Marilyn’s IBS Journey

My story
is probably very similar to many of the IBS sufferers.

I hope that people can be encouraged and know that there can be hope - I have had Irritable Bowel Syndrome since 1983 and spent years looking for relief and I now present my story to gastroenterologists, and other sufferers whenever I can -

Here is what helped me after years of searching
IBS really ruined my whole life, and just many sufferers, I felt torn between being grateful I didn't have something "serious" and guilty for feeling like I was dying anyway. People treat you differently when they know that IBS is something that isn't "serious" as in life-threatening, but even my gastroenterologist told me that he could treat the pain of his colon cancer patients better than his Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients.

Diagnosed
I was officially diagnosed in 1988, after about five years (1983) of not knowing why I was having increasingly severe diarrhea and abdominal pain. With the birth of my daughter that same year, I thought I better get tested, that maybe I did have some digestive disease, but several colonoscopies later, (four total over the years) it was confirmed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Trips to the Mayo Clinic and two other gastroenterologists further confirmed that every single prescription and OTC medication had little or no effect, and only short-term, if any:

Failed Treatments
Over the next 12 years or so, I was prescribed various IBS medications by my gastroenterologists and internal medicine physicians - some examples:

Every antispasmodic including Hyoscyamine (Levbid/Levsin, and Levsin SL), Dicyclomine (Bentyl), as well as Donnatal, Tincture of Belladonna, etc., several diets and diet modifications/food eliminations, fiber, the anti-depressant Amitriptyline (Elavil), various SSRIs (Prozac, Effexor and others), Codeine, Colpermin (enteric coated peppermint capsules), various other Antidiarrheal and/or Antiperistaltic prescriptions or OTC medications, as well as non-label use of prescriptions such as Seldane, which has a side-effect of constipation to combat my extreme diarrhea.

There were other medications, and herbals as well.

Hypnotherapy
My gastroenterologist finally told me that he had exhausted his treatment options, and to go look up other treatments on the internet. In my search, I found out about the use of clinical hypnotherapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but I thought this method was pretty far-fetched and seemed to be absurd to me.

But at this point I was desperate, now almost housebound with severe urgent diarrhea, painful cramping, and nothing helping, so I tried this treatment method as a last resort in the summer of 2000.

This treatment program is known as the IBS Audio Program 100®. It consists of a set of four audio CDs (or MP3 downloads) containing clinically researched therapeutic sessions with a very specific listening schedule.

Michael Mahoney of the Guardian Medical Centre in Cheshire England is the author of this program. His program became available to the public as a result of patient demand in 1998. Mike has many publications about him and by him and is one of the leading clinical hypnotherapists in England who works alongside gastroenterologists in his medical centre. His work is featured or referenced in several books and publications, including First Year IBS, IBS for Dummies, IBS Chat and others.

I didn't feel hypnotherapy would help me!
Even though the program had been helping thousands of Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients, (since the early 1990's), even prior to its availability to the public in 1998, I felt that this would not work for me, that I was a hopeless case, having been diagnosed as severe refractory IBS, and I doubted that anything of this sort would have any real helpful effects on my symptoms I was of a very negative, depressed mind-set from the beginning and throughout listening to the program.

I had very little belief in it or the method. In fact, I thought it was rather bogus, and misleading to think anything of a brain-gut approach would help me. After all, the problem was in my gut not my mind or so I thought. I fought all the way, writing emails to Mike in England, how this wasn't working, and that I was relapsing, etc. I was a nightmare patient! An IBS poster child.

Breakthrough
During the course of listening to the hypnotherapy sessions, I not only had to deal with IBS, but additional life stressors and I had several various surgeries. While the hypnotherapy program wasn't dealing with my Irritable Bowel Syndrome, I found out it helped me cope with the many other stressors and health issues in my life first, as these were the most pressing, once resolved, I re-listened to the program yet again , and my IBS began to improve. Very gradually at first, but one day, I realized, I hadn’t had severe pain and urgency as often as I used to.

As the time passed, the urgency and diarrhea diminished substantially in fact, as time went on, I later realized that at the first hint of urgency, I automatically had what I would call an unspoken inner thought that said, in effect, I don’t have time to deal with this now, or I don’t want this now, go away and the urgency and impending diarrhea would subside within almost seconds. It was an automatic response, I didn’t think it through. Just as in the past, my gut previously reacted as an automatic response to go into pain, cramps and urgency and severe diarrhea.

Due to the severity of my severe refractory IBS, as well as several non related surgeries, I listened to the entire program 3 times. Each time I saw better improvement I was the worst case scenario. Mike told me that the hypnotherapy program worked first on those health issues and stressors in my life that were most pressing to my overall health and that the IBS was dealt with last in my case but I persevered, and my symptoms greatly reduced.

I am now able to function , if I do get an attack, most of the time it will subside within minutes, if not seconds. Irritable Bowel Syndrome is no longer the severe issue that it was, and though not a cure, for me, it was the best thing I could have done to treat my Irritable Bowel Syndrome on a holistic level.

My IBS cost me a whole lost life...events and special celebrations for my kids, just taking them to routine doctor and dentist appointments was an ordeal, and my marriage suffered and collapsed in part because of it. I went from being able to travel and talk professionally in front of large groups of people, to being just about housebound.

Conclusion
This program saved my life. And that is why I do try to support and encourage others with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and why I now help the author of the program, Michael Mahoney, as a result of my gratitude for getting my life back. As one of the slowest persons to respond, and with very severe symptoms, I feel that I do need to pass on what was given to me and encourage others to not lose hope.

The even more encouraging thing about all this is that MOST people improve within the first listening of the program - while some need to repeat the program - the vast majority see improvement of their symptoms early on - the fact that I was one of the "worst" cases should give even more hope to those who have suffered in a similar way!

There are a lot of research clinical studies and information regarding the use of clinical hypnotherapy for the mind-gut connection. A simple search can bring you to that research - it is well documented. The IBS Audio Program 100 is gut-specific and comes with live-support from Mike's staff, and if needed, they will consult with Mike to assist in the best way possible.

His program has been sent to over 40 countries and is very well respected by noted gastroenterologists and physicians who treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome patients.

That's what worked for me and I hope this helps someone too. Thanks for letting me share!

For more information about the IBS Audio 100 program click here

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