# Looking For Advice ~ My Story 37 Year Old Female



## mscb (Dec 22, 2013)

Hello ~ I'm a 37 year old female living in the US and I've been living with IBS since 2010 after a bad food poisoning episode. I could certainly type a novel as I'm sure we all could with my symptoms and struggles but I'll try to be brief and ask for any advice that you can give.









My symptoms (most common everyday):


Constipation alternating Diarrhea
Gas (mostly in the upper stomach area)
Belching
Nausea
Noisy tummy
ANXIETY
Acid/Heartburn

I have tried Zofran, Prilosec, ginger tea, ginger pills, peppermint tea, baking soda and water & rest.

Right now my flare-up seems to be constipation, gas, acid reflux/heartburn. This is affecting every part of my life and I'm literally sick of it. Does anyone know of any remedies for gas/acid that are natural? I hesitate to take medication and I'm so frustrated with Gastro doc's just wanting to push more pills. Why can't they figure out WHAT this is and WHY?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

For acid reflux DGL http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/REM00024/Licorice-Dr-Weils-Herbal-Remedies.html

Slippery Elm can also be soothing and the fiber in it may help ease the constipation (usually if you prevent the back up you can prevent the blow out).

For gas are probiotics natural enough? Also fennel seed (tea or chew seeds after a meal).

Even if they had the perfect explaination and could show you exactly what glitch there is in the control system of the gut, they would still have prescription pills for it. Usually they have to go with evidenced based answers and that is where most of the evidence is. The next treatment with a lot of evidence in IBS is mind-body things like clinical hypnotherapy and they often won't prescribe/refer out for it as people are too much "you told me it is all in my head" and get angry and don't come back. Even though it really does work quite well for the majority of people in the clinical trials for that kind of approach.

Reserachers are finding some of the what it is, but most of the defects they are finding are not something you could cure with a surgery or mechanical device and they are just creating new drugs which is not what you want. There is some looking into fecal transplants, but it is very early days to see if it works for IBS like it seems to work for C. diff overgrowth.


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## mscb (Dec 22, 2013)

Thank you Kathleen.

It's very frustrating trying to find the "answer" and as someone who suffers from Panic Disorder, what is causing what? That's the trouble.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Panic never helps. It adds that how much of what is going on is my body reacting to the panic and how much is something my body would do if I was calm.

And some symptoms generally have that "warning danger" element to them so hard not to panic when they hit.

Panic usually doesn't let you just be with something as it is, there usually is some drive to find it and so something about it.


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