My IBS Journey
By Marilyn B
IBS really ruined my whole life, and like 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 IBS patients.
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 severity of my symptoms, I thought that maybe I did have some serious digestive disease, but several colonoscopies later, (four total over the years) it was confirmed as IBS.
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:
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), Calcium Channel Blockers, 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.
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 IBS through a fellow IBS sufferer.
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 audio CDs containing clinically researched therapeutic sessions with a very specific listening schedule. (Michael Mahoney of Cheshire England is the author of this program. He came to the IBS Group BB in 1998, when his program became available to the public as a result of patient demand. 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.)
Even though the program had been helping hundreds of IBS patients, 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.
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 dont 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, even though I was one of the worst IBS cases. 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. That was several years ago, and now I can actually leave the house, whereas before, I raised my children “through the bathroom door!” I had attacks of diarrhea and pain lasting for hours on end, sometimes six hours a day, almost every day, never knowing when…even if I ate small amounts, the attacks would come out of the blue.
I am now able to function, if I do get an attack, most of the time it will subside within minutes, if not seconds. IBS is no longer the severe issue that it was, and it was the best thing I could have done to treat my IBS on a holistic level.
This program saved my life. And that is why I continue to assist IBS patients 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. That’s what worked for me and I hope this helps someone too. Thanks for letting me share! Links to Mike’s IBS Audio Program 100 www.ibscds.comand http://www.healthyaudio.com.
Anecdote of Marilyn B
I received my BA degree in psychology, speech and language pathology and language in the media from the College of St. Teresa, and did my affiliation for audiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I received my MS post-graduate degree from Marquette University with further studies towards my PhD but did not complete it.
As an IBS sufferer since 1983, I became aware of the IFFGD (had a different name in its inception) in 1992, and am now a lifetime member and I presented as exhibitor and attended an IFFGD Symposium and DDW in the past. Since 2000, I have been involved in the IBS Group support boards, and I am currently a moderator there as well as on Help For IBS and contribute to other IBS boards from time to time. I am an IBS patient advocate, and have been interviewed for health articles by Consumer Reports, MSNBC and the Wall Street Journal.
My biggest honor though, is donating my time in providing support and information not only in these capacities, but also as a patient support associate where I write articles and speak on the phone or email with IBS sufferers all over the world with respect to support for those with a wide variety of questions about IBS, and/or with regard to clinical hypnotherapy for IBS.
