# What a waste of my time....



## LauraRN (Oct 8, 2001)

We made the two hour trip to the specialist, only to be seen by one doc for about 15 minutes and another for MAYBE 10, just to be told it's very pshychosocial and I should start exploring those options. Needless to say, I won't be going back. The upside is Tommy is doing MUCH better on the imipramine (or it's not the imipramine at all, just coincidence, who knows?). He has a cold now and is coughing which is causing spasms today. Of course, it's all stress related you know. Tommy told me last night he knew it wasn't stress related because he was under a lot of stress and he was okay! LOL Poor kid. We ARE going to try biofeedback and MAYBE reflexology, so we'll see. At some point I want to get the tapes I see advertised here, I just can't afford them right now. BUT, I see so many other things that can exacerbate the problem. Food, certain movements, having or not having BMs, cold drinks, coughing, vomiting, anything that can affect peristalsis can start the spasming. I'm a nurse, but doctors are not my friends right now! It is great to be able to talk to other moms, that's for sure! Laura


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Laura, my mom is a nurse also and I have had this since I was ten. However, they know alot more now. I am going to give you a lot of information here. Sorry your doc did not spend more time with you as that is one of the biggest downfalls in IBS treatment. The corner stone of treatment is a good patient-doctor relationship and working through issues and treatments. One down side is there pressed for time and that effects you and the information needed on IBS.However, Psychosocial Factors in IBS are important in the big picture. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/psyc...ial_factors.htm Colds release histimine and that effects the colon, and would make the symptoms sometimes worse and even sometimes better.It is also in big part stress related, but maybe not in all the ways you may think really. Its stress/emotions>physical symptoms>stress emotions.So the anxiety or stress of thinking of attacks itself can keep the loop or vicious cycle going. However, stress is also use in a broader sense in stressors on the body, physically, emotionally and environmentally. The weather can effect IBS, the amount of food you eat at a time(calorie intake)and chemicals in foods,hot annd cold weather, or beverages etc.. can all effect IBS symptoms.Here are just some simple tips for you. http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic&f=1&t=025573 This here though is super important to know and that is the gut has its own brain called the ENS. This crucial knowledge in IBS. http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/mindbodygut Skip the refelexology it is not effective for IBS.Bioofeedback may help and is a good route to try with the constipation.Here is some concise constipation info.Comprehensive Overview of Constipation: http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/comp...ve_overview.htm In IBS constipation has to do in part with serotonin regulation. In IBS the signaling of serotonin in the gut can cause a lack of contractions and hence constipation.The tapes would help."anything that can affect peristalsis can start the spasming." this is correct but its paristalis that is out of whack and as I mentioned serotinin is a big player in this. It in part controls this and also mood/emotions, appetite, sleep and sex.This is how the brain is operating in IBS patients and only IBS patients.www.webpotential.com/uploadpicThere is an in depth article on this and serotonin if you want me to post it.I hope this helps.So you can read my story here and hopefully just some of my experiences will help.Ponderings of an IBSer I was just thinking of expressing some of my thoughts on IBS and having it for thirty years. I have pain predominate IBS and alternating C and D. Although I can say had and really mean it,as I am doing so much better at about(85%) and I believe still improving thanks to this BB and Mike's tapes. I believe my IBS started from a trip to Mexico where I swallowed a small amount of cloroinated water out of a swimming pool and a half hour later, I was very sick with ameobic dysentary and spent the next month seriouly close to death. No Joke. They also pumped tons of penicillin into me at this time. However, ameobic dyentary is known to cause inflammation in the digestive tract. I recovered from that and I don't remember when or how soon I came back from Mexico, I was suffering from severe abdominal pain and alternating c and d. It wasn't to long before they started the first tests on me and that that testing would continue on and off for a big part of my life and cost thousands of dollars. The first tests were stool samples and upper gi tests all negative. The next test was a lower gi, also negative. Blood tests and all the regular tests from a normal MD. I was ten. In those days no one had a clue about IBS and they called it spastic colon or nervous stomach. I missed a lot of school and was always trying to catch up in my school work. Since the good doctors couldn't figure it out,I was sent for therapy and put on librium and told it was phycosomatic. I struggled for years through school,some working and trying to explain to friends why I was in pain alot and could not do things. Dating was a problem. They thought I had a stomach ache and it would go away and I should just quite being a big baby. Funny because my boss said that to me also, ten years later as well as a lot of coworkers. More testing. Basically the same kinds of tests over again. When your in your teens and your seeing some upstate NY md in a small town in those days testing didn't amount to much. Still no advise from anyone on what to do. My parents were very supportive and my mom is a nurse, which was very helpful and supportive. However,sometimes my moms own concern bothered me as she could not help and I could see that in her eyes while I layed there in complete agony from the knife jabbing sharp pains coming from my gut. When I got these pains I would hyperventilate and all kinds of thoughts raced through my head. For me this was already establishing itself into my thought patterns on a day to day basis's and I didn't really know much about living any other way as I hit my late teens. I was having episodes at least two to four times a week and that continued until I join this bb two years ago, although I would have some remissions they always came back and for a while my IBS went cyclic and bothered me most in the winter months, but in the summer improved somewhat. But it came back. Meanwhile, I continued to try to figure some of it out for myself, in ways I could manage it or do things to reduce it. Late teens to late twenties. More tests. "Maybe an ulcer,but we don't see it." New drugs, and from there librax, donnatol,prescription tagament,and a few others I don't even remember, but prozac was one as well. No noticable long term improvement. Mid thirties. I got serious and went to the best GI doc in town and told him to test away on everything we could think of that might be applicable. Also worried it could be something else still, although nothing showed up before he tested me and after he tested me. More drugs. Bentyl and valium. Sent to therapy told to relieve stress. I knew this wasn't the cause and thought because the pain was so severe that something had to be wrong in there, it just couldn't be possible to have this much pain and not have something physically that they could see wrong. I just didn't get it. I did know stress agravated it but not to the extent I do now or the kinds of stress either environmental, physical,or phychological and at the time I did not know how to reduce it enough with the management tecniques I was using and I used a lot of them. I tried all the food aspects and nothing other then some common sense on most things. Although it made sense what was going in had something to do with it, but in reality looking back now, it was common sense issues of eating to much to fast,fat,spices ect. etc.. There were some weird signals before an attack. My skin would turn whiter, my eyes would twitch and my hands would sweat. Sometimes I woould get dizzy. My therapist had migranes and knew nothing about IBS, other then realizing some of the symptoms sounded somewhat like some symptoms she would get with her migranes and that it was not in my head (phycosomatic or crazy) and I should go back to the doctor. It wasn't helping me to see her so I agreed. Although she didn't explain serotonin to me, nor did my doctor take the time to either. I feel if someone would have explained some of the mind-gut connections earlier I could have save a lot of time and effort. I know some are realitively new, but I think they had some idea and either it was to complicated to explain to me or they just didn't have the time. I think at this point one of the best things a doctor can do is explain some of this to new patients. I didn't have any other issues I was healthly otherwise and was playing soccer for twenty years and going professional until I blew my kneecap out. I believe I personally have a classic case of IBS. For me I believe it is faulty neurotransmitters that are not talking right between my brain and my gut. Just some thoughts and thank god for hypnotherapy, which I want to add some of my thoughts on as a side note. Of course most people know I work with Mike now, but some probably do not. After meeting him on the bb here and the success I had I decided to work with him as I feel he has one of the most effective treatment tools for IBS. I am drug free and very happy with the results. I want to say something about hypnotherpay in general and what I believe and have seen for myself and these are my own personal comments from my experiences with it. Although, many others feel the same way now. It is the deepest from of relaxation I personally have ever found. It has tremendously reduced the pain for me from severe to very mild. I think this has worked two ways. It has steered my thoughts and attension away from the pain when I want and I also believe the relaxation aspect of it is releasing endorphines to my gut. This has been a big achievement and will save me trips to the ER. When I wake up in the morning I no longer have IBS on my mind first thing. I no longer dwell on it. I don't worry to much about going out or bathrooms any more. I know longer turn white or have my hands sweat. I can relax my gut at will. My whole body is more relaxed in general and I didn't realize how tense it was before. I breath better and more deeply. Which I have found useful if I feel any twinges of a potential problem. I sleep better and more deeply. Day to day problems don't bother me like they use to. I can eat things I couldn't before. I feel like I have beeen rewired so to speak. My BM's have improved substantially. There are symptoms I don't even remember and that is unbelievable. Anyway just some thoughts of an IBSer pondering. I don't know if this helps anyone and I also don't want to say hypnosis is a cure or the only thing people should be doing to manage IBS, but it is one majorally effective tool that isn't understood by a lot of people or used enough by doctors in the IBS world and why I sound like a broken record sometimes. However, I hope no one gets tired of hearing about something that really works for the majority of people with IBS as there are just to few of the things that do.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

I forgot to add something. It has been my experience with IBS and the many doctors over the years that some are good and some aren't. However, your paying them and it can help to be somewhat forceful in getting answers. It also helps to go aree with questions and information to go over with them.This is some info on this and the two way street as it does work both ways. Just for the info.Improving The Doctor Patient Relationship http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/impr...lationships.htm Also, I highly suggest reading this whole site. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/


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## *Luna* (Nov 19, 2001)

I understand how you feel! I had a similar experience several months ago... infuriating!That's all I have time for now... good luck!


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

bump for laura.This also something to consider in all this, although I want to make sure that you understand no one is to blame for someone having IBS. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/hsn/20020129/..._parents_1.html


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## norbert46 (Feb 20, 2001)

LauraRN, I'm very sorry to hear of your son's IBS problems and children having difficulties cause me distress! My oldest grandson is being medically tested and does have some form of Collitus or Crohn's disease so be very thankful that your son has a "syndrome" condition because it can be controlled! Let me tell you that I'm a 55yr old male who suffered IBS/D for 35 yrs. I tried everything you can imagine and finally used Mike's tape program to get total relief. The gut spasms are caused by the subconcious mind and can be corrected/reprogrammed with this program and Eric can help you with this! My experiences with Biofeedback was no help, I could make the beeps and blinking green light slow down but couldn't relate that when under stress/anxiety conditions. The medicine "imipramine" you mentioned was the only psychmed that ever helped at all and it was mildly helpful for appx. 6 months. Best wishes for relief, Norb


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

This is some good info from the National Digestive disease clearing house.Children and IBS http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/summary/ibskids/


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## davidsmom (Jan 7, 2002)

Hi, my 12 year old son developed IBS symptoms last year, and was daignosed last Nov. We've been through "the mill" too, and I want to share what helped him the most so far. We found out he has lactose and fructose intollerance (through breathalyzer type hospital tests) and dramatically altered his diet. Von Vorous' book on The First Year, living with IBS was a tremendous help. Our dr. and his dietician did not make the destinction between soluble and nonsoluble fiber as she did, and the dr. made him worse. Heather's book helped tremendously. We also started him on Lactobacilis Acidophilis, 1/2 t. a day in lukewarm water. Finally, of all things a chiropractor has helped too. Turns out one leg is longer than the other (growth spurt) and gave him a $7 shoe wedge. He still isn't attending school (now mainly due to fear) but we are hoping to get him back Monday. Hope this helps. Grace


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## webstbs (Apr 11, 2013)

My son has been going through this for years. It has been much worse this year to the point that he may just have to repeat the ninth grade. I'm really grateful that his doctor didn't go straight to "it's all in your head" and went instead for trying to figure things out. You would think that after over 100 (or possibly hundreds) of years of calling people crazy when they don't understand what's going on they would just realize that maybe the kids not crazy and maybe they just don't quite understand what's going on. We have finally figured out that his digestion is "significantly" delayed and he has a fructose intollerance, so the fodmap tips is what brought me here. Good luck in your search for what is going on with your son and with finding a doctor that will try to get to the problem instead of blowing it off with the easy answer.


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