Here's something that my counselor shared today. It may help. She said that when you are experiencing this pain, that learning to breathe correctly, and then not fleeing the pain, but embrace it, and suddenly you will be on the other side of it. Do the yoga exercises that Heather shares, they help. After this next attack, open a notepad, and write down that this is the first day of your journey to controll over the ibs. Tell your Dr.s that you can only handle two, three of the necessary meds to treat this, and the rest will be the natural and ready available stuff in the ibs diet. The answer is really within us, we just need to remember the path when the attacks come. Some teach that we should flee what gives us fear or attacks us, but this illness is going to be with us the rest of our lives. We have to befriend it and teach our bodies how to survive with it. If we are angry and fearful, who is it that we are taking it out on, ourselves.... I am starting my journal too...I hope in a year, to be celebrating the success of managing this illness and rewarding myself for having come to know myself in a new way. You can do it. I sure as heck hope I can.