IBS is a syndrome. That means it is a complex of different things. A mix of symptoms, a mix of possible precipitating factors and a range of maintaining factors too. But when your doctor is telling you that your problem is IBS, he is also telling you that there is no physical damage to your gut. So that is good news.

Because it is a syndrome, the symptoms are very varied. You can have constipation or diahorrea or both. You can have a bloated belly or not. Your belly might be tender. Getting rid of these symptoms is a key goal.

Symptoms like these come from problems in the transportation system. When things travel slowly, we get bloating and constipations. When things whizz through too fast, we get diahorrea.

Jean Jacques Rousseau, a famous French philosopher said his secret for happiness was a good bank account, a good cook and a good digestion.
Those of us who have suffered with IBS will agree that a poor digestion is a source of misery.

While we may not be able to remember what caused IBS in the first place, we can look at things that maintain it. We might avoid fruit and veg because we think they will give us the runs. Or we might at the same time be trying to diet, so we skip meals during the day. The impact of things like this could be to keep the symptoms driving us to despair. And the despair triggers stress and anxiety, both of which are known to make IBS worse.

When you come for IBS therapy, we will look at a whole range of things that might be involved. When you are dealing with a  complex syndrome, there will not be one single solution. Complex problems require complex solutions. But they don`t have to be hard to achieve.

Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated with hypnosis, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10. Symptoms stopped completely in four in ten cases with typical IBS. He says in a further five in 10 cases patients reported feeling more in control of their symptoms and were therefore much less troubled by them.

"It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect," he said. Read more here!

The leaders in `gut-directed hypnotherapy` are based in South Manchester University Hospital. Professor Peter Whorwell leads a team there, and his successful techniques have now been shared so that more people can benefit. His system is the one I use.

Hypnosis is very effective in treating IBS. It is a syndrome, which means it is an association of several clinical features and symptoms, that together lead a doctor to decide it is IBS, often after doing a range of other tests. When you have been diagnosed, you can safely try hypnosis.

The features of IBS include bloating, tenderness in the abdomen, constipation, diarrhoea etc etc. These symptoms are not exclusive to IBS, so if you have had these symptoms for a long time, then getting checked over by your doctor is important.

In the Glasgow Herald recently, Kim Hawker's eventual diagnosis was ovarian cancer. Dafydd Jones was diagnosed initially with IBS, and later bowel cancer was confirmed. So don't accept a perfunctory diagnosis of IBS. IBS is probably more likely, but talk it through with your doctor. When you have the diagnosis of IBS, hypnosis is the best treatment.

Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10.

He said that although previous research has shown hypnotherapy is effective for IBS sufferers, it is not widely used.

This may be because doctors simply do not believe it works. However, research has shown repeatedly that hypnosis is very effective. One of the pioneers is Professor Whorwell, who treats patients at the South Manchester Hospital.

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Irritable bowel syndrome is the most common gastrointestinal diagnosis. Doctors in California noticed that the symptoms of IBS are similar to those where the small intestine gets an overgrowth of gut flora. Their study looked at whether or not gut flora overgrowth is associated with IBS. If that were so, there might be a chance that dealing with the overgrowth would reduce the symptoms of IBS.

The results showed that of 202 IBS patients, 157 (78%) had overgrowth. This showed a very strong association. They then treated the overgrowth which eliminated IBS suymptoms in just under half.

This is very helpful. If you have IBS, ask your doctor to check for gut flora overgrowth in the small intestine. If he finds it, antibiotics could take away your symptoms. For the rest of us, hypnotherapy has an 85% success rate in eliminating IBS symptoms.

Most of us are likely to think that bran will help with some of the symptoms of IBS. Bran absorbs water and this helps digestive transit. Drs Francis and Whorwell at South Manchester University Hospital who work in the IBS clinic, decided to check whether this widely held view is true. It isn't. These doctors got the impression that wholemeal wheat and bran products make the condition worse. They questioned 100 patients to resolve this issue.

55% of patients were made worse by bran. 10% found it helpful. All symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome were exacerbated by bran, with bowel disturbance most often adversely affected, followed by abdominal distension and pain. They are also concerned that encouraging bran consumption might be creating new cases of irritable bowel. So that seems clear enough. Wholemeal wheat and bran should be eaten in moderation and should not be used by people who already have symptoms of IBS.

But what does work then?

Dr Whorwell and his colleague Dr Prior ran a controlled trial of ispaghula husk in 80 patients with IBS. Ispaghula is also known as psyllium husk. This was found to work for 82% of patients taking ispaghula and 53% of the placebo group who took something with no active ingredient, so this means it really does make a difference. Bowel habit was unchanged in the placebo group, while constipation significantly improved in patients taking ispaghula.

Transit time decreased significantly in those taking ispaghula, especially in patients with initially slow transit time. Abdominal pain and bloating improved in both groups, with no significant differences between ispaghula and placebo.

Ispaghula significantly improves overall well being in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, and in those with constipation favourably affects bowel habit and transit time. So that is clear too. IBS sufferers should try psyllium husk.

For many sufferers, IBS symptoms are worse after dinner. This is due to an exaggerated movement and sensation response by the gut nerves. The gut has a huge nervous system, and is often referred to as the "second brain" because it is so large and developed.

So after a meal, these nerves trigger responses blown out of proportion - bigger movement of the gut, maybe including spasms, and heightened sensitivity, including pain.

Magnus Simren and colleagues at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, researched whether hypnosiss, which works so well for IBS generally, would help with these particular after-meal symptoms.

Half of the patients were given supportive therapy. Half were given hypnotherapy. Both groups were seen for one hour a week for 12 weeks.

The results showed that hypnotherapy reduces significantly these after dinner symptoms, the pain in particular.

Many people find it extraordinary that hypnosis can deal so effectively with these gut symptoms. We don't really know how hypnosis works, but there is plenty of evidence to show how it does. The gut-brain link is very well-developed, due to the huge quantity of neurons in the gut linking up with the brain. So that is probably a key to the success of gut-directed hypnotherapy.

Research conducted by Edward Blanchard of the Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, State University of New York at Albany, found significantly more anxiety disorders among  people seeking treatment for irritable bowel syndrome than among comparable age and sex samples of treatment seeking patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. So he has developed a programme to deal with these emotional and psychological factors as a way to treat the IBS.

His programe, the Albany Multicomponent Behavioral Therapy Program for IBS, employs techniques drawn from a cognitive behavioural therapy, so that you deal with any unhelpful thinking patterns and responses to situations.

In Britain, Professor Peter Whorwell, at South Manchester University Hospital, has also found this and has developed a psychological programme using hypnotherapy. He has found that the gut is very responsive to suggestions of relaxation and coolness, such that the gut rhythms change for the better. His team enjoy considerable success.

As a cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist, I draw from both these protocols. And they work well. Fast, effective and safe.

This research paper shows how extensively our thoughts and emotions affect our intestines, and as a result, are actively involved in irritable bowel syndrome.

Their conclusion is that helping people to be aware of their emotional state, and to learn how to modulate feelings and thoughts, will assist people to manage the symptoms of IBS.

And we already know that our emotions affect our insides. We say "I had a gut feeling about it", and we feel sick when we are anxious.

About 1 in 10 people in the UK - mostly women - suffer from IBS. The University of Southampton shows that there is a link with perfectionist tendencies.

Dr Rona Moss-Morris, who led the research, said: "We found people's beliefs about their symptoms, how anxious they got and their behaviour were all important".

She added: "These are people who have high expectations of always doing the right thing - and going off work goes against their beliefs."  Such people try to remain active and may go back to work too soon, she said.

Cognitive behavioural therapy helps people to manage unachievable expectations, such as perfectionism, where failure feels such a disaster. CBT is the gold standard treatment for anxiety and is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. And CBT with hypnosis works to reduce the severity of IBS symptoms, and to help you to manage pain and your feelings about your pain. Not all pain involves suffering. Click here to link to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, who have lots of useful advice.