Hypnotherapy can ease IBS

The distressing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be eased, and in some cases cleared up, by hypnotherapy or the use of probiotics, experts have said.

IBS is very common, affecting as many as one in five people. It is most common in people in their 20s and 30s and symptoms can include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea.

The experts, including Prof Eamonn Quigley of University College Cork, were discussing IBS as part of a podcast for the journal, Frontline Gastroenterology.

According to the journal’s editor, Prof Roland Valori, excluding certain foodstuffs may help alleviate symptoms, but usually only for a while. This is because dietary measures do not tackle the root cause of the symptoms - an overly sensitised gut.

One of the best ways to do that is to use hypnotherapy, Prof Valori insisted.

His experience of using hypnotherapy in the first 100 IBS patients treated with it showed that it significantly improved symptoms in nine out of 10 of them. It stopped symptoms altogether in four out of 10, while the remainder said they felt more in control of their symptoms.

“To be frank, I have never looked back,” he said.

Meanwhile, another option for patients is probiotics, which can be very effective, Prof Quigley pointed out.

However, given the current regulations for food products making medicinal claims, patients are not really in a position to know which ones might work best.

Probiotic products need to contain the specific live strain and species of bacteria they claim to contain, maintain viability throughout their shelf-life and be backed up by good quality clinical trial evidence, Prof Quigley noted.

“Doctors have tended to diagnose IBS when they couldn’t find any other cause for the symptoms, making it something of a ‘wastebasket diagnosis’. It is extremely important to get away from that and recognise that IBS is a constellation of symptoms in its own right,” he said.

He also pointed out that while anxiety and depression worsen IBS symptoms, not all patients with IBS will be anxious and depressed.

Nonetheless, it is important to take into account the way in which the brain and gut can interact to increase the severity and impact of symptoms, Prof Quigley added.

For more information on IBS, click here

[Posted: Thu 18/03/2010]