Day 8 Bloating and constant distention

[Nana]

I am doing the sep program for bloating and constipation. Tms totally makes sense but I am not fully convinced yet. I hope that by reading everyday , journaling, and trying to keep buisy I will believe 100%. I guess that by doing this work one is restructuring the neuron connections in the brain so that one day it all clicks in .

 

[ssxl4000]

Hello . . . obviously every case is different, but if I may offer some encouragement, TMS treatment mostly erased 12 years of constipation and irritable bowel syndrome for me! One thing that helped me was that I spent a long time making a food journal, tracking what I ate and whether it caused symptoms. At the end, I finally realized that my symptoms rarely followed logical patterns, and they persisted no matter what I ate. This helped me accept that the condition was in fact TMS. For example, I would have indigestion after a moderate sized lunch, but then feel fine after a huge, spicy dinner (I was less stressed after dinner than in the middle of the day). Keep up the good work!

 

[Nana]

Hello . . . obviously every case is different, but if I may offer some encouragement, TMS treatment mostly erased 12 years of constipation and irritable bowel syndrome for me! One thing that helped me was that I spent a long time making a food journal, tracking what I ate and whether it caused symptoms. At the end, I finally realized that my symptoms rarely followed logical patterns, and they persisted no matter what I ate. This helped me accept that the condition was in fact TMS. For example, I would have indigestion after a moderate sized lunch, but then feel fine after a huge, spicy dinner (I was less stressed after dinner than in the middle of the day). Keep up the good work!

Hi Ssxl ! Thank you so much for your reply. I was somewhat discouraged because I could only find a hand full of people who recovered from IBS using this approach. I would love if there were more TMS success stories related to ibs on YouTube , it would help me soooooo much. Thank you for sharing your story. I have been applying the tms approach for approximately 2 months but I am only about 10 % better. I am on the 20th day of the sep program. I have read 3 of dr sarno’s books. I would also like to add that last year I had my gallbladder removed . All the bloating and bathroom issues started right after the surgery. Everyone including doctors tell me everything is ok and nothing seems wrong . In the past , like 6 , 15, and 20 years ago I had had crisis with my colon which lasted months and doctors could never find out what it was so they simply labeled it as ibs. I believe that each time I started ibs, it followed an episode of extreme stress and either a gastroenteritis, or a food poisoning, or the birth of my daughter. I think that now that I had the gallbladder removed , I also went through a huge stress and I believe the the surgery itself could have triggered a reaction in my Bowles or a hypersensitive reaction to gas in my bowels. In between each flare up I have had amazing years with no problem what do ever. I am a vibrant and happy person but when this bloating and distention gets a hold of me , I become a tired, fearful, and pessimistic person. When I was young I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed in school , I developed panic attacks, anxiety disorder with episodes of depression. I am on medication for all of this and it seems to help . When I was young my mother had anxiety and was a big perfessionist , I saw her suffer with migrains, hemorrhage from periods, vertigo, fibromyalgia. I am also someone who always wants to help others . My mother is a totally different person now. She is happy, relaxed, and doing well. She is my biggest motivator. I have been journaling quite a bit for 2 months. I also have been with psychologist since covid . I find myself sometimes wanting to search the web for healing stories regarding ibs and tms but I know this is counterproductive for me. I tend to spend my days with crochet and tutoring my daughter at school. I also have been running for 11 weeks, approximately 6-9 km, every other day. I would also like to add that every time I recovered in the past was because I started to work full time (I am a stay at home wife with a university degree in physiotherapy) or I got really busy doing something else ) to the point that I forgot about ibs and when I tried to remember it was gone. Food has nothing to do with it as I have tried many things and the bloating stays fixed and constant !!!AT times it is my left as sending colon that is bloated for hours , than it could switch to my left descending colon , but the bloating is always there. I look pregnant. Every time I pass a mirror it aggravates me to see the huge beer belly ( and no I do not drink) It is soooo strange !!!! Thank you all for your support!

 

[ssxl4000]

It sounds like have done a great job finding the links between your symptoms and stress. That is a big step. Another step in the process . . . if you haven't gotten there yet, at some point the SEP will start talking about "outcome independence." This is a very important concept that basically means you learn to not care about your symptoms. It is difficult to do if the symptoms are bad, but it is possible. For many people, the symptoms do not go away until you get to this point of not caring and no longer fearing them.

Part of outcome independence is not letting yourself being limited by your symptoms. It sounds like you are mostly there, which is awesome! Exercising and eating what you want is a great way to show your brain you know the symptoms are TMS. Recovery can take a long time. My main issue that led me to TMS was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That resolved very quickly when I started the program, but my IBS-C symptoms took months to improve.

One thing I would add is, if you have not already, definitely explore your feelings about staying at home and not working. Since you identified that working made you feel better in the past, it is definitely possible that your current stay-at-home status could be stirring some negative feelings. The same happened to me while being a stay-at-home parent (repressed negative feelings toward kids, fear of not being good enough because I don't make money and am not using my degree). I think those thoughts are common amongst parents, but they can definitely wreak havoc with TMS symptoms.

Feel free to message me directly if you have questions or want to know more about my IBS-C symptoms and what helped me improve. Keep up the good work!

 

[Nana]

My goodness thank you so much for your wonderful advice!!!! You must be a very bright and kind person , like most TMSers , thank you.
My issue is that my mind is playing tricks on me. For example it constantly reminds me that this time is different. This time I had my gallbladder removed and maybe this is the cause this time around. I am doomed to be like this forever unless Iget a gallbladder transplant, jaja! My husband reminds me that most people do very well without a gallbladder. I tell him that perhaps I am one of those strange people that developed bloating from gallbladder removal. I have read all kinds of things on the internet, perhaps I have sibo, perhaps my
Liver is sick, perhaps I have Candida, perhaps I have low stomach acid, perhaps I have bile reflux, perhaps I have scar tissue, perhaps I have a nerve cut during surgery, perhaps my autonomic nervous system has been injured from general anasthesia, perhaps I have too many bacteria in colon!!??? I have gone through all the possible scenarios . It is as if I have 2 people in my brain , one is desperately trying to find a diagnoses and a treatment while the other one is telling me to quit it and move on. However the perfectionist in me says I must resolve this bc I do not want to have this forever . Thank you for listening

 

[TrustIt]

We have all been through such an excruciating, exhaustive and seemingly bottomless rabbit holes in our search for the cause of some sort of pain. Digestive issues are my primary one. I won't put the litany of possibilities I've pondered here as we know the redundant drill. After going through the whole diet scrutiny I have given up on the search for some food being the source and have begun to eat anything I want but still have some pangs of doubt bc more often than not I experience the old symptoms of bloating, painful gas, and an awful sinking desperate feeling that includes self-pity and a feeling of being abandoned and alone...nowhere to turn. I will have some days of feeling perfectly normal and in those times, I'm on top of the world! I feel my motivation and interest in life returning and I express my gratitude many times during those days. I truly feel healed at those times. And then it just suddenly comes back and I cannot for the life of me attach it to any event. It feels less and less like back to square one like it used to, so I must be making progress, but it just feels so cruel to be feeling over it all and then it creeps back! I just appreciate the commiserating here with you who have similar stories. ssxl4000, it's so heartening and encouraging to hear about your story of overcoming this. I guess I must be only 90% convinced that it is TMS or I would be done with it by now. Not sure how to access that 10%. Any advice from any helpers out there is always appreciated.

 

[ssxl4000]

I guess I must be only 90% convinced that it is TMS or I would be done with it by now.

My IBS-C still pops up fairly often, it is just much less severe. I am able to quickly roll my eyes at it and connect it with stress. I think for many people the symptoms never fully go away, but the key question is are you able to live a normal life again. That is the real goal to me.