Digestive Health Practitioners: an idea to stop the merry-go-round of IBS?
‘I don’t think my doctor understands IBS. The pills, he has prescribed, never seem to work and make some symptoms worse. He has referred me to a gastroenterologist, who lost … Continue reading
The heart (and the gut) know their reasons, that reason cannot tell
Last night, it was so warm and humid, I left the window open, but by morning the temperature had dropped and shards of rain rattled against the skylight. Half an … Continue reading
Delusion: a necessary refuge from life and illness.
It is Wednesday and I am writing from my cottage in Derbyshire. All seems safe outside, a soft rain is falling and a thrush is singing from the gable end, … Continue reading
Health, Happiness and Personal Freedom.
Many years ago, so the story goes, the then British prime minister, Harold Macmillan, was hosting a dinner in Downing Street for the French head of state, General de Gaulle … Continue reading
The Gardener’s Question Time Model of IBS Management
One of my favourite programmes on the radio is Gardeners Question Time. I often listen to the wisdom of Pippa Greenwood, Bunny Guinness, Matthew Beardshaw, Bob Flowerdew and Anne Swithenbank … Continue reading
Motivational Interviewing; a change of attitude.
So many people with IBS complain that their doctor never listens to them. This is not just because the doctor does not have enough time or they engage with the … Continue reading
Could you run an IBS Self Help Group?
According to patient testimony, IBS is not well managed by the NHS. Patients complain that they are not listened to, treated as if they are a nuisance, discharged as soon as … Continue reading
Does you doctor always know best or can you sort something out between you?
Doctors are men who prescribe medicines, of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing. Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet) … Continue reading
No, it’s not all in your head, but at least you can do something about that.
If IBS is all is your head, can somebody tell me how dietary fibre cures depression? … Continue reading
When you and your doctor should be concerned.
A woman came up to me at The Allergy and Free-from Show recently. She looked embarrassed and deeply unhappy. ‘Sometimes when I get an urge to go to the … Continue reading
The Sensitive Gut 