Hi - Well, it sounds like that is such a highly stressful situation I'm not sure what would overcome it. Your body is really being shocked out of sleep, which is stressful enough, but then you're bolting out the door to go fight a fire. That cannot be a calming experience.
I would lean heavily towards trying to do everything you can to address stress and anxiety in general, including yoga and the IBS hypnotherapy tapes. The tapes might actually give you some ways to quickly calm yourself and your gut when you suddenly find yourself in a stressful situation. Many people who have used them have mentioned this - they tend to snap right into mentally repeating or imagining portions of the tapes that soothe them and calm down their bodies when they're faced with stress. Over time you might actually be able to make a habit of this, so that you automatically go into a calming routine when you're awakened in the dead of night. You might ask about this on the hypno board and see what folks there think.
I'm not sure about the Immodium at night...you might end up taking it too often when you don't need it. Might try regularly taking a dose of soluble fiber and peppermint tea before bedtime. That will help a bit, though I'm still not sure it would overcome the anxiety of rushing to a fire in the dead of night. Geez... I totally admire you for doing this at all, let alone with IBS!
- H
-------------------- Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Re: This is really good advice...
I totally admire you for doing this at all, let alone with IBS!
