# Chornic funtional abdominal pain



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

There is a condition CFAP, which shares some things in common with IBS. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/cfap.htm ------------------I work with Mike and the IBS Audio Program. www.ibshealth.com www.ibsaudioprogram.com


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Interesting article. Good thing my tapes came







BQ


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

BQ, glad you read it.







Did you get your tapes? ------------------I work with Mike and the IBS Audio Program. www.ibshealth.com www.ibsaudioprogram.com


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Yep. Check your e-mail







BQ


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Great BQ, enjoy and you know I am awaiting any questions.







------------------I work with Mike and the IBS Audio Program. www.ibshealth.com www.ibsaudioprogram.com[This message has been edited by eric (edited 03-26-2001).]


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Eric:This is a great article.







JeanG


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## catherine (Aug 11, 2004)

Eric, this article has really hit home for me. I'm tired of being so aware of the gas and discomfort after meals. Some foods are worse than others but really everything seems to bother me. I'm beginning to think it IS the nerves inside that are overly sensitive. Would the tapes help this kind of problem along with C? How do they go about helping us forget the pain?------------------C-Type IBS (slow motility)


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

One of the things that goes on with pain is there are gates and thresholds that the pain has to reach before it is transmitted to the brain.It appears that these thresholds can be reset. Both with drugs like antidepressants and assorted mind-body therapies. The advantage to the mind-body approach is that the benefits continue long-term while with a drug the pain tends to come back after the drug wears off.I had very severe IBS pain. I did 3 months of CBT and my pain is greatly reduced. One of the things that seems to go on with IBS is the pain gates are wide open, so you feel even normal things (that you usually aren't even aware of) as painful. If you can shut the gates, then you don't feel everything. To think of it another way, you only know what information gets sent to the brain, and is processed by the brain and percieved conciously (there are wierd things like blind sight where the eyes work but the brain can't fully process the info so you cannot see, but they can do tests and determine that the info gets to the brain and the person can act based on that information even if they do not conciously perceive it. They can correctly guess what color construction paper you put in front of them even though they can't see it).If at any point you can block the pain. Either by shutting the gates in the spinal cord so the pain doesn't reach the brain, or by changing what you conciously perceive you can make it so you don't feel the pain as the signal isn't getting through.K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## Krissy (Jul 6, 2000)

I don't believe this! yesterday i went to the chiro. and he told me alot of my pain he can feel is coming from my spinal cord!!! and its nerves! he is a great dr,i trust him.He showed me on my X ray my hips are out of wack,(i know this is from 10 years of driving for a living) he told me all nerves! great article Eric, Krissy<thanks Catherine>


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Typical chiropractic dogma is that all disease comes from the vertabra being out of alignment (subluxtions) and pressing on nerves, So given how they see things being caused and treat them I would be suprised if he told you something othere than it is from the nerves.OTOH, some people find chiropractic adjustments do help, so it's worth a shot.K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## Krissy (Jul 6, 2000)

Hi K, i have had this pain going down through my butt cheek,he he.... for a while now,the adjustment helped,i know its from driving,i look at it this way also,because i was always a skeptic (spelling?) of the chiro. If its helps me somewhat,go for it! LOL thanks, Krissy


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Catherine, they don't make you forget pain, so you no, but actually work on a lot of levels. Hypnosis, is almost perfect for treating IBS if it works for you, because of all the levels it works on. It is complicated and even the researchers do not fully understand it all. I will post some more info here, but it would take me forever to post it all. Two things to start with though and then if you have any questions we'll answer them for you. The nerves are senstive in the stomach partly because the signal back and forth to the brain is disregulating. This shows up on Pet scans and the anxiety centers of the brain are turned up and the pain centers turned down. So the bodies natural opiates that would keep us from feeling the gut is not what it should be doing. Serotonin is a key player and is a neurotransmitter created in the gut and it is used to talk back and for from the gut to the brain and is also a mood regulator. Are anxiety centers are also very active. So, part of the answer to your question is to calm the whole brain-gut axis and this can be done different ways. Hypnotherapy is the deepest form of relaxation and also works on the subconcious, like the digestive system does. The digestive system and the CNS are connected. What effects one will probably effect the other.This read first. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/relax.htm The this is something Mike wrote a while back that fits this.Many doctors and gastro specialists use this term 'all in your head'. I think they are trying, all be it ham fisted, to say that there is nothing organically wrong. However I have had quite a few discussions about this in the past, the problem lies with the fact that doctors are taught to look for disease and illness. We know IBS is a functional disorder, so I argue that by definition there is something wrong becuase peristalsis is not doing what it should. 'All in the head' is not right, it is an offensive term to those that are looking for solutions.It conjures up the emotion that sufferers are doing it on purpose somehow. However, the majority of us, tend to run things out, before they happen. So along with Stress, there is also a psychological element in our thought patterns that expects us to have dificult IBS days. Running out worries causes us to have anxiety and added stress, which creates a negative physical response. The annoying thing is, this is part of being a human being, its a response which we don't have to even try to do, it all happens automaically. To understand the tapes a bit more, we have to understand stress is not 'out there', stress is how we respond internally to real or perceived external demands. What is a stressful event for one, can be invigorating or relaxing for another. Every thought has a physical response, exactly as Eric says. We can prove this by the feelings of love, anger, jealousy,etc all emotions start with thought ( our interpretation to an event ) , which then leads to physical response. This is even recognised in legislation by recognition of the term Crime of passion - a person might kill another ( an extreme example, granted) becuase they were firing on emotion, which made them pick up the knife to perform the action. That anger began in the thoughts, was interpreted and an action was carried out. All by the release of chemicals and electrical impulses. Police officers see hightened states every Saturday night when people come out of the pubs, we even have our own language for heightend emotion, count to ten is a good example. Count to 10 before we say or respond to something that has annoyed us, basically by giving a bit of time, the response travels through the 7/8ths of the brain that is emotion until it gets to the 1/8th bit of logic and reason, which allows us to stop and think. In effect changes the chemical releases and electricsl impulses - we simmer down. All these physical reactions, along with the more every day concerns of, getting to work on time, what happens if I need the toilet?, do the shops have toilets, etc. every thought produces a physical reaction, good or bad. The thing is, we can choose to learn new coping strategies. Our inner resources can be topped up. Users of the program will have noticed that the first session, is time spent topping up the emotional reserves, making sure they can complete the journey through the program. Patients that come to my practice all go through the same thing, in short we have to be able to have the interal emotional resource to deal with everyday living, as well as changing our thoughts towards IBS. Becuase IBS has affected lives of sufferers so deeply, to try and deal with the IBS before we are prepared would lead to a tougher jouney. So taking the time to top up the emotial batteries as it were is time well spent. Still on stress, it helps too if we remember that the only important moment of our lives is the moment we are living, not the past (although we can change emotions attached to memories to make the past more comfortable for us), or the future that might never come. The other thing that holds us back is the fear that however we are feeling is going to last forever - Nothing lasts for ever, if we want to change! When we throw a ball up in the air, there is a point of time which the ball is neither going up or coming down, that is the moment of change. Users of the program who are feeling much better are changing the way they think, their outlook on life and its events, but I doubt anyone will be able to pinpoint exactly when things started to get better, but they do, and they do so becuase very gently the subconsious mind, which controls the digestive system, begins to realise, that these thought patterns of IBS are no longer needed, the individual as a whole is reminded that it existed very well thank you, without IBS, and can do so again, simply and gently by changing the thought processes, that kept Stress and Anxiety, Guilt etc in control. So the tapes are quite complex in their make up, but when I was doing my early days of research, I remembered that people learn more and easier if we enjoy what we are doing, so by using imagery and suggestion we create the enviroment internally, that allows changes, both emotionally and physically to occur. And becuase we enjoy what we are doing it doesn't seem difficult, and it isn't, its only when the conscious mind tries to control areas it wasn't designed to that problems occur. I might have babbled a bit, but don't expect a doctor to tell you this in this way, becuase their skills are in the organic, and they might just not know how to say what they mean! Hope it helps Regards Mike------------------I work with Mike and the IBS Audio Program. www.ibshealth.com www.ibsaudioprogram.com


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## catherine (Aug 11, 2004)

Eric, thanks for all of the helpful information. I really think there's something to all of this especially since I experienced it years ago with headaches and we had to break the pain cycle with those. I am near tears though in wanting to try the tapes but being afraid of just throwing more money down the drain. I'm tired enough of all of this but then have to explain to my husband that THIS is really IT and THIS is what's going to work. I don't feel much merit in my own words since I've said them before dishing out money for all the tests and a light box that didn't work for depression, etc. Afterall, it's my husbands money too and I feel so bad that he married a person with so many problems. Seems like it's been one thing after another.Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble on and on. I'm just feeling a bit down right now like the answer is just within reach but I can't quite grab it.------------------C-Type IBS (slow motility)


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Catherineon't beat yourself up about it! I think we all feel at times that it's almost impossible to reach out one more time, even though thay may be the answer to a problem we are facing. Hang in there!







JeanG


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## catherine (Aug 11, 2004)

Thanks for the kind words, Jean.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Catherine, Jean is right try not to be to hard on yourself. IBS as we all now is hard to work on, its complicated and not many treatments really work long term. I am totally honest when I say one of the reasons I work with Mike and the Hypnotherapy is because it has an excellent track record and it worked for me and then it worked for others.It is also not a drug and it can also work better then drugs really and long term. Mike's program is great in that it is a form of hypnotherapy (gut-specific) and he has perfected it over the years.Remember also we are here to answer any questions and help you through the process. So,I believe it can only help and every little bit that helps either a lot or a little matters long term. You will also have the tapes for life and can listen whenever you want to. From my perspective when I see someone like you in rough shape and if I was your doctor I would put you on them right away. Can I tell you they will work for sure. No. I can tell you Mike has around an 80 percent succuess rate with the majority of people who do it.In the next couple days we are bundling Dr Bolens book and Mike tapes together. We feel that both approaches complement each other very well and if you read the book as well as listen to the tapes, I believe you would do well. You could also try her book first as it is an excellent book with coping methods, good information and an effective approach that is also cost effective to start. Or you could jump right in an see how the whole thing goes. At the moment you might want to carefully go over this forum and study up on IBS and why these methods work, because I think that is important knowing what the treatment your doing is actually doing and at what level. Hypnosis to me is a top level treatment on the whole condition. I think cbt is as well, but is more an active concious thought process you work on. I think both combined is an excellent way to go, or trying them one at a time.It seems everything about IBS can be trail and error to find what is right for you. However, the key first is education. The mind -gut is playing a role and they know this. This may sound weird and I am making it simple for the sake of saying it.IBS is more the chemical regulation between the way the brain and the gut talks, then anything wrong with the brain or the gut.So you know we are here for you though whatever route you choose to do to help.Here is another article for you to read. In this article they mention a study with 60 percent success with Hypno, but because Mike's program is Gut- specific I believe that is why he has an 80% success rate. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,72-105016,00.htm ------------------I work with Mike and the IBS Audio Program. www.ibshealth.com www.ibsaudioprogram.com


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## catherine (Aug 11, 2004)

Thanks, Eric, I understand completely what you're saying about the brain/gut thing. I've decided to copy off the article above and send it to my doctor. Next, I might try a round of antidepressents that I took years ago for headaches. I also have the "other" hypno CD's but have not been consistent with listening to them. I understand that Mike's are more comprehensive but for now I think I'll see if these work. If I find good success and find I need more indepth hypno, I'll consider ordering Mike's. I have high hopes for this combined approach. Thanks for everyone's support.------------------C-Type IBS (slow motility)


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Catherine, it is these combined approaches, exactly as you say that is the most effective treatment they have seen in IBS. Let us know how your doing as you move forward.------------------I work with Mike and the IBS Audio Program. www.ibshealth.com www.ibsaudioprogram.com


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