Spring greetings from the sunny shires of South West England!

Good grief! is it that time already?!
It seems like only a short while ago we were preparing the Christmas edition of 'IBS Living', and now we're almost into March!

Well it's been an exciting couple of months with lots of things achieved and lots of boxes ticked.

OK, First things first, this months password for our FREE IBS book library is: Sorry, subscribers only. Please subscribe to our totally free, and excellent bi-monthly magazine "IBS Living", to receive full access to the IBS library (Here is a link to subscribe)

If you haven't already seen the library, be sure to go and have a look, as there are some excellent and totally free downloadable e-books that you may find very useful. Here is a direct link to the library 'log-in' page

I guess one of the highlights so far this year has to have been the video interview we did with Tim Phelan a few weeks ago.

As you may, or may not know, Tim wrote the book "Romance, Riches and Restrooms - A cautionary tale of ambitious dreams and irritable bowels.

It is a hilarious book about his battle to conceal the fact he had IBS, with disastrous consequences. While the book will make you laugh, it will also have you nodding in personal recognition at the situations he found himself in and the pain and embarrassment which were part of daily life for him for a long time.

If you haven't yet seen the interview, here is a link to the video, along with some details about the book.

Our featured library book of the month is all about exercise, and brings us neatly on to the subject of exercise and IBS...

We all know about the importance of exercise. We hear about it every day on the TV and the radio. It is taught to our kids at school, it is promoted with regularity in community events sponsored by local councils and government.

We all know we should be doing exercise, but how many of us are actually doing it?

It is generally agreed that stress and depression is a key trigger of irritable bowel symptoms, and exercise has been proven to improve general mood through the release of a chemical in the brain called endorphins. As the mood lifts, the symptoms of IBS will invariably become reduced.

The physical movement also helps in the process of moving food through the intestines, and will add to reducing IBS symptoms.

Kev has recently written a great article on the influence of exercise on IBS. Click here to see it

We have recently included a page dedicated to explaining Diverticulitis, because the symptoms can be very similar to IBS.

The general symptoms of Diverticulosis include:
* Constipation
* Diarrhea
* Cramping in the Abdomen

It can be caused where pressure from the colon causes the formation of small out-pouchings of tissue (or sacs) along the wall of the colon.

As IBS sufferers, putting pressure on the colon during difficult bowel movements can be a common occurrence, but could applying pressure over time cause diverticulitis? Click here for the full article.

Olive's Story
Olive from the UK talks about how her work ultimately led to her getting IBS due to the stress of working long days and managing a family.
(Click here for Olive's Story)

Marilyn's IBS Journey
Marilyn from the US tells of her IBS journey, and how she went from being virtually housebound, to getting her life back again.
(Click here for Marilyn’s Story)

Be sure to check the IBS stories section regularly for NEW stories and helpful articles that have kindly been submitted to the IBS-Life.com website.

If you have an IBS story / article you'd like to share with the rapidly growing Community of IBS sufferers that are visiting our website, just fill out the form at the bottom of the IBS Stories page, and we'll publish it.

I don't know about you, but does this winter seem exceptionally long and dark? In the UK we had a recent period of heavy snows and ice which coincided with my birthday. Not that I do anything on my birthday ( see my birthday article ) but I hate the thought of feeling stranded. I do like to walk the dog, usually at dawn, but the impacted snow glazed to ice and was treacherous.

My birthday * meal * consisted of spaghetti on wholemeal toast and a bowl of bran flakes at lunchtime, since I now know what I can eat and birthday or no birthday, I am not going to tempt my gut by trying something more adventurous.

As last year, this late winter brought on an ear infection, for which I was given antibiotic drops. The infection worsened and the last three days I felt extremely ill; so ill that I braved a bus ( which was half an hour late ) to try and get an emergency appointment at the doctors. The antibiotics prescribed are ones I have taken before for the same thing. I was warned they can give you diarrhea and upset the stomach, and I remember it distinctly from last year. They are good tablets, but suffice it to say that this morning was one of those where I wish that whomever built these houses had thought that more than one bathroom was required. I have found that probiotics help, and am hoping to get some while I am on this course. IBS-D and the diarrhea brought on by antibiotics is different, but equally a terrible pain in the stomach.

I am hoping for spring, and lighter evenings, and wish every-one out there all the best.

Can a calmer mind help bring about a calmer bowel?

Recently, The IBS-Life.com team have discovered the joys and health benefits of regular meditation. Sian and Rick in particular have both noticed a reduction in thier IBS symptoms as a result.

We're talking about basic, clinical meditation which is completely non-religious and secular, with no spiritual or religious connotations.

Click here for the main meditation and IBS article.

Meditainment
After experimenting with various types and styles of meditation, we discovered that "guided meditations" were by far the most effective.

As a result, we discovered and teamed up with an amazing company called MEDITAINMENT who are currently offering a FREE guided meditation on their website called 'The Secret Garden'.

These truly excellent audio recordings are ideal for helping people to relax, and could really help IBS sufferers who attribute most of their symptoms to stress and worry.

We encourage you to try out their free Guided meditation and explore the website for some other Free downloads (look out for the amazing 'Get positive about 2009' video....Watch it and imagine yourself free of IBS for the future).

They offer an excellent package which costs about $79 (approx £49 UK ) for one years unlimited downloads of their entire library of guided meditations and motivational videos/music (currently about 60 recordings), and they also have a great collection of CD's and DVD's with some of their more popular productions on them.

Click below to visit to their website and hear the free 'Secret Garden' meditation

FREE Secret Garden Guided Meditation Sample

See you in two months!

Sian, Rick and Kev (the IBS-life.com team)