Customer Reviews

I.B.S. Relief: A Doctor, a Dietitian, and a Psychologist Provide a Team Approach to Managing Irritable Bowel Syndrome

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of many books being published that explain and propose cures for IBS. All the books I have read prior to this one were heavy on dietary precautions but not as concerned with the so-called psychological aspects of IBS. As a psychologist myself, I have noted the growing tendency, when physicians don't know what causes a disease, to quickly dismiss it as psychological. As a sufferer of IBS (started after I took an antibiotic), I wasn't content with being told that it was entirely or partly in my head, and I got relief from most symptoms by visiting a nutritional doctor (not a nutritionist) who tested me for food allergies using an IGG blood test. Once eliminating the foods I was sensitive to, my IBS improved dramatically to the point where I do not need medication. Nor am I affected by stressful situations as I was prior to watching what I ate. My biggest concern with this book was the advice on loading up on wheat fiber. If you research gastric diseases, IBS is very similar to celiac sprue, which is caused by extreme allergy to wheat. I found this misguided, because I don't doubt that some cases of IBS are celiac sprue -- just not diagnosed because traditional physicians believe it only occurs in infants. Our digestion is being assaulted by processed foods, junk food, pollutants in our drinking water, disease spread by unsanitary food services, and even plastic and styrofoam chemicals leeching into the liquids we drink. Like me, if you are a sufferer from IBS or any "new" disease, you may be getting frustrated by publications that claim cures, including psychoanalytic cures, rather than revealing the reasons or sources of disease. This book just doesn't cut it if you are a person interested in answers, and I do worry about the cure proposed here. If you want to study up on gastrology, getting more info that you can use to search for your own cure, don't neglect the information on digestion and the stomach's nervous system in The Second Brain by Gershon. There are plenty of books on Food Allergies also on amazon.com -- a number are good sources for all sorts of symptoms, not just IBS.

IBS Relief is a practical and effective guide for people trying to manage irritable bowel. I use it in my practice as a nutritionist and recommend it to all of my patients with irritable bowel. It is particularly useful because it offers a team approach to the condition. A medical doctor, a nutritionist and a psychologist teamed up to write this book based on the understanding that effective management requires a multidisciplinary approach, not just advice from one health professional.

The review from the East coast (July, 1999) is misleading for people considering buying this book. IBS Relief does not recommend that people load up on insoluble fibers, it provides advice on the gradual introduction of wheat based (primarily insoluble) fiber to a level that provides a regular bowel habit for each individual. Oatmeal (primarily soluble fiber) is a food that is well tolerated by people with irritable bowel but is not very effective in regulating bowel habit. The book recommends a very gradual introduction of insoluble fibre to manage diarrhea prone irritable bowel which, from my experience, is more effective.

I recommend this book to any person with irritable vowel who wants to manage their condition.

Although this book explains the difference between soluble/insoluble fiber, it recommends people with IBS load up on the insoluble type through All-Bran or whole wheat. This is dangerous advice! The nutritionist also dismisses soluble fiber sources like oatmeal as being unable to help regulate IBS, which is completely backwards. In the end this book was not worth buying.

Having struggled with Irritable Bowel Syndrome since I was in high school and having just recently been officially diagnosed with IBS, I have done some research on the topic and have read 3 books on how to manage IBS. The team approach to this particular book is very effective and I especially appreciated its attention on stress management and cognitive restructuring in dealing with emotional triggers to IBS symptoms. While other books on IBS, such as Gerard Guillory's _IBS: A Doctor's Plan_ (which I also highly recommend and review on amazon.com), tend to give a more medical overview, _IBS Relief_ gives additional information which helps to "flesh out" treatment strategies. I learned many useful tips about diet and emotional triggers from Burstall, Vallis, and Turnbull. I highly recommend this book for its useful information, as well as for its reassuring tone.

I found this book very helpful. Well-orginized, clear and practical. One of the readers hit it right on the nail: the book emphasizes that there are different kinds of fiber. For years, my doctor has been telling me to increase it in my diet: fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads. He never really cared to explain that there are different kinds of fiber. Some food with high fiber content actually cause painful simptoms (ex.broccoli). Metamucil, on the other hand, actually is priceless. In my opinion, that is the greatest achievement of the book. This difference for spells long-sought relief. Thank you!

The doctor has told you that you're suffering from I.B.S. and the doctor said to take more fiber. What your doctor probably failed to tell you is what types of fiber are best. That is one of the strengths of this book. This book doesn't sugar-coat the issue...it tells you precisely what you are up against and specifically what has benefited others who suffer from an irritable bowel.

The book covers many of the lower gastrointestinal symptoms that go with IBS, however, it does not cover the upper gastrointestinal symptoms like dyspepsia. The bowel includes everything from the esophogas down to the colon but this book seems to cover symptoms only around the belly button. It is easy to read, lightweight, and comfortable, and it is written by people with different backgrounds. I wish they had gone a little further "north" into the stomach to explain symptoms and to make suggestions.

Well, who doesn't love sitting down and writing a review about a book that tries to make your butt work better . . . anyway, despite the disclaimers about published medical advice regarding this book it helped me out a good deal and out of gratitude I can't help but give it anything less than 5 stars.

After spending several thousand dollars over several years to buy the pleasure of having doctors tell me "I don't know, I think we should do more tests" I frankly gave up on the medical establishment's ability to handle IBS cases. (I don't know if they are afraid of lawsuits or what, but none of the doctors I saw offered any useful advice or even tried a therapy or suggested a special diet or anything. Several friends and family members have reported the exact same pattern in modern medicine for IBS and other symptoms, thousands of dollars spent on inconclusive tests with no medical advice or relief. What's going on?? Doesn't eleventy years of supposedly the most stressful schooling in the world equip doctors with any knowledge beyond telling you that some scribbles in some boxes on test results mean absolutely nothing?)

This book does not offer a cure, as there is none for IBS yet apparently. However it tells you how to minimize symptoms in a holistic manner, and for me this actually worked quite well. Five relatively major changes that were included in this book worked for my particular case:

1.) Reduction of stress and balancing my life. This was harder than most people would probably like since for me it involved switching jobs, moving, and temporarily dipping into retirement savings, but quality of life has improved significantly and IBS symptoms reduced commensurately.

2.) Avoiding trigger foods, especially fatty foods, gassy foods, lactose containing foods, and spices. (Sadly, no more Thai and Mexican food, no more ice cream, no more lots of foods but it's worth it.)

3.) Increasing fiber intake. For me whole weat bread does upset my stomach, but a big bowl of Grape-Nuts with Soy Milk every day seems to get the job done.

4.) Eating three regular meals a day. Sometimes hard, especially when my normal response to having particularly bad IBS symptoms was to forgo eating, but this book explains the physiological science as to why this actually makes symptoms worse.

5.) Making exercise a regular habit. I finally feel healthy again.

A lot of this sounds like common-sense stuff, but this book explained why they would work (with other possible strategies for people with different symptoms) and helped me find which foods I could and could not tolerate. With this knowledge I was more committed to seeing the life changes through and with time they improved my condition more than I thought they would.

The sections on how to relax your muscles and your mind through breathing, little physical exercises, and mental techniques are also very helpful.

Since everyone's different I can't promise this book will help you. But with some experimentation this book drastically increased the speed and effectiveness of the lifestyle changes necessary to keep my IBS under control.

This is an excellent guide, giving many details of symptoms, causes, diet change needs,trigger foods, and stress reduction. I refer to it frequently. It has no gender bias that women are the major sufferers of IBS.

My 21-year-old son has IBS so badly he had to come home mid-semester to be helped by us. He was in a bad way. We got him tested and he doesn't have celiac sprue, etc. He was diagnosed with IBS when he was 18, but has resisted the idea of changing his diet or ways of dealing with stress. Now he knows he has to, but it's all very overwhelming for him, especially since he's been so sick, and his college situation makes dealing with it difficult. I needed a book to give to him that was clear, supportive, and broke down what he needed to do into simple steps. I ordered eight different books about IBS from Amazon and gave them all a quick read. This is the only one I gave to my son. He's back at college now after having dropped several classes. He's starting to read this book and says it's very helpful. I am so grateful to have sent him back with a book I think will help him and that covers the whole process of trying to manage his disease.

What other reviewers have said about recommending wheat products as a bad idea may be true, but we've had our son tested and it is not a problem for him. Mainly he needs to eat smaller, more frequent meals, eat more soluble fiber and healthier foods, and deal with stress in a better way. This book covers these very clearly. Since he tends to ignore my advice having this said by this book and his doctors might eventually get through to him. I also got him a book on Cognitive Behavior Therapy that he says is helping, too.