I had struggled with major digestive issues for well over a year and lost 35 pounds because of it. I was convinced I had LPR (Silent Acid reflus), GERD, and IBS. I was able to get over other health issues in the past using Sarno's methods as I had back pain and nephropathy that I was able address but could not figure how to apply his work to digestive issues.
Here is a full list of symptoms i had
Chronic sore throat
Chronic hoarse voice
Chronic chest chest pain
chronic cough
non stop stomach and bowel pain nearly all day everyday
chronic heartburn and what felt like acid reflux
burning in my throat, stomach and chest (even had a burning tongue)
chronic bowel issues with lose bowels similar to IBS
weight loss
--------------------------------------------------
These symptoms came on after taking some strong headache medication that seem to mess up my stomach but I was also under stress and anxiety at the time. It took over a year for me to finally get over most of this stuff and it was a big struggle.
Over the course of the first 6 months I tried everything. I was on double dose of Nexium (Acid Suppressing PPI) which was not helping at all and causing cramps and other side effects. I also tried extreme diets for months such as low acid diet and foodmap etc... None of them really helped my issues and I lost a lost of weight and started looking very unhealthy.
I went to see a throat specialist to see if he could help with the chronic throat issues and he put a scope down my throat and said it was totally healthy but I was convinced it was burnt and scared form acid as my symptoms pointed to that. He told me to get a humidifier and that should help. My symptoms did improve after seeing him but not totally gone.
I also went to see a stomach specialist to see what was going on with my stomach and bowels. We did a scope of my stomach and he saw me afterwards and diagnosed me with "Functional Dyspepsia". Basically I had stomach digestion issues of an unknown cause. He offered me a low dose anti depressant that has been known to help with chronic heartburn and stomach issues as it calms the nerves. I decided not to take it as I didn't want to get hooked on more drugs as I found it difficult to get off the Nexium I was on. I had to wean for many weeks. So he gave me a flyer with very little info and wished me luck. From here at felt better that I didn't have any nasty underlying issues but my symptoms were not really any better. It took about another eight months to finally get over these symptoms and here is what worked for me.
1) I stopped going to LPR and Reflux health forums and googling cures and acid reflux symptoms and cures and I had started obsessing over this
2) I went through the TMS recovery program ( i really liked lesson 5 and listened to the audio on a daily basis) - the key message for me from the program is to practice outcome independence. -
3) I worked with an acupuncturist who did guided mediation with me. These sessions were amazing. After one 45 min sessions of guided breathing my throat issues showed improvement. I started meditating 2 times a day for 10 minutes. The key is not to mediate to try and take the pain anway it's really just to get better at staying in the moment and focusing on your breath without any expectations of results
4) I found success stories of people recovering from digestive issues and I read them daily to help reaffim people can heal
5) I worked with a new naturalpath who had me follow a very basic "BLAND DIET". It's essentially eating like a baby (bought baby food and made soups with it), I stopped eating any raw fruits or vegetables. Eating like a baby for 3 months or so really help calm and heal my stomach and helped my stomach calm down while I worked on changing my mindset about my stomach. I also had a warm glass of water with a splash of lemon every morning. This was a simple diet that I was able to gain weight on and follow easily.
6) I started trying to do many things I was avoiding due to stomach pains like going on vacation again and seeing friends. I stopped tying to live in so much fear of my stomach. I think fear was the main thing that kept my symptoms alive
7) I was kinder to myself. You don't yell at a child who is already hurt and that was hat I was doing. I kept blaming myself for not doing TMS right, not eating good enough, etc... you need to be kind to yourself. treat yourself like a hurt child who needs help and don't be so hard and critical on yourself as this won't help you get better.
The body is meat to be in a healthy state we just need to give it the right path to get there.
TMS recovery is very individual but what I've learned is that you need to find ways to relax your mind and body, not be hard on yourself and be okay doing things while you are in pain as you should not fear the pain. Only then will things get better.
I had major stomach pains while eating a few weeks ago I just did some deep breathing and actually kept eating the food I was having and did not panic about it. Within 15 minutes it was gone. I really hope this post can help others improve even if it's only a little.
Here is a full list of symptoms i had
Chronic sore throat
Chronic hoarse voice
Chronic chest chest pain
chronic cough
non stop stomach and bowel pain nearly all day everyday
chronic heartburn and what felt like acid reflux
burning in my throat, stomach and chest (even had a burning tongue)
chronic bowel issues with lose bowels similar to IBS
weight loss
--------------------------------------------------
These symptoms came on after taking some strong headache medication that seem to mess up my stomach but I was also under stress and anxiety at the time. It took over a year for me to finally get over most of this stuff and it was a big struggle.
Over the course of the first 6 months I tried everything. I was on double dose of Nexium (Acid Suppressing PPI) which was not helping at all and causing cramps and other side effects. I also tried extreme diets for months such as low acid diet and foodmap etc... None of them really helped my issues and I lost a lost of weight and started looking very unhealthy.
I went to see a throat specialist to see if he could help with the chronic throat issues and he put a scope down my throat and said it was totally healthy but I was convinced it was burnt and scared form acid as my symptoms pointed to that. He told me to get a humidifier and that should help. My symptoms did improve after seeing him but not totally gone.
I also went to see a stomach specialist to see what was going on with my stomach and bowels. We did a scope of my stomach and he saw me afterwards and diagnosed me with "Functional Dyspepsia". Basically I had stomach digestion issues of an unknown cause. He offered me a low dose anti depressant that has been known to help with chronic heartburn and stomach issues as it calms the nerves. I decided not to take it as I didn't want to get hooked on more drugs as I found it difficult to get off the Nexium I was on. I had to wean for many weeks. So he gave me a flyer with very little info and wished me luck. From here at felt better that I didn't have any nasty underlying issues but my symptoms were not really any better. It took about another eight months to finally get over these symptoms and here is what worked for me.
1) I stopped going to LPR and Reflux health forums and googling cures and acid reflux symptoms and cures and I had started obsessing over this
2) I went through the TMS recovery program ( i really liked lesson 5 and listened to the audio on a daily basis) - the key message for me from the program is to practice outcome independence. -
3) I worked with an acupuncturist who did guided mediation with me. These sessions were amazing. After one 45 min sessions of guided breathing my throat issues showed improvement. I started meditating 2 times a day for 10 minutes. The key is not to mediate to try and take the pain anway it's really just to get better at staying in the moment and focusing on your breath without any expectations of results
4) I found success stories of people recovering from digestive issues and I read them daily to help reaffim people can heal
5) I worked with a new naturalpath who had me follow a very basic "BLAND DIET". It's essentially eating like a baby (bought baby food and made soups with it), I stopped eating any raw fruits or vegetables. Eating like a baby for 3 months or so really help calm and heal my stomach and helped my stomach calm down while I worked on changing my mindset about my stomach. I also had a warm glass of water with a splash of lemon every morning. This was a simple diet that I was able to gain weight on and follow easily.
6) I started trying to do many things I was avoiding due to stomach pains like going on vacation again and seeing friends. I stopped tying to live in so much fear of my stomach. I think fear was the main thing that kept my symptoms alive
7) I was kinder to myself. You don't yell at a child who is already hurt and that was hat I was doing. I kept blaming myself for not doing TMS right, not eating good enough, etc... you need to be kind to yourself. treat yourself like a hurt child who needs help and don't be so hard and critical on yourself as this won't help you get better.
The body is meat to be in a healthy state we just need to give it the right path to get there.
TMS recovery is very individual but what I've learned is that you need to find ways to relax your mind and body, not be hard on yourself and be okay doing things while you are in pain as you should not fear the pain. Only then will things get better.
I had major stomach pains while eating a few weeks ago I just did some deep breathing and actually kept eating the food I was having and did not panic about it. Within 15 minutes it was gone. I really hope this post can help others improve even if it's only a little.
