Mike's story
1st September 2022

At the beginning of the year, Mike was not coping well with his IBS. He joined The IBS Network and started taking positive steps to understand more about his condition and the connection between the gut and brain. He is keen to share his story to help others who are struggling and in need of encouragement.

I was in a right royal sorry state during the first three months of this year, from January to March 2022. I was constantly trying to cope, and all I managed to do was writhe in agony and try to get some rest. But to no avail. That's when I decided to get some help.

First, I joined The IBS NETWORK. I began keeping a meal-by-meal account of what I was eating and what reactions I was experiencing - on several levels.

How did my gut react? Did I have disturbed sleep? What was the pain level like? Was I bloated? Did I have cramping? How bad was the situation? Was I able to go to work, and when I was there, what strategies worked, and which didn't?

Looking back, I realise now that keeping a diary of events helped me to find a path out of my misery.

The other option I explored was getting counselling from Talking Therapies. This was a no pressure go-to option when I really couldn't cope.

Then, I had a good long chat with my GP, who reminded me that there isn't as yet a cure for IBS. But I knew that. So, how did my doctor really help me? We discussed the brain-gut link, and it was then that the light finally went on for me. It wasn't only food causing me pain. It was the connection between memories of events and the food I'd eaten and the response that my system had because of the combination of all these factors. 

Here's a random example of what happened: Let's say in years gone by I'd had a glorious romantic meal of lamb shanks, roast potatoes, and three vegetables. Now logic would tell me that the cauliflower I had with that meal was the troublemaker. Wait, a second — during that meal I'd had a huge row with my partner and spent hours trying to sleep, the cramps were almost unbearable and the passage of 90% of that meal took a matter of 30 minutes to leave the confines of my gut. At one stage I didn't know which end to put over the loo.

Comes the next romantic meal, and my gut goes into over-drive — the cauliflower gets the blame AGAIN. But that wasn't the problem! My gut ‘remembered’ what happened last time and tried to purge the system of the food that caused the problem because it went into selfish protection mode. The brain wasn't keen to get involved, so it blamed the cauliflower.

There are more receptors in the gut than there are in the brain. The problem is that the gut is awfully selfish. Its primary role is to protect itself first, then everything else later. In a nutshell: the gut had romantic food of choice come into the stomach. It remembered the emotional pain the said food had caused previously, so it purged the system of the problem.

But it was the brain's responsibility — the brain had made the emotional connection between what happened last time and forgotten to tell the rest of the system that the emotional trigger was no longer necessary.

I am now no longer in a toxic relationship. So, the ‘stop doing what you are doing, gut’ message never reached the gut from the brain. The brain dragged up the old emotional memory, transmitted that scrambled, confused message to the gut and hey presto — hours on the loo.

I was put on to some mood stabiliser meds (a very low dose) to break the cycle of emotional trauma and went on to Mebeverine. While I was slowly getting to the point of victory, I would have relapses and it was back to liquid food, peppermint tea and slowly letting my gut get used to solid food. Just as I was feeling like things were getting better, all hell broke loose. The cramps got worse. I was spending a few days at work, (usually only two days a week), and my employer eventually said we couldn't continue. I'd felt for some time that I wasn't coping at work and that my mental health had taken a huge tumble.

It was back to my symptom tracker — what worked and what didn't. I left the one employer and joined another where I felt valued and appreciated. The toxic situation was again the cause — not only the food I was eating.

In conclusion, there are three things I've learnt from this experience:

IBS is a vicious condition, but with support from others, it can be managed. It's understanding how the brain and gut are connected, as not all gut reactions to the food we eat are connected to the cauliflower or the skin on the peaches.

IBS can sometimes be controlled by medication. This is not my strong suit, so I will not suggest that what worked for me might work for you.

IBS is an emotionally fuelled condition that could be better managed if we get rid of the toxic situations that sometimes control us.

Fortunately, I am now managing my IBS in a more positive manner. Over six months have passed since my last major flare up and through careful monitoring, doing some research and the help of The IBS NETWORK, I am in a much better place than I've ever been.