IBS- C Remedies
Hello! I thought I’d share some nuggets of wisdom to anyone suffering with IBS-C. I’ve had this condition for nearly two years. As many of you can imagine, this has really derailed my life and affects my mental health. Desperate for solutions, I’ve tried countless laxatives, been in and out of the GI doctor office (I’ve done a colonoscopy), done pelvic floor therapy, acupuncture, switched to a mostly plant based, whole/organic food diet. I’ve even repaired my hernia thinking that was causing it - but alas, it wasn’t. I am also a fairly physically active 29 year old male. So, in other words, I take really good care of my body. But I would say these things alleviated my symptoms to perhaps 30 percent, which is still something. And for that I’m grateful. But this pales in comparison to breath work (and the world of exercises it encompasses)
Breath work includes some aspects of pelvic floor therapy such as diaphragmatic breathing and breathing into the pelvic floor (and really just thinking about the pelvic floor without any judgement). Breath work also in includes sitting meditation and some yoga poses including corpse pose. However, the most rewarding one must be hypnotherapy in my opinion. You do not need to see a therapist for this specifically. You need only to use an application on your phone. Lie down, focus on your breath, and follow their words. Forget your thoughts. Forget your pain and discomfort. That’s just your nerves making more noise than it should. You are almost certainly not in danger. You’re fine. Breath work, especially hypnotherapy has made me have weeks where I am symptom free. It feels so good. It feels like I am getting my life back after it was taken from me for so many years.
I should add that you have to do this breath work everyday to have the greatest benefit. A good 20 to 30 mins of breath work exercise per day will do wonders. I personally do a combination of all of them each day. But please, please, please, do not push aside things such as good diet, proper sleep, exercise, etc just because you are doing breath work. And also, don’t just buy into the laxative hype (I see a lot of this on Reddit). Laxatives are one tool. And they are far from a cure. Sending IBS-C into remission costs more work than merely taking a laxative.
As for my symptoms, before I did breath work, I would experience a lot of uncomfortable bloating, pain in my colon, distensión, and the worst of all: incomplete bowel movements. Now after having done breath work consistently for the past 3 months or so, I have minimal bloating, no pain, no distensión, and best of all! I have complete/nearly complete bowel movements each morning. I am normally able to have multiple bowel movements per day. The thing that bothered me the most was the incomplete bowel movement. But now, that’s mostly gone…
HM: Doing chill activities such as saunas, massages, swimming, walking. This may address micro tension in your body which is tightening your pelvic floor and causing dysfunctional/shallow breathing. These activities can calm the nerves as well as relax your muscles. In a culture (I’m from the US) of so much stress, you have to fight back by bringing your entire body in a rest and digest state the vast majority of time. This whole hustle culture is truly doing a disservice to our bodies.
But of course, this is my personal experience. Take it with a grain of salt. Each person’s body is different! I hope that you find what helps you. I am so sorry that you are suffering from this condition. It is so debilitating and causes so much anguish. But know that you are not alone, that you have this community by your side. You can do this!