IBS Awareness Month - how I recovered from IBS
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder that affects the large intestine. It is estimated that about 10-15% of people worldwide suffer from IBS. Despite being a widespread condition, there is still a lack of awareness and understanding of IBS.
Some of the common symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain or discomfort, bloating, diarrhoea or constipation, and changes in bowel habits. These symptoms can be quite disruptive to a person's daily life and can have a significant impact on their mental and emotional well-being.
My own story of IBS and predominantly constipation, bloating and cramps, spans nearly 3 decades. Suffering in my teens, twenties, and thirties – it wasn’t until my late thirties that I was diagnosed with IBS. To date, it is still considered a chronic condition that there is no cure for – I would like to challenge that.
Today, I have absolutely no symptoms and do not suffer from IBS and haven’t for over a decade (I’m now in my fifties). My story may resonate with you, or it may not. What worked for me may work for you, it may not. This journey has enlightened me about the complex nature of individuals and a caution not to assume that one-size-fits-all because it doesn’t. You may need to work it out for yourself which will take time and patience. But if you take nothing else from this article other than you can fully recover from IBS then my work is done – the rest is up to you.
The combination of factors that created my symptoms that came under the umbrella of IBS was:
Bloating – I could be mistaken for being 6 months pregnant in a matter of hours.
Cramps – I would be in major discomfort, usually at night, on a regular basis with no seemingly obvious cause.
Constipation – would affect me 2-3 times a week on average.
Feeling overly full and nauseous – I likened this to a bag being stuffed full and no more room for anything else.
So what caused my symptoms and how did I recover?
The first steps were in taking a brain training course to change my thinking. Over the years I suffered significant anxiety and depression and experienced childhood trauma and a marriage breakdown. This had left me in a physiological state of heightened stress and anxiety which was burdening my system – like an autopilot. This enabled me to choose my emotional state and start changing some very stuck patterns of behaviour and thinking.
The next step was to realise that I was intolerant to dairy and egg (you can add Brazil and Cashew nuts to that) and that too much wheat didn’t agree with me. This intolerance has not been resolved by exclusion and I have sought professional support, it transpires that I simply do not have the ability to break down these foods without causing major disruption to my digestive system.
These two steps have enabled me to recover from IBS and to have the knowledge and self-awareness about what works and what doesn’t work for me so that I can now live life to the fullest.
If reading this has sparked an interest, then I recommend that you seek private professional help from a nutritionist and therapist – private because the NHS doesn’t test for intolerances, only allergies (to my knowledge). I am now qualified in brain training and nutritional advice because that is what helped me. IBS is your body’s way of alerting you that there is something wrong, please listen, and take steps and you can retrain your mind and body to be comfortable and relaxed.