Relief from IBS [Mass Market Paperback]

Elaine Fantle Shimberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 1991

"Excellent."
WILLIAM A. WHITEHEAD, Ph.D.
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
"If you're bright, working hard, pushing fast -- and feeling a debilitating ache in your gut that comes and goes -- you may be one of the more than 22 million Americans, most of them women, suffering symptoms that are NOT life-threatening and CAN be relieved."
-- from RELIEF FROM IBS
At last, here is a practical, straightforward guide that will help you gain mastery over the frustrations of IBS and simplify your life. Inside you'll find all the information you need, including: The various causes of IBS and how you can minimize their effects; how to identify harmful stresses in your life and significantly reduce their impact; how to design a diet that is both healthful AND pleasurable, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Because IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome (symptoms include chronic gas, stomach pain, and diarrhea alternating with constipation), is not life-threatening, doctors tend to give IBS patients short shrift. But Shimberg, a medical writer, does what we wish more physicians would: she discusses the problem fully and in an accessible manner. After establishing reader rapport by proclaiming herself a fellow IBS sufferer, she shares what she has learned from interviewing doctors and consulting medical literature. Shimberg discusses the physical abnormality that accounts for IBS, and reports that though the problem is incurable, symptoms can be curbed. Since the key to relief lies in controlling diet and stress, the book gives instructions for detecting "trigger" foods (e.g., wheat) and offers advice, of the pop-psychological sort, for making lifestyle changes and reducing stress ("It's important to learn to become assertive because it makes us feel better"). The author's saving graces are a chatty style and willingness to speak frankly on an indelicate subject.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

"Excellent."
WILLIAM A. WHITEHEAD, Ph.D.
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
"If you're bright, working hard, pushing fast -- and feeling a debilitating ache in your gut that comes and goes -- you may be one of the more than 22 million Americans, most of them women, suffering symptoms that are NOT life-threatening and CAN be relieved."
-- from RELIEF FROM IBS
At last, here is a practical, straightforward guide that will help you gain mastery over the frustrations of IBS and simplify your life. Inside you'll find all the information you need, including: The various causes of IBS and how you can minimize their effects; how to identify harmful stresses in your life and significantly reduce their impact; how to design a diet that is both healthful AND pleasurable, and much more.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 14, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034536712X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345367129
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Alternative Medicine > Healing
  • #29 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Reference
  • #58 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Physical Impairments

More About the Author

Elaine Fantle Shimberg was born in Yankton, South Dakota in 1937. She grew up in Fort Dodge, Iowa, detailed in her memoir, GROWING UP JEWISH IN SMALL TOWN AMERICA, although her last two years of her teens was in Sioux City, Iowa. She graduated from Northwestern University. Her first book was published in 1979 and her memoir marks her 23rd book. She's appeared on numerous national radio and TV shows including the TODAY show and AM CHICAGO where she was interviewed by then-little known Oprah.For five years she co-hosted a women's talk show on WFLA-TV in Tampa. Her RELIEF FROM IBS was selected as one of "Best Lay Medical Books for Public Libraries" by LIBRARY JOURNAL. Her articles have appeared in READER'S DIGEST, MEN'S HEALTH, SEVENTEEN, ESSENCE,WRITER'S DIGEST, and others. In 2002, she received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of South Florida. She served as chairman of the Board for Tampa's St. Joseph's Hospitals and presently is the chairman of the Hospitals' Foundation. Elaine is married, has five adult children, and ten grandchildren. She resides in Tampa, Florida and spends much of her summer in Maine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Easy reading with little substance, February 8, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Relief from IBS (Mass Market Paperback)

While this is an easy book to read, understand and even use in your quest to avoid the pain and symptoms of IBS there are several serious shortcomings. First, the author is a layman. She is not a doctor, does not treat IBS or practice any sort of health care. She is a writer. A good writer who draws from a variety of medical sources and credits them diligently, but still not a doctor or academic.

This is also a highly 'womanocentric' book. Of all the examples cited in the text I found ONE that was not a female. While woman are more likely to suffer from IBS than men in America this is still more of a 'womans book' and focuses at length on issues that do not concern the other gender at all. I will not, for instance, be experiencing any greater onset of symptoms during menstruation.

The author advocates adding fiber to the diet. This is sound advice supported by most, if not all doctors and nutritionists. While she mentions the difference between soluable and insoluable fiber she says "You needn't worry about which fiber is which..." (p.161) This couldn't be worse advice. Insoluable fiber causes many of the symptoms of IBS to worsen and is not recommended by any other sources I have found. Read other books on IBS, there are some great ones right here on Amazon, or check around the web where there are hundreds of resources for people with IBS. Nobody else recommends adding insoluable fiber to your diet, and most sources recommend eliminating it.

Finally, the bulk of the book does not concern IBS directly at all but is filled with 'holistic' approaches to all around wellness. This sounds nice but I'm not looking for a book on "Developing Coping Skills", "Exploring Biofeedback", "Learning Personal Relaxation Techniques", or "Talking to Yourself". these are all chapters in Ms. Shimberg's book. I have yet to find anyone else who links talking to myself with relief from a colon spasm.

You will find no list of potential food triggers, nor a discusion of meal planning or preparation. The author says that everyone is different so what triggers one person's symptoms is ok for another. While this may be true there are many food groups that most authorities agree are difficult to digest and should be avoided. Simply ducking the whole issue does not help me find reflief.

To summarize, this book offers no new information or research... it is by a layman. It offers a plethora of "New Age" treatments which have no proven benefits in treating IBS. And it actually has some outright bad advice in it. i.e. not worrying about which type of fiber you add to your diet.

If you are seeking an understanding of your pain and a strategy for relief, look elsewhere.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relief from Ibs: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, March 20, 2001

By 

Jeanine Raffety (Oklahoma City, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relief from IBS (Mass Market Paperback)

It has taken the doctors a long time to diagnose me for IBS. The doctors are not much help except for medication. This book gives you details of what a person goes through and ideas on how to control it or relief it. One of the main topics is stress. Stress causes a lot of the problems with IBS. This book gives you ways to cope with the stress and what you need to watch for in foods. I share the information in this book with many people that I meet who have IBS. I bought two books. The other book does not even begin to show you how to cope with IBS. I would recommend this book to anyone with digestive problems if for no reason except ways of coping with digestive problems.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Overview of an Undercovered Subject, September 8, 2000

By 

Gaila Jennings (Hemet, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relief from IBS (Mass Market Paperback)

Thank goodness that at last there are many books available about IBS (or whatever name you may have been calling your high-strung digestive system), but this one is a great one to start with. Right on the cover it lists several of the names IBS has been called over the years. It's short, which lets you then move on to books related to the specifics of your own condition, which it emphasizes again and again varies widely from person to person. I especially liked the chapter "Kids with IBS", a subject close to the hearts of any of us who have been long misunderstood (and too often blaimed) for having this disorder. We each develop our own way to cope, and how great to read the chapter "Talking to Yourself" and discover that I really wasn't crazy after all. A great book to start with, but don't stop here because the truth really will set you free (or at least help you live with it).