3 things I do to have a Comfortable Belly with IBS in Fibromyalgia

3 things I do to have a Comfortable Belly with IBS in Fibromyalgia

What is the connection between Fibromyalgia and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)?

I used to have a lot of problems with IBS and I noticed it was worse when I was stressed. It was a hassle and sometimes embarrassing having to ‘go’ often and it would stop me visiting people. Then when it switched to constipation, swelling in my abdomen, feeling low in energy, headaches and it could sometimes cause bad breath.

I wanted my abdomen to feel comfortable with no pain or swelling.

I found one thing I had in common with others with IBS and other similar symptoms I was getting, was Long Term Stress.

I knew the Fight or Flight stress response takes blood away from my digestive system and gives it to my arms and legs and heart to run from danger.

That’s why my Long Term or Constant Stress caused problems in my belly. The cells were not getting as much blood as they need, carrying oxygen and nutrients to function well. Plus, stress made all my muscles tight, even over my abdomen.

I remembered big stressful events like exams, a break-up, an argument, and when someone close to me died, my IBS and other symptoms would flare.

I figured finding ways to deal with my stress would help my IBS.

Here are 3 things that I did:

1. I changed things in my life so I didn’t have to put up with stressful situations. That worked great but there were some things I couldn’t change.

2. I changed my reaction to the stress it caused. This way I didn’t trigger the

hormones/chemicals that cause my blood supply to go to my muscles (in preparation for running from stress) instead of to my digestive system.

To help keep me in a calm state/change my reaction to stress I did:

a) 3 deep breaths when I felt stressed to switch from stress to being relaxed.

b) My favourite: Sitting in a hot mineral pool or spa pool

c) Sometimes I would take a bath, light a candle, put some soothing music on or just have silence

d) Listening to music helped when doing the chores

e) Meditation (instead of thinking of nothing, I would focus on a calm abdomen or just the word calm)

f) Going out into nature always did the trick to calm me.

g) Having a calming herbal tea would help, like lemon balm, chamomile mixed with something nice tasting like peppermint which is good for IBS.

h) I wrote a daily schedule and made sure I got 3 things done for the day and felt good about that instead of stressing I didn’t get everything

i) Spending time with animals. Even with some insects (see post pic)

j) I found Magnesium helped and a herbal mix that was for stress.

k) For sweet treats, eating fruits instead of food made with processed sugars.

3. I use a gentle at-home technique that I do lying down. It is easy to do even when I am tired.

a) It takes me out of stress mode/sympathetic dominance (fight or flight) so my blood goes to my digestive system instead of diverting to my muscles for running away from the stressful situation it thinks it’s in.

b) It gets more oxygen into my lungs and then into my blood so it and nutrients can be carried to my brain and the rest of my body for energy.

c) It also helps to pump more oxygen up into the back of my brain to help other symptoms like foggy thinking, headaches, dizziness, light and sound sensitivity.

It’s great that I can do just a few things every day to feel calmer, which manages my IBS. My digestive system gets the blood supply it needs to stay healthy so IBS is a thing of the past for me.

These are some of the things that keep my belly happy (and a whole lot of other symptoms) and it worked so well for me I help people with Fibromyalgia or fatigue reduce their pain and wake up feeling energised so they can enjoy life again with my Aches Away & Energize Health Program.

I am just off to find my ‘rescued’ butterfly from a flower I put her on. I bring her in at night. Talk again soon. Hope what I do for IBS can help you too.

If you would like information about my Aches Away & Energize Health Program, that can help bypass the Root Causes and help you move freely, think clearly and wake up with more energy, email me with the words: Google Doc and your first and last name and I will send you the Google Document with all the info, options and prices in it. suzanne@achesawayandenergize.com