No progress at all
#365865 - 08/22/11 03:17 PM
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IBS-C started about 5 years ago. A couple of years ago I followed the EFI diet and used acacia for six months religiously two separate times...no improvement. I am just finishing up with the hypno tapes for the second time and have had no improvement there as well. I believe it was posted somewhere that if a person is harboring any other issues (which I am not) the hypno may not work, otherwise, from what I have read, there should be significant results...needless to say, I am disappointed. The only issues I have are anxiety and depression which are 100% related to IBS. I have kept food journal after food journal, tried western medicine, eastern medicine, and everything in between. Sometimes I just feel our digestion is going to do what it's going to do....some good days, some bad. Anyone else in this quandary....where EFI nor tapes have helped???
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Sorry to hear the EFI diet and hyno are not helping much. About 20-30% of individuals don't get much help from hypnosis.
Have you tried the FODMAP diet which was developed and clinically tested for managing functional GI disorders such as IBS? You can read about it in the first two links in my signature. I use it in combination with the EFI diet and I have fairly good success. Ask if you have any questions. 
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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I agree it is difficult! There certainly is no magic cure! I, too have tried many different kinds of treatment, but, have found it all boils down to the individual, thus "treatment" is also somewhat individual. That being said, these diets offer alot of very good guidelines for us to follow  I am in the Milwaukee area...a rainy day here in Wisconsin!!
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IBS-D. Eating gluten and dairy free.
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Don't give up on the hypno. It took me three rounds and I am very well. Actually, to get more acurate info on hypnosis go to the hypnosis board and post your question to Marilyn. She is the "expert" on anything hypnosis. Because of her, I continued on and I am glad I did. I was ready to quite by the first go-round.
She may not see this post here, so if you go to the hypnosis board, she will see it. I will put her name at the top in the subject line here, along with yours, so maybe she will catch your post here. This board is more for diet, not hypnosis.
It really does take more time for some, so don't get disappointed. EFI may not be for you, nor analyzing the crap out of your diet, but don't give up on other options.
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Thank you Syl for the Foodmap information. and yes, I do have a question. I have spent hundred and hundred of hours of research on IBS and seen so many different people searching for answers. I did go to a nutritionalist a few years ago that I swear I knew more than she did. However, I recently found a different nutritionalist who works with people with bowel disorders and she does testing (I think mainly food allergies). She does not do fructose malabsorption testing. She has only been doing this for a couple of years, so not tons of experience. From reading the many previous posts I can see how much knowledge you have regarding IBS and in your opinion, how do you feel about nutritionalists and their success in treating IBS? Are there any specific tests I should request, or am I just going to be getting the information I already am aware of and virtually throwing another several hundred dollars down the drain??? Any insight would be helpful. Thank-you.
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Hello Reindeer -
There still is hope - just from reading your posts here I am pretty sure I know why the hypno may not be working thus far. I will answer more fully on the hypno forum, but also, please do feel free to call 877-898-2539 for private support or go to the contact page on the website listed in the program booklet last page.
While we can support on these boards in general, sometimes this can take you away from encouragement - and there still is hope in this area to be sure.
Please go to the hypno forum for further support.
And - thanks Gerikat - you are a gem and a good encourager!!! ((HUGS)) to ya!
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My Journey and Success with the IBS Audio Program Hypnotherapy Program: www.helpforibs.com/messageboards/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=hypnotherapy&Number=224850
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I am going to chime in here.
Everybody on the board knows me and I have made a big deal about how I found some, but nowhere close to the relief I needed from EFI.
However, Syl has helped me a lot.
Syl told me about FODMAPS. I then saw an RD about FODMAPS, and followed her diet, not much better.
I went back to Syl, and was very angry. I took Syl up and changed my diet to a very low fiber, EFI, FODMAP diet.
During this span, I have had my IBS in much better shape.
Am I cured? No. Does IBS still inhibit me?
Yes.
However, it is better, way more than it was 6-12 months ago.
In fact, we have agreed that diet wise, there is nothing more I can do...the next and final step is hypnosis.
However, per Marilyn, it will have to be done in person as tapes would likely, at least to start, be ineffective.
My point? I am an extremely difficult IBS person.
I am IBS A with a lot of bloating.
Doing what Syl told me to do diet wise has been more helpful than why any RD ever could say, because they do not have the research and science background nor first hand problems with IBS.
It's not close to a cure, but it got me to the next stage.
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A good nutritionists can surely help plan balanced and nutritious meals but they don't have any more insight into managing IBS that other health professionals. If you can find a nutritionist that knows about the FODMAP approach to managing functional GI disorders then they might be able to guide you. However, most of the publicly available information is fairly good. For example, the IFFGD web site has a nice concise write-up in its latest newsletter that may be helpful.
Nutritionists usually don't do fructose malabsorption tests although they might be able to request one from a testing facility. You might ask your GP or GI doc for the test. Of course, eliminating foods with excess fructose for a couple of weeks will give you a fairly good indication if it is a problem for you.
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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Thanks Syl for your insight. Nope, she doesn't work with the Foodmaps diet and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be able to give me any more information than I've already acquired over the years. My problem is if I don't eat tons of IF I can't seem to get a good, complete BM. I did skim over the Foodmap diet and when I saw no apples or prunes, kind of scared me as I eat an apple and prunes every day. Even sometimes when I have two really good BMs and I would feel completely empty, a few hours later I start to cramp as if I need another BM, yet can't get anything to move. It's like the peristalsis is either working when there is nothing left to push out or it's not strong enough to get it all out if I haven't eaten enough IF. So it's not like I'm truly constipated, yet I still feel that way a great deal of the time. I don't know if this makes any sense, but the way my body works doesn't make any sense??? I think back to the days when I could just get up, eat breakfast, poop, and be on my way for the day. My body went totally out of whack when I went into menopause.
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Yes - hormonal changes can definitely play havoc with IBS symptoms.
For years I thought I was IBS-C when in fact when I looked a the definition I found I am IBS-D. None of the GI doctors that I have seen over the past 40+ years ever asked how many BMs I had per day/weeek. IBS-C is generally defined as 3 or less BM per week while IBS-D is generally defined as 3 or more BM per day. The feeling of incomplete evacuation is common symptoms of all IBS subtypes not just IBS-C. Sometimes it is this sensation that leads people to believe they are IBS-C when in fact they are IBS-D. Using these descriptions do you believe you are IBS-C?
The excess fructose in apples ( and some other fruits) and the sorbitol in prunes can exacerbate either C or D. You might find some success with this approach as it has been clinically shown to be effective for all IBS subtypes.
You might reconsider eating a lot of IF. It is definitely known that diets high in IF can exacerbate IBS symptoms.
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
FODMAP Chart & Cheatsheet
The Role of Food & Dietary Intervention in IBS
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