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Hypnotherapy Boosts Quality Of Life And Health For Ulcerative Colitis Patients

(May 15, 2009) — One of Laurie Keefer's patients was afraid to be a
bridesmaid in a friend's wedding, others worried about traveling with the boss
or even going to parties in peoples' homes.

The patients have ulcerative colitis, a nasty gastrointestinal disease that
flares without warning and makes it vital for them to find a bathroom fast. The
disease is often diagnosed when people are in their late 20s and early 30s. The
flare-up is like having a severe stomach bug that can drag on for weeks. It
ruins vacation plans, causes lengthy absences from work and generally messes up
peoples' lives at a time when they are trying to build careers and meet a
romantic partner or marry.

But some of Keefer's patients are less fearful these days and starting to
embrace activities they once avoided. They've been taking part in a new National
Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research study to test whether hypnotherapy
can extend the time between their flare-ups. Currently, the treatments for
ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, include a fistful of pills --
up to a cumbersome 12 a day that reduce the risk of flares but that many forget
to take, as well as steroids or surgery to remove their colon.

In an early look at the data for the ongoing study, Keefer, a clinical health
psychologist and an assistant professor of medicine at the Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine, is finding that treatment with
hypnotherapy enabled some subjects' to socialize more and get involved in
activities such as eating at restaurants, exercising and road trips. Some
subjects feel less impaired by their disease and are better at remembering to
take their pills.

The patient who was afraid to stand up at a friend's wedding is now going to be
a bridesmaid. The patient who was nervous about getting on a plane with the boss
is now taking business trips with him.

The study will be enrolling a total of 80 patients over three years and will
track the progress of each patient for one year. Thus far, 27 subjects have
enrolled in the study and completed the required eight weeks of hypnotherapy
sessions. As a part of the study, subjects also listen to special relaxation
tapes up to five times per week.

While it's too early in the study to know if the hypnotherapy has prolonged
their remissions, only two of 12 subjects who have participated in the study for
a full year have experienced a relapse, whereas based on their history, all 12
subjects would have been expected to have had two or more relapses within the
year.

"These numbers are encouraging because the study specifically targets
individuals who flare a couple times a year," Keefer said. Subjects are also
expected to take their routine maintenance medication during the trial.

Keefer presented her findings recently at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of
America's 13th Annual Medical Symposium and 14th Annual Patient and Family
Conference in Chicago.

The goal of the trial is to see if hypnotherapy can help subjects learn to
manage their stress and develop a sense of control over their health, explained
Keefer, who is director of the Center for Psychosocial Research in Intestinal
Bowel Disease at Northwestern's Feinberg School.

"Managing stress is really important for managing inflammatory bowel disease,"
Keefer said. "We see young adults about to get married, pregnant women, people
worried about losing their jobs in this difficult economy. The body doesn't
differentiate between good stress and bad stress. When people are under stress,
their disease flares up."

In the experimental hypnosis sessions, Keefer suggests to subjects that they
closely monitor their stress and be aware of how it's affecting them. "If
they're not getting enough sleep, part of the hypnosis is encouraging them to
know this is a trigger and make an effort to take naps and take it easier, " she
said. "I also tell them your body can detect slight changes in stress and can
adapt easily and not be affected."

The key issue is how confident subjects feel in their ability to manage their
disease. "There is quite a bit of data in a variety of diseases that shows
people who have a higher sense of control over their health feel better and have
fewer symptoms than people who don't," Keefer said. "This is a proactive
approach."

Keefer said the trial is one of the few NIH-funded behavioral studies for
inflammatory bowel disease, which affects between 250,000 to 500,000 people in
the U.S.

Her preliminary data on the overall quality of life for 27 subjects after eight
weeks of hypnotherapy showed that 80 percent of them reported an increased
belief that they could affect and manage their disease versus 50 percent of
subjects in standard care (no hypnotherapy.) In addition, subjects reported a 76
percent increase in the quality of their lives (the improvements were most
notable in their bowel symptoms) compared to a 25 percent increase for standard
care. In another measure, 73 percent of the subjects experienced a general
improvement in their health and well being compared to a 25 percent increase for
standard care.

"The preliminary results on the improved quality of life for the 27 subjects in
this ongoing study (aiming for a total of 80 subjects) look positive so far,"
Keefer said.

Once the eight weeks of hypnotherapy are completed, subjects are expected to
listen to the relaxation tapes or practice relaxation twice a week to maintain
the benefits. They are also encouraged to "step up their practice" of relaxation
tapes if they think they are at risk for a flare, Keefer said.

Currently the treatment for the disease is a maintenance medication called
5-ASA. "The problem is most people forget to take the full dose," Keefer said.
If that doesn't work steroids are often the next treatment, but long-term use
can cause joint problems and other side effects such as anxiety and insomnia.
When doctors try to taper the patient off steroids, symptoms tend to flare
again.

Adapted from materials provided by Northwestern University,




Seth-Deborah Roth CRNA,CCHt,CI
www.hypnotherapyforhealth.com
read my blog at www.hypnotichealth.blogspot.com
as seen on the "MythBusters"


www.sethdeborahroth.isagenix.com