If we listen very close our body speaks to us. Our inner voice tells us when something is not right. Our body talks to us in form of physical symptoms and reveals to us problems within through these symptoms. What we must do is ask question of what is causing these symptoms our body reveals to us and what needs to be changed to fix underlying problems. Symptoms need to be corrected and not suppressed.

When we get a headache first thing we do is reach for a pain reliever, and in most cases pain reliever then takes pain away. What we must ask is what caused pain, which is a symptom of our body telling us of a problem. What you actually got was a temporary fix to head pain, however what caused pain in first place is still there.

Several years ago, I sat at my doctors office frustrated to tears because I had a chronic skin condition called Hidradenitis Suppurativa. This chronic skin condition affects glandular areas of body in which causes boil type lesions that are very painful. With no known cure or cause of this condition, doctors I saw could not offer me much help. This is when I knew that I must help myself and find reason for my condition. I listened to my body by taking a good look at symptoms my body was using to tell me something was wrong.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a crippling condition for 43% of IBS sufferers who report severe symptoms.

IBS symptoms include stomach cramping and pain, abdominal bloating and distention and either diarrhea, constipation, or any of these symptoms combined at different stages of day or week.

A study titled ‘IBS in Real World' - IBS Research Findings by IFFGD, August 2002, found that effects of IBS can seriously effects sufferers quality of life and functionality.

Nearly half (47%) of IBS sufferers reported daily symptoms, with 43% experiencing severe symptoms. If you suffer from IBS, good news is that you are not alone, with between 10-22% of population being affected. The bad news is that IBS can be a seriously unpleasant and persistent condition.

Fully a third (34%) of IBS sufferers report loss of bowel control which has impacted significantly on daily life, causing frequent absences at work or school as well as missed leisure activities.

If you have had IBS for years, you would be familiar with its daily effects. As a primary health care provider, I am all too familiar with disappointments and limitations that IBS brings to my patients lives.

If you have lived with IBS for a while, you may also be aware that there is no targeted medical treatment for IBS, only management approaches such as dietary changes and end-agents, such as laxatives and anti-diarrheal agents.