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Mind-Gut: Hypnotherapy Helping Treat IBS
2007-01-25 23:06:00
My pondering of the mind-gut connection has led to a very interesting response from Cookies, who has had Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for 20 years.  Check out her profile page as she has some great resources and experiences to share.  She posted this comment in response to my recent post: Mind over gut: A battle between two brains?I thought Cookies response was so informative that I wanted to share it with you here!From Cookies "There are many clinical research studies showing how the brain and gut are interconnected, and physicians are now employing the use of behavioral techniques. I am a member of the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group and have battled IBS since 1983. In my research, I have found clinical studies showing the effectiveness of clinical hypnotherapy in the treatment of IBS and this method was what made the most headway in combating my symptoms, after years of trial and error with meds and other treatments. Gastroenterologists in the fie...
More About: Treat , Hypnotherapy , Ping , Erap

OTC bargin for acid reflux, Feds define "gluten free," Make Own Meds?
2007-01-24 22:28:00
Digestive news a go-go today folks. So much info! I thought I'd try a little round-up style to give you more for your gastro-reading pleasure. Got Acid reflux, heartburn? An OTC could save you $2,000 per year in drug costs If you and your wallet are suffering from heartburn or acid reflux you may be relieved to know that a widely available nonprescription drug -- Prilosec OTC -- is as effective a treatment for heartburn and acid reflux disease as prescription drugs costing almost 10 times more, according to an analysis from Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a public education project of Consumers Union. "Many people with heartburn and acid reflux could save $1,000 to $2,000 a year by taking an over-the-counter drug that's just as effective as high-priced prescription drugs," said Gail Shearer, director of the Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs project, in a January 19 press release. "These are dramatic savings, and illustrate why consumers should talk to thei...
More About: Free , Gluten Free , Make , Fine

Mind over gut: A battle between two brains?
2007-01-23 19:14:00
Ever have one of those days. You know when you go to sleep in a state of anxious anticipation of something you really aren't looking forward to or are just nervous about--like a doctor's appointment, tooth-pulling, delivering a speech, a test, dealing with aftermath of that, "I love-you-not-in-love-with-you" confession--or basically anything in your daily life that gets your digestive system somehow working overtime. What I was anticipating was something I dreaded. I'll spare you the details (and myself the distress of reliving this incident)--but wanted to use my own recent experience as a way to illustrate the connection between the mind and the gut. Your stomach: your second brainDid you know that your gut has more nerve cells than anywhere other than your brain's central nervous system? The gut is often called the "second brain"-giving meaning to the phrases "gut reaction or gut instinct." The brain is not the only place in the ...
More About: Mind , Battle , Brains , Ween

Avoid getting tummy-bugged: Know about Noro!
2007-01-21 20:40:00
That nasty tummy bug--norovirus--is spreading nationwide. So wash those hands folks! Wash those hands!  Norovirus cases have been reported from coast to coast. Just Google norovirus and you'll find news articles from Washington, D.C. to Seattle that are reporting these outbreaks and proclaiming this year as a banner year for the nasty little stomach bugger, which has even prompted federal health officials take notice and better track its spread. So unless you're into vomiting, diarrhea and cramping (or trying to get runway-ready)-wash your hands and wash your fruits and veggies. (And see end of this article for more tips.) The whole washing thing brings me to my funny friend (literally, he's a comic. And YES he is very sweet and sensitive -but has a rather shy side too as he still won't let me watch him in comedic action-at least onstage in public comedic action. What's that all about anyway? Please someone tell me! Who's the freak?Back to the story...
More About: Avoid , Bugg

You had me at this good news for Crohn's disease patients
2007-01-09 22:26:00
First I'd like to send a shout out to my gastro news savvy source who tipped me off to today's Wall Street Journal article by Avery Johnson, Options Expand for Crohn's Disease Patients . It's great that my friends, co-workers and potential suitors have taken an interest in all things digestive-but I wonder if they feel needless pressure...I mean if they don't pass along gastro news tips-do they fear getting kicked to the...colon? So let's applaud Gastro's tipster of the day who scoured the day's ever shrinking column-inch-newsprint for anything gastro. Wonder if he's trying to find a way to my...ah, digestive tract?Hey, WSJ executives, please bring back the signature elongated shape! Look what they did! Back to the great WSJ article, which reveals that after decades of relying on mostly steroids for relief-Crohn's patients are beginning to see other options-ranging from new drugs to innovative surgical procedures.  Most of the develop...
More About: News , Good News , Good

Willfully shrinking from digestive distress
2007-01-05 18:18:00
My mother is dying, willfully shrinking from plumpness to a brittle, sickly stick figure of nothing more than skin and bones. She will soon evaporate slowly into particles, molecules of weakened energy and dust into the air. So I prepare myself for the phone call that will bring relief and sadness, guilt and anger, an odd sort of peace and maybe if God is indeed forgiving, grace. Yes death will end her pain, her long-term suffering-a needless suffering. I see her choosing this calculated death as sinful and selfish-whether borne of ignorance or laziness, spite or self-hatred, fear or simply loathing the inevitable diagnosis. But this dreaded and much expected, even anticipated, phone call will signal how I could do nothing to save a stubborn, shrinking woman who does more for everyone around her-whether family, friends or friends of friends--strangers who come seeking advice because she was a well-respected RN who now selfishly and foolishly neglects herself. A martyr of sorts? I as...
More About: Tres

No delight for afternoon colonoscopy
2007-01-03 21:50:00
Being a morning person is taking on a whole new meaning when it comes to colonoscopy.   According to a study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, the time of day that a colonoscopy is performed may also affect its outcome. The study reviewed 1,084 patients who received colonoscopies between 8:00 a.m. and 11:59 a.m., and 999 colonoscopies performed after 12 p.m. Looks like a lot of patients didn’t prep their bowels very well mid-day, according to the study. And you know what? They weren’t able to go all the way with their colonoscopy procedure. I’d be pretty ticked off. I mean imagine going through all that anxiousness, all that worry, you get dressed, freeze your butt off in some unfashionable medical gown that doesn’t fall quite right—not short enough to flatter your thighs nor long enough to cover them.  Let’s not even talk about the trying to tie the thing so you aren’t hanging out all over the place. Now, you get on t...
More About: Afternoon , Copy , Deli , Delight

Colitis pain, pain go away? Take your meds every day!
2007-01-02 23:34:00
With all due respect to the 500,000 or so Americans living with ulcerative colitis (and I say this because I care)--why on earth would someone with ulcerative colitis not take their meds? I came across some interesting (and a little disturbing) news today which says that 65 percent of ulcerative colitis patients don’t take their medications. These findings come from a large study supported by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. What makes this so upsetting to me it that an earlier study found that patients who don’t take their medications experience five-times more the number of disease flare-ups. Think about it: are these people suffering needlessly? If you have ulcerative colitis, care for, love or know someone who has this disease, you know it can be painful and debilitating for them, but it’s also painful to watch someone else live painfully with this illness. What is ulcerative colitis? Ulcerative colitis is a chronic (ongoing) di...
More About: Pain , Away , Meds

Tasty Gluten-Free Bread: Is it true?
2006-12-30 20:21:00
Some days I wonder if I have an allergy to wheat. Ok, I'll admit when I eat bread (and I mean good bread-a crusty french baguette or the heal of a hard Italian loaf) I do feel a little (ok, sometimes a lot) bloated and shall we say oh, that C word, you know I said it a lot here just never made the association between myself and the C word.  Wow, I can't believe I'm on national TV...well yes, I'm on the Internet--but it might as well be TV. But the Internet is even worse since being online is like having your own TV show with the bloopers (of your life) on constant replay--it's no one-shot 30- minute sitcom (including commericals) then it's over, gee I missed that part. Sure I could delete this...but that's wimpy.) Speaking of bloopers, my life is full of them.  Ok, I'm sort of admitting that I sometimes have some random digestive issue (who doesn't in these days of over-processed, chemically cooked and baked couch potatoey days).&nb...
More About: Free , Gluten Free , True , Bread , Brea

Sprinkler Tinklers: Stop Spoiling My Seat!
2006-12-29 21:50:00
I've had it with those sprinkler tinklers. And right here in my very own office-where I spend ungodly amounts of my waking--and tinkling--hours. (Note: Gastro Girl can throw down some serious water-a fete that amazes one co-worker who happens to share the same name as a fish-but never drinks water. What the...??? Oh, I never asked him about bathing. But he doesn't smell or anything. Anyway back to those violators, no criminals, they are criminals-denying me and every single one of my bladder-full girls here of what is fast becoming the ever elusive virginal toilet seat.  Nothing is worse when your bladder is crying out for a little relief and you hustle yourself right into your chosen stall , which should be the first one (cause it's supposedly the cleanest one in the ladies room) but some reason your pulled to the last-the one furthest from the door. You look, ready to ....and Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Tiny, large and yellowish and quite alarmingly splattered droplets of.....
More About: Seat , Stop

Famous in digestive distress?
2006-12-28 21:03:00
Teddy and Moo document that Kirsten Dunst was seen with a Comprehensive Stool Analysis (CDSA) diagnostic tool.  I did a little further digging and here's what I found: The Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA)  is the "gold-standard" Great Smokies Lab analysis of digestive function and gut microbial ecology. It offers comprehensive non invasive risk assessment for colorectal cancer, differential diagnosis between inflammatory bowel disease (i.e. crohns disease and ulcerative colitis) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), reliable assessment of exocrine pancreatic function, and expanded yeast and parasite detection. In addition to providing a comprehensive evaluation of gut microbial ecology and digestive function, Great Smokies Lab new Comprehensive Diagnostic Stool Analysis and Parasitology 2.0 offers expanded diagnostic capability to: Distinguish definitively between chronic functional digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome and o...
More About: Famous , Tres

Something in the air
2006-12-28 19:48:00
Try as I might, I can’t escape flatulence. Not mine, necessarily but that which comes from others. I wasn’t planning to mention this topic again so soon, but how could I not share this little gas with you. The A ssociated Press reported that Brian Bruggeman, who caused a stink at the Lincoln County Jail in Nebraska earlier this month, will now have to answer for it in court. Another inmate, Jesse Dorris, alleged that Bruggeman's flatulence -- passed in close proximity to Dorris -- sparked a Dec. 14 fight between the two at the jail. Now Bruggeman, 38, faces a Jan. 11 preliminary hearing on the state's complaint of assault by a confined person. It's a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Bruggeman is accused of injuring Dorris, his cellmate, when he pushed him into cell bars. Dorris, 26, was not charged. The two began scuffling, County Attorney Jeff Meyer said Tuesday, because Dorris was fed up with Bruggeman's flatulence. Jail fights...
More About: Something , Thing , Some

Break a hip or keep bones fabulous and thick?
2006-12-27 18:14:00
Here we go again.  Another study is sending a wave of concern (and probably confusion) through digestive systems everywhere. This time for those of us with heartburn-and ah, hips---yep, we are at higher risk for breakage-especially if we're over 50. Lucky for me I'm no where near 50 and I don't have heartburn at the moment. Although I do feel a little splishy and splashy as I try to understand the whole drug--study-fix one thing-make something else worse-thing.  If you spell relief with fancy words like Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec, which are members of a class of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors-your hips may be  swaying with bigger risk. See, the patients who used proton pump inhibitors for more than a year had a 44 percent higher risk of hip fracture than nonusers. The study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at medical records of more than 145,000 patients in England, where a large electronic database of...
More About: Break , Bones , Bone , Brea

Excessive passenger gas: Terrorist threat?
2006-12-22 23:26:00
This month.... Some were aghast when a woman passed gas Then lit a match near the airplane hatch Her act to conceal the smell didn’t go very well When passenger alarm called it a bomb Pilot thought her insane so he landed the plane But the emergency landing lacked understanding T’was digestive distress that caused this huge mess  Now this may seem funny…but for those who suffer with excessive flatulence—uncontrollable and downright embarrassing—having mucho gas is no laughing matter. I repeat no laughing matter.  Excessive flatulators (a.k.a. gassers)—don’t fret.  A super-hero cadre of brilliant medical minds developed a product that will prevent an overabundance of intestinal gas from ruining your life or the life of those around you.  Perfect protection for holiday travel! Especially on the return flight when you feel as stuffed as the turkey you gobbled, casserole crampy or as bloated as Aunt Gertrude’s ham...
More About: Terrorist , Error , Threat

The Art of the Fart (or the Fart in Art)
2006-12-21 18:45:00
I’m a bit bookish. My love for art--including books and writing is right up there with digestive health (ok, I exaggerate--just a tad). When I took this job I wanted fitness—or sex and relationships. Fortunately for everyone with a digestive system and a sense of humor, those “cool” areas were already taken.I soon embraced the all things gastro after quickly realizing digestive health relates to our entire life. You can only imagine my excitement when I stumbled across the Literature and Arts Section of Flatulence while perusing Wikipedia (yea, I’m a Wiki-junkie—you gotta problem with that?)Courted with Wiki-words, I swooned reading these passages. Never thought digestive health would relate to my love for literature. I’m thrilled that such literary masters represent digestive distress so eloquently.For those who are bothered by beans, broccoli or milk—don’t fret. If great minds put such wind passings to pen, we can surely talk a...
More About: Fart , The A , The Art

Syndromes in the City (bowel, bladder and other things, irritable or not)
2006-12-19 21:38:00
Deep down I knew it would be just a matter of time before my day-job as Gastro Girl would flow with a natural fluidity reminiscent of true regularity-into my personal life. Of course I'm proud of the digestive milestones that have been achieved in my office-specifically, the openness of my co-workers to share, discuss, ask questions and offer advice about embarrassing intestinal topics like gas, constipation and diarrhea-more importantly I'm grateful for the heartfelt unsolicited confessions of personal and familial digestive problems that my co-workers now openly share. And last night when my "date" (the first one with him at that) urgently ducked into a cluster of bushes on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol--Gastro Girl officially came out of the (water) closet. The beginnings of a gastro-comical ...friendshipI met him for the first time last night at Sonoma, a wine bar on Capitol Hill. Well actually we officially met (in person that is) at Trover's the booksto...
More About: City , Things , Thing , Bladder , In the City

Hey, Shooting Flame: If You Aspire to Play With Fire Beware the Gas or Your
2006-11-17 15:18:00
I wanted to share this heartfelt letter I received this week (my answer follows, so sit back, savor the moment and reflect—odds are you can relate in some way, odd or not to this little diddy:  Dear Gastro Girl, I want to tell you about a fateful night in my life in hopes that you can help clear up the confusion that lingers.  It was the second worst date I’ve ever had—and, at the same time, about the tenth best. His name was Joe. We were both college students living in adjoining group houses in Dupont Circle. He wanted to be a CIA agent. My idea of fun was hugging trees and trading crystals in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show. Joe kept hanging around my house, and I was attracted to him…one of those weird opposite-attracts relationships you see in annoying chick flicks. Except I was more of an Ally Sheedy than a Meg Ryan, and Joe was more of a Nixon-loving Billy Bob Thornton. I hated him. I couldn’t stay away from him. (Note to s...
More About: Play , Fire , Shooting , Beware , Aspire

When Your Boyfriend (or anyone, really) Brings Forth Wind Noisily From The
2006-10-26 15:32:00
Real-World Dilemma  “Why does my boyfriend burp so much,” co-worker G asks with the ever-so-calm demeanor that doesn’t quite mask the sheer annoyance in her voice. Her question came swift and serious over the cubicle screen as though I was hearing confession and nothing was sacred or forbidden or—expected. I know, I know, by now I should be used to the openness that has blossomed around here. Hey, hold on (not too long—so not good for you) no one said this job was easy or predictable—kind of like the digestive process if you really, really think about it.  Anyway, in her confession co-worker G (like her beloved belching beau) didn’t hold back.  I’ve met her beau (let’s call him Triple B) a few times and now picture the baby-faced man in the shower (behind the curtain of course) his guttural air expel-ations harmonizing with the bathroom steam.  “Ah, where’s your loyalty Gastro Girl: Are YOU pi...
More About: Boyfriend , Wind , Fort , Really , Ally

Baby, let me show how to move a little somethin' somethin
2006-10-17 00:08:00
When Tina passed by desk last week she stopped, held her stomach, grimacing in pain. “I haven’t gone all week,” she grumbled. “What,” I said trying to hold back my laughter, never sure if folks like her are giving me, AKA, Gastro Girl, the run around. I’m not used to people being so open about these sorts of things. While I take my role in the Digestive Health Center rather seriously—some around here can’t believe I’m so into it—well folks, the Digestive System is where all the, umm…where it all happens in the body. And it impacts e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Still some try to mock my serious role. (for those of you who fall into this category—beware. Some day, you’ll have a gastro question, a concern, an issue…where will YOU turn?) Anyway, back to Tina, who had such a tense look on her face that I knew she wasn’t playing. “Are you serious,” I asked her. Now, I will admit I’m ...
More About: Baby , Show , Move , Litt

Bye-Bye Trickle: Now You Have No Excuse Not to Wash Your Hands
2006-10-13 18:48:00
I don't know if the guys around the office cursed the trickle every time they washed (hopefully) their hands after using the restroom.  Did they even notice? Maybe they didn't have the trickle, we girls had--which came sadly lukewarm and wimpy with little pressure and no enthusiasm from the silver spouts. We glady and routinely put our hands under this disappointing stream  that was supposed to leave us germ free and cleansed. But some may have took them away often prematurely. Who wants to their hands to linger under such an unmotivated trickle? Like taking a shower with no water pressure--the hands never felt quite clean.This is major Gastro faux-pas! Did you know that not washing your hands (and not washing them properly) is not only nasty--but a great way to spread infectious diseases--including several not-so-nice gastrointestinal conditions,like, um, diarrhea. If you dont wash and you touch food? Don't even get me started..... But today that all changed. ...
More About: Hands , Wash , Excuse

What Happens In Vegas...Ends up on Gastro Girl's Desk
2006-10-12 23:14:00
I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, but a thought co-worker just told me,"How can we see Metamucil and not think of you."  I guess, it's my concern for and a new obsessive quest to understand the significant role our disgestive system plays in our overall health. Pretty amazing. And not many of us realize just how important this system is. Anyway, my co-worker and her sidekick who happens to adore German-made knickers and suspenders, just returned from a convention in Vega s where they schmoozed with pharmacists. They came back with all sorts of "gastro goodies" including a variety of fiber supplements (in every form imaginiable--Did you know you can get your fiber on through these Metamucil cinnanmon cookies? Hmmm. Anyone try those? If you do/did let us know how they worked, if they worked and if you had a hard time controlling the number you ate--are they like Oreos? I certainly can't stop at one of those. Oh, and  I got some hear...
More About: Desk , Ends , Astro