HAS ANYONE EVER TRIED HYPNOTHERAPY?

[inmindhypnotherapy]

[pamy6]

Yes have appointments with two hypnotherapists costing me £1000 in total and found them to be no help at all with my I.B.S...

[inmindhypnotherapy]

Kerrym, you are right there are always many factors that play a part; you need a fully qualified and experienced hypnotherpaist that is very client centred, you need to have the correct expectation and belief, you need to continue with any tasking between sessions and equally realise that for some people it is not the best option. I am sorry pamy6 that your experience was not a positive one? Can I ask you what was the reason you tried two different ones and how many times you saw them?

[pamy6 in reply to inmindhypnotherapy]

Certainly I went six times to one chap @ £50 a session,and twice at another at £300 a session ,he was someone who had been on a t.v program here so i thought he must be good.unfortunately he was more interested in himself and the famous people he had seen..I phoned up the tv company and they agreed they were not pleased with him or his attitude either .

[whiteladder42]

I would be willing to try it since am beyond desperate, but it is not available on the NHS in my area and have absolutely no money to pay for it myself. My GP told me it sometimes helps a few people but nothing definite. Seems wrong that some people have access to it and some not.

[ausems]

After struggling with 10 years of IBS and trying lots of different medications, my doc. prescribed Alverine which certainly helps my stomach to feel more settled, and I found a hypnotherapist who treats IBS cases and has referrals from the gastroenterologist at a nearby hospital. She charges £45 a session, which is usually an hour and a half, and I have found her very helpful. IBS is partly a psychological condition and the more worried or under stress you are the worse it becomes, so learning to relax is very important. I was worrying constantly about my stomach, and the more I worried the more it played up - it just becomes a vicious circle. She got me to talk about various events from my past life which had been worrying me without me realising it, which made me feel very emotional at the time, but I can now put these events behind me for good I hope. She also gave me a CD which I listen to at home, and it helps me get off to sleep, and also calms my stomach down if I'm feeling "uptight". So after just 3 sessions I definitely feel it has been helpful. There doesn't seem any cure for IBS so I think we just have to learn how to manage it. I hope this has been helpful. Perhaps you'll let us all know how you get on.

[scubaange in reply to ausems]

You've hit the nail on the head for my version of IBS- the more I worry about it and how it will affect my day the worse it is. I have found the hypnotherapy really helpful for relaxing and that talking about events from earlier in my life were affecting my every day. I have also tried tai chi which is working wonders for relaxtion and my digestion- its meant to massage the internal organs. All this has doen wonders for my symptoms.

[Pipwilkinson83]

I have had a course of 6 hypnotherapy sessions through my gastroenterologist. I did not pay as the hypnotherapist worked at the hospital, I went every 2 weeks for a session and although it seamed to work at the time and was very relaxing once the sessions stopped my ibs has gone back to its normal routine.

[Andrewcunningham]

There have been studies done on treating IBS with hypnotherapy.

But what has been said above, expectation and involvement are key to getting results.

Here is a link to the REBHP which is an organisation seeking to put an evidence base to the work that hypnotherapists do.

rebhp.org/researchdatabase.htm

Cheers

Andrew Cunningham

[HypnoJan]

I would like to add to Andrew's comment above and let you know that a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) is currently being undertaken in the Netherlands.This research is building on the success of hypnotherapy for the treatment of IBS and is now trying to ascertain the most effective method of delivery; whether hypnotherapy is better carried out on an individual basis or in a group setting.

Peter Whorwell, Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University of Manchester, is a strong proponent of hypnotherapy for relieving the symptoms of refractory IBS. He trained as a hypnotherapist many years ago and has opened a centre specifically for the treatment of IBS with hypnotherapy. A well regarded clinician in his own field of medicine, he puts respect into the much maligned, misrepresented and misunderstood profession of hypnotherapy. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/...

NICE guidelines do allow GPs to refer a patient to a hypnotherapist.

"Referral for psychological interventions (cognitive behavioural therapy [CBT], hypnotherapy and/or psychological therapy) should be considered for people with IBS who do not respond to pharmacological treatments after 12 months and who develop a continuing symptom profile (described as refractory IBS)." (NICE guidelines)

As well as a hypnotherapist being professionally qualified, I also agree with the above comment that the therapeutic relationship is key to whether it works for you or not, so I suggest you call them up first and have a chat to them - you will know straight away if he/she is the one to help you. Then badger your GP to refer you to them. Hopefully they will see the benefits and pay for it even if it is within the 12 months NICE guidelines!

With good health comes happiness. I wish you both.

[inmindhypnotherapy]

I have researched Peter Whorwell's work and based my own group hypnotherapy for IBS course on his finding from The IMAGINE study whereby:- In December 2011 Whorwell was involved in a randomised placebo controlled trial on hypnotherapy for IBS (The IMAGINE study) whereby the group consisted of 354 Primary Care and Secondary Care patients aged between 18-65 with IBS.

• The results of this trial evaluated the efficacy of individual and group hypnotherapy treatment in IBS.

• The results show that group hypnotherapy for IBS is effective.

• With this in mind I am devising a Group Hypnotherapy Course based in Winchester.

The course will consist of 8, bi-weekly sessions of group hypnotherapy with me.

Clients will be required to have had formal diagnosis from their GP or Gastroenterologist and will undertake several forms of assessment (Severity Indexing and Daily Bowel Diary) at the start and finish of the therapy in order to gauge success and progression.

[sapiens42]

YES BUT IT DID NOT REALLY WORK FOR ME