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Uncategorized

Have I Got Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a physical problem that causes disruption to daily life, embarrassment, and considerable difficulty when travelling or visiting new places. Even the proximity to other people and how good the sound proofing is can cause problems with the need to use the toilet – especially in other people’s homes.

One thing that is really important to be aware of is that IBS is not a disease. But it is still misunderstood by some trained medical practitioners and frequently treated as a psychological condition rather than the brain-gut dysfunction that it actually is.

IBS is not a psychological condition. It is very real and can be devastating to an individual’s enjoyment of life. Enjoyment of life is certainly compromised in the cases of clients who come to me for help with this problem.

IBS affects enough people that it may be considered a serious problem.

Percentage of population suffering IBS symptoms
UK 10%
US 15%
Japan 10%
Canada 6%
Brazil 43%
Mexico 46%

So if you are a sufferer, you are not alone.

The Mexican and Brazilian statistics, to me, point to some environmental cause, but that cause is still unknown. There is some speculation that either the immune system, or the gastro-intestinal tract, becomes sensitive to some foods; stress; or the gastro-intestinal tract is disturbed by unknown bacteria, protozoa or even hormonal imbalances.

But what exactly is it?

The method for diagnosing IBS seems to be the elimination of all other causes for the symptoms. Once this has been done, and if nothing else could be the cause of the problems then the diagnosis is IBS. It’s a bit like a medical safety net. We don’t know what it is, it’s nothing we can name, it’s in your gut, so we’ll just call it IBS. Goodbye. The good thing about this is that, although this problem is ruining your life, it isn’t going to kill you or require you to have surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy

So you’ll find that IBS is pretty much a term used to describe a lack of normal gut function. Unfortunately the symptoms of IBS vary from person to person. So no two people diagnosed with IBS will necessarily share the same symptoms. What tends to characterise a problem as IBS is abdominal pain or discomfort along with a change in defecation frequency and/or a change in stool consistency.

One important point that I cannot stress too highly.

IBS cannot and should not be self-diagnosed.

If you have symptoms that you suspect are IBS, you must see a medical practitioner. If you want some reassurance that the diagnosis is more likely to be IBS than anything more serious then you can find a checklist of IBS symptoms here.

But if you’ve got a gut problem – get it checked out.

Michael

Categories
psychoneuroimmunology self-help

I Feel Lousy – Isn’t that Great!

Do you ever listen to other people’s conversations? I mean when you’re standing at a bus stop, or having a drink in a café after a hard morning’s shopping. You know, those people whose voices are just a little too loud and you can’t really help listening; after all you are on your own, and other people’s lives are quite interesting.

What do they talk about? Their problems I’ll bet, with health issues being high on the list. And have you ever noticed how it’s a bit like a game of ping pong. One party will bat a little titbit “my back’s been playing up something awful”, and the other will respond with something ‘better’ and before you know where you are, you know all about all the cancers, and the hip operations, and the chronic chest infections, that their family and friends have had in the past ten years.

Sound familiar?

So illness seems important. If it isn’t, why do we spend so much time talking about it?

Have you ever noticed how you suffer with a bad cold, or dose of ‘flu, or possibly something more serious, when life itself is becoming tedious, work is getting you down, or your husband seems to have lost interest in you. Have you ever noticed how, when you are happy and life is full of joy and excitement, you rarely experience illness? It has been known for a long time that ‘stress‘ has a depressant effect on the ability of your body’s immune system to fight infection. Illness is the body’s way of saying ‘you’re not looking after you‘, and usually the way you are failing to look after yourself is in your mind – your emotional well-being is generally the part which is being neglected when you start to experience illness.

Now, the scientists say that disease organisms, viruses, bacteria, genes, and even your age, cause illness. They may be right. But if they are then those same ‘experts’ are your only hope for defeating illness. Yet with all the drugs and all the scientific advances over that last fifty years – shouldn’t the hospitals be emptying out by now? How easy is it to get an appointment with your doctor? How full was the waiting room last time you visited? All that science seems to be accomplishing is to change the nature of illness without actually removing it.

If illness is a necessary warning system to let you know that you need to slow down, or look at how you are living your life then this is exactly what we would expect to see with scientific advances; a change in the style of illness, but no change in the quantity or quality. Smallpox and bubonic plague have been eradicated, but doesn’t AIDS do pretty much the same sort of job.

So, how can this awareness help you?

Well it can help you if you want to feel better and be less ill. Because the first step to freeing yourself from this pattern of stress/illness is to recognise that the illness is helpful. Now, I know pain isn’t much fun, and I’m not suggesting that life-threatening problems should be ignored. In fact I’m not even suggesting that you stop visiting your doctor for treatment. I would actually strongly advise that you take all the help you can get if you have a health problem.

What I am suggesting is that if you want to be free of illness, you need to start by looking at what illness gives you, and welcome those gifts. You might get a few days off work, early retirement, forced retirement from a job you hate; illness may be the only occasion when anyone looks after you or gives you affection, if you are lonely then illness at least brings you into close contact with people (doctors and nurses) who touch you and treat you gently; if you are trying to cram too many things in your life then illness gives you a break and gives your body a much needed rest.

It would be beneficial then to see what changes you could make to your life so that this ‘benefit’ was no longer needed because you already had it. If you don’t like your job then consider the possibility of doing something you enjoy instead; if you are alone then open your mind to the possibility of this being different. If you are simply too busy then build relaxation into your schedule and see it as just as important a part of life as the ‘busy’ness.

But whatever you do, don’t neglect illness, it is your mind’s way of telling you it’s time for change. And if you decide that change is appropriate for you have a look at Herbert Benson’s excellent The Wellness Book: The Comprehensive Guide to Maintaining Health and Treating Stress-Related Illness which looks at simple techniques to restore health and well-being. Or Carl Simonton’s Getting Well Again: The Bestselling Classic about the Simontons’ Revolutionary Lifesaving Self-Awareness Techniques, which demonstrates the truly awesome power of the mind in the face of life-threatening and (from the medical perspective) incurable illnesses.

Michael  Hadfield    D.Hyp., MBSCH

Is a hypnotherapist who works with visualisation to bring about life changes

Tel: 01928 575784

Categories
IBS

What exactly is IBS, and more importantly, have I got it.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a physical problem that many people have to put up with on a daily basis. There is no cure because it is not a disease, it’s a functional disorder, characterised by the medical world as a brain-gut dysfunction. However, it is still misunderstood by some trained medical practitioners and frequently treated as a psychological condition. IBS is very real and can be devastating to an individual’s enjoyment of life. IBS is also a more common problem than many might imagine.

Percentage of population suffering IBS symptoms

UK 10%

US 15%

Japan 10%

Canada 6%

Brazil 43%

But what exactly is it?

Well it turns out that the medical world has decided that what it is is not something else. By that I mean that when other possibilities for the symptoms have been eliminated – then the diagnosis is IBS. It is largely a diagnosis by exclusion. IBS is a term used to describe a collection of symptoms that suggest a lack of normal gut function, but the symptoms are not consistent from individual to individual. There is individual variation. However, the most significant aspect is abdominal pain/discomfort accompanied by change in defecation frequency and/or a change in stool consistency.

One important point that I cannot stress too highly.IBS cannot and should not be self-diagnosed. The reason for this is because some IBS symptoms are also symptoms of other more serious, and other less serious, problems that are medically treatable. If you suspect you have IBS then visit your medical practitioner for confirmation. If your suspicion is confirmed then you can consider what would be your best course of action.

Symptom Checklist

Doctors have been using the following ROME II criteria for diagnosis.

Rome II Diagnostic Criteria for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms that Cumulatively Support the Diagnosis of IBS:

  • Relieved with defecation; and/or
  • Change in frequency of stool; and/or
  • Change in appearance of stool.
  • Abnormal stool frequency
  • Lumpy/hard or loose/watery stool
  • Straining, urgency, or feeling of incomplete evacuation
  • Bloating or feeling of abdominal distension.

Supportive symptoms of IBS:

  • Fewer than three bowel movements a week
  • More than three bowel movements a day
  • Hard or lumpy stools
  • Loose (mushy) or watery stools
  • Straining during a bowel movement
  • Urgency (having to rush to have a bowel movement)
  • Feeling of incomplete bowel movement
  • Passing mucus (white material) during a bowel movement
  • Abdominal fullness, bloating, or swelling

But this then became simplified by ROME III to:

Rome III Diagnostic Criteria for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

At least 3 months, with onset at least 6 months previously of recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort associated with 2 or more of the following:

  • Improvement with defecation; and/or
  • Onset associated with a change in frequency of stool; and/or
  • Onset associated with a change in form (appearance) of stool

Some symptoms can be mistaken for IBS and must receive immediate medical treatment.

Red Flag symptoms which are not typical of IBS:

  • Pain that awakens or interferes with sleep
  • Diarrhea that awakens or interferes with sleep
  • Blood in the stool (visible or occult)
  • Weight loss
  • Fever
  • Abnormal physical examination

If you have any of these symptoms see your doctor immediately. If you have blood in your stool, visit your nearest medical emergency treatment centre immediately.

Author: Michael J. Hadfield

Source: Hypnosisiseasy