It’s not just the symptoms.
It is not just the symptoms of being ill: the pain, nausea, bowel upset, bloating, breathlessness, that are so distressing. It is also what they mean. This includes the fear … Continue reading
Constipation: a consequence of embarrassment, suspicion, intrusion and bad habits.
Human beings are social animals. We talk, eat, work, relax and sleep in public. The only things we tend to do in private is defaecate and have sex. We are … Continue reading
Trust your gut feelings.
‘I can’t stomach not knowing, I can’t just take it in.’ ‘It gives me a lump in my throat.’ ‘It makes me so up tight.’ ‘If the firm really went … Continue reading
Migraine: does it also affect the bowels?
A Constellation of Symptoms It occasions unseemly and dreadful symptoms: nausea, bilious vomiting, collapse, gas in the stomach, eructations, vomiting, palpitations of the heart, vertigo, depression, despair. Sick headache is … Continue reading
IBS: fact or fiction?
By the nineteen nineties, I had been conducting clinical research for 20 years. I knew my trade, had published several hundred papers in academic journals and was in demand on … Continue reading
I caught a cold.
I rarely get ill. I put this down to my routines: a daily run, a swim in the river, a predominantly vegetarian diet and writing no more than about four … Continue reading
Decoding the symptoms of your IBS
One of the first lessons people learn when they attend self help groups for IBS is that everybody’s symptoms are different. Some people have diarrhoea and abdominal pain that … Continue reading
The Sensitive Gut 