Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hi there, sure, I can share with you, but it probably isn't something you haven't already heard. Are you on the meds for the IBS or for depression? I found that I didn't feel better on it. But, that may not be your experience, so please listen to your doc and give it a realistic time frame to work for you. Everyone is different.

My main problem is anxiety, maybe with a tad bit of depression at times. It stems from a traumatic childhood incident, (which I won't go into the gory details). With the IBS, I can be C or D, but mostly C. What I find is the more I focus/dwell on it, the worse it is. I use meditation, yoga, hypnosis CD's, energy medicine, EFT and any form of alternative therapy that I decide to give a whirl. A combination of these have worked for me, especially meditation. There is an excellent book you might want to read by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is called, "Full Catastrophe Living". It teaches you mindfulness and how to accept where you are at any given time. It seems when you fight "what is", it exacerbates your condition. It is a fantastic book!

What I have found, at least for myself, is that it is a process, if that makes sense. We seem to want a quick fix at times, for something that may take years to heal. That is why I stopped meds. The only med I will occasionally take is Immodium, but only in a pinch.

My diet is very, very simple. Lean protein, veggies, fruits, some nuts and seeds. I grow most of my own food, and the rest I buy organic. I don't do processed carbs, like white bread, white rice,etc., as they don't work for me. The make the C so much worse. I don't do many white starchy veggies, either. I also use no fiber supplements, and believe me, I have tried them all. They made me more gassy and bloated no matter how slowly I progressed. I can get the same thing from food. I go by the rule, if my grandmother didn't know what it was, then I don't eat it.

I differ in opinion from many here, in that I do feel you can heal. I think much of it, has to do with your day to day emotions, feelings, beliefs, stress level, etc. I think that you have to get to the "core" issue of your particular reason for developing IBS. Mine was childhood trauma. As I have worked through that, I found that I didn't need the meds, and I have started on the road to recovery.

I don't know if any of this will make sense to you, and I am sorry, some of it is hard to put into words. I don't follow Western medicine so much, as they tend to treat body parts, instead of the whole person.

You could have the best diet in the world, take every med the doc gives you, and still be suffering. Sometimes, it goes deeper.

Another book you might want to check out is "Clean", by Alejandro Junger. He is a cardiologist with IBS. I can't tell you much about the book at this point, since I just started it. But, I thought, wow, finally a doc who can emphathize. He KNOWS where we are coming from. One other book you might want to read, just to laugh is a very funny book. It is by Tim Phelan, and it is called, "Romance, Riches, and Restrooms". I LMAO. It is very, very good to laugh often!!!

This is all just one person's experience. You can take what you think may help you and leave the rest. I hope you find your path to healing.

HTH

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