What are the symptons of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and how to heal it?

It’s the constant pain in the lower and upper abdomen and you have given up on knowing how exactly your systems works when it comes to toilet intervals. Not forgetting the bloating and constant need to cover up the appearance of looking six months pregnant. These are just a few symptoms IBS sufferers live with on a daily basis.

It is not taken as a serious enough condition in general and most medicines for it are over-the-counter. Due to this, corrective action is usually taken from word of mouth or from my good friend Google. There is however a way of healing yourself and living a good-gut life with a few simple changes. I am living proof.

The pivotal point in my irritating IBS journey was when I woke up sprawled out on the ice cold bathroom floor and realized I’d had enough and I needed to do something about whatever was happening. I was completely unaware that I had IBS at the time but the oh-so clear symptoms had plagued me from a very young age.

I went to a practitioner that day, the poor man gouged his two fingers into my stomach and I responded with a hair-raising scream, which the entire medical suite must have heard. Poor old granny’s getting their monthly subscriptions must have had to ask for double doses after that. Anyway before the echo had dissipated he had referred me to a specialist.

The specialist booked me into the hospital, took some blood and commanded me to not touch, eat or do anything until the pokey blood test had returned. That was ten o’ clock in the morning. Twelve hours later he returned and his facial expression ensured me that the stressful hours that had just gone by would be calmed with what he was about to say. I was assuming, while waiting for him, that this was it, my appendix had had its last day with me or worse I only had 6 months to live. My story would be: we always knew something was wrong with her with that constant bloated stomach and pain she always complained about after eating. Shame, her final day at home; she ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor, poor girl, who would have known?

He first asked me if I was hungry and after not eating the whole day as he had earlier demanded, I could have smacked him, of course I was hungry but that wasn’t important now. All I wanted to know was what was wrong? After a pause and a couple of prods and pokes he told me everything was fine I just had irritable bowel syndrome and I would have to follow a diet. Complete relief and I returned to the outside world. Of course my natural inquisitiveness and a little free time turned the warm relief into a cold shudder when I realized he had failed to mention a lot of clauses in the IBS contract I had been forced into. Diet, yes, but no where did he mention it would be for the rest of my life and not once was it stated that the diet was taken from a zoologist who specialized in rabbit feeding.

If you have ever seen the Matrix you can compare the diet of an IBS sufferer to what the crew that left the matrix was subjected to. “If you close your eyes it almost tastes like tasty wheat” and again tomorrow “if you close your eyes it almost tastes like tasty wheat” and the next day “if you close…”.The best is if you go to a restaurant with your better half who delightfully orders a juicy steak, green vegetables, potatoes and a glass of wine. The waiter turns to you waiting for your order and you calmly say, “I will have what he is having…minus the steak, the green vegetables, potatoes and the wine…you know what…just bring me a glass of water and a couple serviettes to fold into fans for your other tables.

This is how I had lived for a while, everything has changed now. Today I eat what I like, have a perfectly normal routine with my toilet and only get cramps if my mother calls. How did I do it? Simple, I followed the easy life changing steps below and my IBS is a condition of the past.

The First thing and I have to admit this, you do need to follow the IBS diet but unlike most IBS sufferers this will only be for a short while and not for the rest of your life. You have to give your system a chance to heal itself. I only followed it for a month but I would recommend twelve weeks as this is good number to just make sure and most undertakings for health give the best results when the time frame is 12 weeks.

Secondly tune down the fast food and restaurant outings to a minimum of twice a month (after you have completed above).The rich food and sauces are bad for anyone not just IBS sufferers. If you are an addict, as I used to be, then you need to find your way out. I put myself off fast foods and eating out just by noticing how dirty the kitchen was or the way the cooks conducted themselves when touching the food. You never know where those hands have been and where they are going to go. Rather make your own fast food at home which in the long run will be better for the whole family and your pocket. My husband loves my homemade hamburgers and steak meals.

Thirdly get moving in and around the house. We all know that having time to exercise only exists for the rich, famous and childrenless or nanny-helped people but there is a way that you can keep moving and jolting your system without leaving the house. When you are feeling lazy you need to start forcing yourself to do stuff. A good example can be depicted as when you have just got home, slumped yourself on the sofa and a gush of wind blows a piece of paper from your table onto the floor, instead of thinking I will pick it up when I get up to do something more important like going to the toilet, you need to get up straight a way and remove it, don’t wait till later. Wash the dishes now, bath the kids now, cook now don’t procrastinate on any minimal task. Once we sit down after a long day at work it’s a complete downhill path and everything gets shoved over till the next day in the hopes that tomorrow we will have a bit more energy. The trick is to not get to that point and just keep moving, your system will love it and eventually you will feel a renewed sense of ability and energy to do anything around the house.

Great number four. Water is fantastic, we can swim in it, wash ourselves with it and sometimes it goes well with alcohol. No, No and No…water is more important than anything else we consume and this comes from your average Joan here in normal-ville. It truly has helped me with my IBS.I drink two large bottles a day and I am yet to have an IBS symptom. Water is known to help with regular bowel movements and to flush out the system among other things. If you want to heal your body, start by increasing your water intake. There are other wonderful rewards that comes with this step too, not only does your skin look and feel great but you will also shed a few pounds. I lost 10 pounds and a bit just from drinking more water.

And lastly don’t take any “friend-recommended” medication. Obviously, if your doctor gives you a prescription, take it, it’s from a qualified opinion. What we are talking about, is that medication referral from that friend. Yes, that friend that apparently knows everything about anything and has a sample on hand in her handbag of a truly amazing medication that can help your IBS. She has totally sold you the idea by telling you what a great life she has led since she has been taking it but when you are not looking she holds her tummy after a great big meal hoping the cramps will disappear. Don’t believe it.

As mentioned earlier your body has the ability to heal itself and you need to truly believe it. If you need proof then take a good look at what happens when you scratch yourself. Without you doing much, maybe placing a band aid on it, the skin eventually heals itself. The body doesn’t just do this on the outside; it does this on the inside too. Follow the important instructions above and believe in your body and you will find IBS will be something of the past.

It’s important to always consult a GP first but as an avid self –enrichment endorser I will say: helping yourself get better is only a mindset away.

For more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritable_bowel_syndrome

http://www.howtogetridofhealthproblems.com