensue that I’d have to rush to the closest bathroom.  Most times I’d make it, occasionally I would not.

As fellow sufferers will know, this then generates anxiety issues.  If I went anywhere I had to know that there were bathrooms available.  I had to avoid busy areas and tended to avoid unfamiliar places.  I did not wish to tell my friends and family why I was so stubborn about where I wished to go, this is not a problem that is easy to share, it’s embarrassing and hard to find any sort of empathy from those who are not blighted. 

The problems continued for some time before I visited the Doctor.  This time I was prescribed Codeine to solve the IBS.  Codeine works to a degree, however it takes a psychological toll and is horribly addictive, as I was to discover when I stopped taking them.

Then I met with a nurse.

She recommended a variety of ways to approach the IBS, firstly get off the antibiotics and codeine, secondly sort out my diet.  Like anything worthwhile the road to recovery was slow and often painful.  While my stomach improved, I was still left with anxiety issues.  Learning to trust your stomach is very difficult when it has been such an Achilles heel for so long.

Then I met a clinical psychologist.

She then took the physical improvements and taught  me techniques to relieve the symptoms of anxiety.  None of these issues work instantly, however the feeling of gradually clawing your life back is empowering and wonderful.

Along the way there have been many ups and downs, however it now feels as though I have won this battle, and this website is dedicated to helping others through a condition that is all too often dismissed. When IBS is at it’s worst it can utterly dominate your life.

I’ve spent a fortune on thousands of different products, had my hopes dashed time and again when presented with yet another miracle cure. I’ve looked at the psychological and the physical side of the condition and am now able to offer you the benefit of all that experience.

I can offer no miracle cure, no instant fix.  I can help you to improve your IBS, I can support you to improve your quality of life and I can be there for you through your highs and lows in a way that only a fellow sufferer can, with kindness and empathy.

www.ibs-health.com

Black and White ?

Black and White ?

It is a perfectly natural and understandable human response to favor simplicity.  Who would rather life were more complicated than it needed to be ?  Whilst it is understandable that we seek simplicity it is vital we acknowledge that sadly life is the opposite, most things are complicated and unique.  This is unequivocally true of IBS.

We have stated on a number of occasions the staggering complexity of the digestive system, what we have yet to further address is the implication on the individual.  More importantly the effect this has on the ways the symptoms are treated.

IBS can be something hereditary, or it can be developed later in life.  However you come to the situation whereby you need to treat your IBS, one thing is fairly certain, very few Doctors are able to isolate your issue.   There after you are left knowing that you have a condition whose symptoms cover most digestive dysfunctions, but you are not given a definitive way of dealing with those symptoms.  This gulf in knowledge means that by and large it is over to you to find the answers and  the fact that you are reading this suggests that you are already looking.  

Self Help

With so little truly known you have to become an IBS detective.   The sooner you are able to pin down your symptoms the sooner you will be able to deal with them.  We recommend that you use the website to do so www.IBS-health.com.  Whilst the site will  not instantly fix your IBS, it will give you places to start.

For example, it will list and state foods that are likely to cause you discomfort, remedies that are likely to help and methods of overcoming the psychological traumas of IBS.  Whilst these will help, they are only there as a guide and a starting point for your to discover how best to deal with your IBS.   Rather than broadly stating that we are able to fix IBS, we prefer to acknowledge that it will take time and determination.  This is because IBS can be so unique to each suffer, its cause can be unique, its symptoms can be unique. 

Do not delay, the sooner you get started on isolating and understanding your IBS the closer you are to gaining freedom from a condition which can create a prison like existence.   Gain you freedom from IBS, visit the site today.

www.ibs-health.com

Tell the truth

Tell the truth

This is a short blog from the heart.  Recently a relative has spent a small fortune visiting a highly respected practitioner having recently been diagnosed with IBS.  My relative is very well paid and intelligent and was able to use these resources to seek the very finest available help.

I was very interested to see how this went, only to find that over the course of two months the advice he was given was a watered down version of our own website.  My frustration is that I wish doctors and medical practitioners could be honest about how little we know still.

Thousands

The digestive system is spectacularly complicated and whilst we know a lot more now, we do not know everything.  All to often we are given the impression that the medical profession is all knowing, well it is not.   Any one of thousands of issues could cause your IBS, it is unlikely in my lifetime that we will see a definitive cure or pill.  There are pills which can help, however they are not pills which have been developed for IBS, one of the most successful works as it has a side effect which has a beneficial quality for IBS.

Whilst we know an increasing amount about the digestive system, we simply urge caution. Lots of new products and lots of new advice appears out there daily, be careful of claims and be careful of throwing a fortune at products and services which will not help you.

In the meantime

Until we know and understand definitively what is behind IBS, we recommend that we face the honest truth.  The best way of watching our IBS, is through educating ourselves and learning what is and what is not good for the problem.  This varies person to person and is one of the reasons that blanket advice fails. 

Our website gives you practical, common sense free advice which will point you in the right direction.   The site will not give you a miracle cure, but it will help you to live your life to the full.

www.ibs-health.com

IBS made me say 'no' - Now I'm a 'yes' man

The All New 'Yes Man'

IBS has a nasty little habit of occupying a corner of your mind.  It is from that corner that IBS can lead you down the road of abstinence.   It does so by eroding your own confidence in your ability to control your condition so much so that you start to reject opportunities.

This may sound like a bizarre opening salvo, however please allow me to explain.  Long term sufferers of severe IBS will generally build up a reserve of unpleasant memories.  Racing across town to find a bathroom, sometimes successfully, at other times not so.   Feelings of being in constant pain, from cramping and pressure.   Each of these emotions grow over the course of time, the net effect being that you may begin to avoid scenarios which have the potential to cause you distress.

Bathroom map

New places are a great example of places that cause distress, places that you have no idea where to find a bathroom.  Being with new people may cause anxiety, it is an embarrassing condition, you may not wish to let them know why you keep needing the bathroom.   These are just some examples, however the bottom line is that it leads to avoidance.

The easiest way to lead life, if you are a severe sufferer is through avoiding the situations which cause you the most stress.  This is known as Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD) http://www.ibs-health.com/ibsapdpage.html.    You may or may not suffer with this condition, you will most likely avoid certain situations.   

We must first start by saying that this is entirely understandable, why would you put yourself through a great deal of anxiety ?  Well, we are here to tell you why..........

Not a rehearsal 

Life is so short and so precious, that we can not afford to waste a day.  As a severe IBS sufferer, I must confess to wasting a huge chunk of my life.  I will never get that time back, much of that time was during the prime of my life, if I could lead my life again I would not have let IBS dictate my life.

My main order of avoidance centered around social engagements and travel.  I had a tendency to reject both for fear of IBS issues.   During this period my IBS was at its peak, and I constantly received dreadful advice on the condition.  To this day I cringe at some of the advice dished out and would like to re-iterate the point our site makes, which is that IBS is a condition which covers far too many symptoms, as a result you will read advice given with the best of intentions, which is utterly useless to you.

The goal should be to get your condition under control and to then start to live your life.  We do not recommend that you do it the other way round though, if you positively reinforce your negative feelings and fears then they will get worse.  We simply urge you to put everything into controlling your condition.  To do this we have a great deal of advice on our website, which should help you to find the right course of action.  www.ibs-health.com

Yes, Yes, Yes

In the last few years, I have managed to get the IBS under control.  One of the first things I have done is to start saying yes.   It is quite hard to get out of the no habit, it becomes an instant reaction.  Reminding yourself that you need to say yes and to get out and live life may take a little time, but it is so worth it.

Prior to a worsening of my IBS I had been a keen sportsman and traveler.  IBS put paid to many things, but it was these two passions that I missed the most.  I have always been a very social being too, that was also an area which suffered.

Since undertaking this philosophy I have done so many great things, in fact in the last two years some of the greatest days of my life have occurred.  From visiting amazing countries, to going to some quite unbelievable concerts and most importantly I have reconnected with friends.  It has been the joy of these wonderful occasions that made me so evangelical about creating a website, as I realized that there are many others out there like me, all receiving the same duff advice, who may also be crawling into a safety shell.

Don't Delay

The world is not perfect, but there are some wonderful people and places to see.  You may not realize how much IBS has effected you.  It may just be that gradually you seem to do less and less, and have not really considered why.

If I can offer an IBS sufferer any advice  it would be to learn how to control your symptoms.  It would seem that we are no closer to a miracle cure, so please do not hold out for one, I made that mistake.  If you can accept that there is no instant pill, then you can get on with enjoying this beautiful world, and making the best of every precious day.

IBS-Health.com 2012

www.ibs-health.com

IBS-Health.com - Changes

Changes to IBS-Health.com Website

Please note that we have been working hard to improve the IBS-Health.com website.  We still have much more work to do, to improve the quality of the site, however please note that we have made the following changes:

• New navigation to make it easier to follow
• Introduction of 'Quick Guide' to take you to the key pages
• Reduced content - we have edited out content to leave you with the key pages
• New video content

Many more improvements are to follow, however we thank you for your feed back and intend to keep listening.

Many Thanks

www.IBS-Health.com