# I went to a Chinese Herbal Medicine Doctor for IBS treatment



## iloveny161 (Nov 30, 2008)

Hey guys,I've been a long time lurker, and have suffered from IBS for the last 4 years. I'm currently a sophomore in college. At first, the problems started in my sophomore year of high school. I didn't know what was wrong, so I went to doctors, a gastroenterologist, had a colonoscopy, etc. They didn't find anything wrong and said that I had IBS and there was really no cure. Those words were not music to my ears. For the last few years, it's been tough dealing with IBS, especially being a student in high school/college. As for a bit of background, I've tried the following treatments for IBS:IBS Audio Program 100 Acacia FiberFennel TeaPeppermint CapsulesFlorastorDigestrinBenefiberNow, all of those helped to a certain extent except digestrin and benefiber. But none of them completely fixed the problem and symptoms would still break out occasionally. Up until recently, I'd been maintaining myself by listening to the audio program, taking the acacia fiber with the fennel tea, and occasionally taking the peppermint capsules.This winter, I've been staying in China on vacation, and my mom heard from her friend about this herbal medicine expert in town who was really good at diagnosing and curing stomach/intestine related problems. So figuring that it was worth a shot, I decided to meet the expert, who I discovered to have a lot of patients (I had to wait a couple of hours in the waiting room as it was first come first serve) Anyways, he read my pulse on both hands, and told me that my problem was with my gallbladder and that there was some gas trapped in it. Now, I had no idea what that meant, but he said it was the root of all my discomfort. I found this really surprising because previously, none of the doctors that I went to had suspected such a problem. He wrote me a prescription for this concoction that had like twenty different herbal ingredients, and told me to take it for three months. Since I have to attend school, I am taking the medicine in capsule form for the next 2 or 3 months (you can compress the herbal soup into capsules, large quantity). It's been a week since I started taking the medicine, and I think I have seen some substantial improvement. Now, this may be just a placebo effect, but I'm hoping that's not the case, and I'm going to continue taking the medicine.So you might be wondering why am I making this post? Well, I know that there's plenty of you who have suffered as much, if not more, as I have from IBS. There still haven't really been any cures for IBS. A lot of the Western medicine may help with some of the symptoms, but will not completely eliminate the problem. For those of you who speak Chinese and visit China frequently, you may be interesting in going to an expert in herbal medicine and seeing if they can find the root of the problem. I could be completely wrong about this, and it may turn out that the medicine I'm currently taking will not fix my IBS at all and that there is nothing wrong with my gallbladder. But I'm willing to try, and who knows, maybe it will work. I know exactly how it feels after having an attack, and the pain and embarrassment is truly horrible, even if no one else knows what is happening. Sometimes, I think that I would never be able to graduate and finish my education because it was so bad. At the moment of an attack, I can feel my heart pounding and I think to myself "I cannot believe this is happening." It's just truly awful, and I feel tremendous sympathy for all of us who have to deal with this problem.I'm going to keep posting on how my situation develops and regardless if my IBS gets better or not, I'll let you guys know. If there are any questions, feel free to ask. While many of you may not be interested in any further details, I'm willing to try and help answer questions for any of those here who may want more information.


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## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi welcome to the site! I'm so glad you're seeing some good improvements! I'm really interested in learning how the herbs work for you.Fingers crossed for you and hope it continues to work well. Do keep us posted!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It is very difficult to translate Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnoses into something that makes sense in Western Medicine.Often the diagnosis has to do with a more metaphorical understanding of the body, it's energy and the five elements than it has to do with actual physical things happening in the organs. That being said the treatments are usually based on what symptoms are presenting and many of the treatments do seem to help people even if how they classify things doesn't fit into the Western medical understanding of the body.


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## iloveny161 (Nov 30, 2008)

Sorry to bump such an old post. Well, it's been about a month and I am back in the United States now. I've been taking the medicine twice daily, and I think it's safe to say that most, if not all, of my symptoms have been alleviated. My bowel movements are very comfortable now and I no longer have any abdominal discomfort or pain. I'm not sure if it's entirely the work of the medicine, but my IBS is pretty much completely gone at the current moment. Anyways, I just wanted to update you guys on my situation since I promised I would =)


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## postmortem (Nov 11, 2006)

what were your symptoms to begin with? i've been to a bunch of chinese herbal doctors... haven't had much luck with them, but my mom said that it's hard to find an authentic doctor here (nyc)







maybe i'll check yours out if i ever go visit china again. what village/town is he in?thanks!


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## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi iloveny161 -- thanks SO much for the update! And I'm SO SO glad that your IBS has been under control and you are feeling so good! This is so encouraging! Yay!!







Hope you continue to feel good from now on







I think I'm so going to see one if I go there next time postmortem, I remember some of your psots... sorry you're still struggling. Your mom's right -- even when they are good dr.s, they can't get those many quality herbs over here as dr.s over there can... From what I learned, it seems that D is a little bit easier to treat than C with TCM, although I HAVE heard success stories about TCM treating C -- the important thing is to be able to see a really good dr. there in person so that s/he could feel your pulse and take a look at you holistically... Do you or does your mom read Chinese? I found this online just very recently: http://www.chinajcy.com/tslf.htm (disclaimer: I am in no way whatsoever associated with them - no body on that site over there knows of my existence and I've never talked to anyone over there, either - and this is _not _an ad). Since this is the website of an actual physically existing hospital, I'm assuming that it's legit. But as with any treatment/meds, please do investigate and research fully before going for it, esp. if it involves international traveling. Or if next time you visit China, if it's a big city you're staying, chances are you'll be able to make an appointment with a specialist who has the title "expert specialist" in the TCM practice focusing on GI problems -- in that case, these dr.s may be better than just any TCM practitioner.


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## iloveny161 (Nov 30, 2008)

Thanks, Cherrie!







There are a lot of herbal medicine experts in China, but you definitely have to look for the really good ones, as there are a lot of swindlers out there, as well as doctors who do not have as extensive knowledge or experience as the best experts do. For example, I also saw two other specialists who took my pulse and didn't find anything abnormal (they just prescribed some basic medicine). The particular expert that did end up helping me has a small office in Suzhou. It is especially important to know that if you are not able to speak Chinese, people may try to rip you off, so it is really critical that you do your research. As for my IBS symptoms, I had all of the following, and they are mostly all gone now:Constipation (It sometimes used to take me forever to poop, but now, I can usually finish within 5 minutes and it doesn't hurt (no need to strain))Discomfort (No more)Abdominal Pain (No more)Excessive gas (I still fart, but I think its so much less than before that I enjoy farting now)Bloating (I'm not totally sure but I think my stomach used to be sort of hard, and now its all soft and squishy!)I've actually been pigging out a lot the last couple of weeks- ordering in pizza, pasta, fried chicken, etc, and I still feel great (although I will probably tone down on those foods). If there aren't any more questions, I'll update again in another month to let you guys know if I remain symptom-free.


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## requestor (Aug 12, 2013)

hi, I know its been incredibly long since you've posted, but I'm also seeing different chinese doctors for ibs symptoms just like yours. Do you know what kind of herbal supplements the doctor gave you?


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## SJ123 (Oct 10, 2013)

Hello,

I was wondering if you would by any chance know the address of the expert you went to? I am currently in China, Ningbo. I've been here since August and my IBS has been up the wall ever since I got here. In the first few days I was here I contracted a bug quite quickly, the general sickness and diarreah. Nobody else I knew got this, just me but then again with IBS I am prone to bugs with such a severe stomach sensitivity!! After this stopped, I did not go to the toilet for over 2weeks. I usually have the constipated side of IBS. I went to the chemist and shown them chinese for IBS, constipation and bloating. They gave me Aloe Vera Softgel and I was to take three a day three times a day. I thought it was a lot but I checked on the internet too. In the end, this worked (although gave me major cramps and sweats) and emptied my bowels completley. I haven't been taking the aloe vera softgel so much since then, just the nightly or occasional one capsule. However, eversince then going to the toilet means diareah. It also means when I'm gassy I'm not sure if its going to be a general fart or the worst. So now my IBS has changed from constipation to diareah!!

At home I do not generelly eat wheat. So I stay away from white bread, rice pasta etc, brown is okay but still I try not to eat it. I've had the usual investigation of camera in the colon (although they only went half way is that normal), laxatives, spasmol. So my GP couldn't find anything after the camera and blood tests, she just said 'You have a severe case of IBS and we don't know why', I thought oh thats just bloody great. The medication I was given didn't really work so I have also taken Aloe Vera Colon Cleanse which was good and Phsyllium Husk. In China it is all rice and noodle! So whilst I don't normally eat this stuff at home, I have a little once in a while but usually this is okay and if anything the stuff makes me constipated not the opposite. I've noticed that without taking an occasional aloe vera softgel, I will not empty my bowels at all.

After I came back from Turkey in June, I got ill with a virus where I was being sick for a week. Then I had severe stomach pain that lasted for the next three weeks. I think I spent a week going to my GP, out of hours doctors and walk in centres. They all couldn't figure out what the stomach problem was. So my GP was going to start doing tests on me again but since I was going off to China for about 6months, there wasn't time! So now, my IBS has turned upside down and I can't go to the toilet without it being diareah or if not taking the occasional soft gel, not at all.

I've had IBS for five or six years now, the herbal stuff you can get at home works okay but obviously nothing cures it!

So I was wondering if you may be able to tell me, the name of the expert? Or if not, would you know of how to find one? Could you be more specific about what the herbal stuff is that you were given?

Thanks and I hope your herbal treatment is working well for you.


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## kalle (Mar 8, 2016)

Hi iloveny161,

You never updated your situation.

Has someone received long term benefits from TCM herbal therapy?


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## DECODE_IBS (Apr 6, 2016)

Yea there is a guy from india who helped me, he brought herbs and made a medicine out of it, past 50 days i am eating everything and everything is just fine....i am cured.


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