Ibs Relief

As any medical professional knows, no illness is categorized by symptoms XYZ alone. There are always variations and this book adjusts to them quite well. I am sorry that previous reviewers didn't glance through the book first and pay attnetion to their own bodies and what works for them. This books is also wonderful in that it doesn't lable IBS as being "all in your head". It is very objective in describing the many factors that may be causing your IB symptoms. Things like stress, food, fiber, and possible other food triggers. This book is also short, and doesn't go into a list of supplements you should be taking. It focuses on how to best help yourself, rather than telling you to do #1, #2, or #3, as every body is slightly different. It helps you focus on your symptoms, and what may help to alleviate them. It is important to understand that IBS in THIS country is often related to the Type A lifestyle, and often times modifing this (by reducing stress, focusing on quality of food choices) often helps. However, things like lactose intolerance and celiac sprue are SEPERATE. You may be lactose intolerant, and by eliminating lactose from your diet you will be fine. However, that may not be a problem for every person suffering from IBS. Same thing with celiac sprue--just because you have IBS does not mean you have celiac sprue. It's VERY important to be honest with your symptoms and treat yourself accordingly. As a medical professional I believe in western medicine, but I also believe that people need to take responsibility for helping themselves. There is no magic pill or magic cure for everything. Sometimes you have to be patient and go through a little trial and error. This book will help you do just that, but will also help you recognize when you need to revise what you are doing and seek medical attention.

Well, who doesn't love sitting down and writing a review about a book that tries to make your butt work better . . . anyway, despite the disclaimers about published medical advice regarding this book it helped me out a good deal and out of gratitude I can't help but give it anything less than 5 stars. After spending several thousand dollars over several years to buy the pleasure of having doctors tell me "I don't know, I think we should do more tests" I frankly gave up on the medical establishment's ability to handle IBS cases. (I don't know if they are afraid of lawsuits or what, but none of the doctors I saw offered any useful advice or even tried a therapy or suggested a special diet or anything. Several friends and family members have reported the exact same pattern in modern medicine for IBS and other symptoms, thousands of dollars spent on inconclusive tests with no medical advice or relief. What's going on?? Doesn't eleventy years of supposedly the most stressful schooling in the world equip doctors with any knowledge beyond telling you that some scribbles in some boxes on test results mean absolutely nothing?) This book does not offer a cure, as there is none for IBS yet apparently. However it tells you how to minimize symptoms in a holistic manner, and for me this actually worked quite well. Five relatively major changes that were included in this book worked for my particular case: 1.) Reduction of stress and balancing my life. This was harder than most people would probably like since for me it involved switching jobs, moving, and temporarily dipping into retirement savings, but quality of life has improved significantly and IBS symptoms reduced commensurately. 2.) Avoiding trigger foods, especially fatty foods, gassy foods, lactose containing foods, and spices. (Sadly, no more Thai and Mexican food, no more ice cream, no more lots of foods but it's worth it.) 3.) Increasing fiber intake. For me whole weat bread does upset my stomach, but a big bowl of Grape-Nuts with Soy Milk every day seems to get the job done. 4.) Eating three regular meals a day. Sometimes hard, especially when my normal response to having particularly bad IBS symptoms was to forgo eating, but this book explains the physiological science as to why this actually makes symptoms worse. 5.) Making exercise a regular habit. I finally feel healthy again. A lot of this sounds like common-sense stuff, but this book explained why they would work (with other possible strategies for people with different symptoms) and helped me find which foods I could and could not tolerate. With this knowledge I was more committed to seeing the life changes through and with time they improved my condition more than I thought they would. The sections on how to relax your muscles and your mind through breathing, little physical exercises, and mental techniques are also very helpful. Since everyone's different I can't promise this book will help you. But with some experiment

I found this book very helpful. Well-orginized, clear and practical. One of the readers hit it right on the nail: the book emphasizes that there are different kinds of fiber. For years, my doctor has been telling me to increase it in my diet: fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads. He never really cared to explain that there are different kinds of fiber. Some food with high fiber content actually cause painful simptoms (ex.broccoli). Metamucil, on the other hand, actually is priceless. In my opinion, that is the greatest achievement of the book. This difference for spells long-sought relief. Thank you!

The doctor has told you that you're suffering from I.B.S. and the doctor said to take more fiber. What your doctor probably failed to tell you is what types of fiber are best. That is one of the strengths of this book. This book doesn't sugar-coat the issue...it tells you precisely what you are up against and specifically what has benefited others who suffer from an irritable bowel.