Tracey
Any suggestions for someone that has had a consultant diagnosed extreme case of IBS?
Trace
xx
IMHO there are a lot of consultants diagnosing, but not many actually doing anything apart from hand out prescriptions for anti cramping medicines or bulking agents for the bowel to aid going to the loo.
Loads of suggestions - primarily get tested for all intollerances, hair test most accurate, blood not so good, but a nutritionist led service is ideal as you get advice on foods and ongoing backup rather than just test results. IMHO to truly have IBS the symptoms should be so severe as to cause the patient to be almost publicly embarrassed that they have to find the loo in a desperate hurry.
Many people 'suffering' from IBS only actually have symptoms and not IBS, but for either an increase in water intake may be all it takes to really see an improvement. Often symptoms such as gas, bloating, cramping etc are caused by food not pasing through the digestive system and colon at the right speed. Not enough water encourages the wrong type of bacteria to breed and slow the colon down, as does antibiotics which kill everything int he bowel except for candida which then causes slowdown/speedup of colon depending the individual.
If you have had a course of antibiotics and are not drinking enough water you will probably get gas/bloating/cramping etc etc.
So - Minimum of 8 large glasses of water a day is required for most humans.(room temperature only not cold) For every tea or coffee an additional glass of water or when exercising. Reduction in foods patient is intolerant to (not forever). Only one or two bananas a week (sorry Matt) and never ripe ones. Avoid mushrooms, onions, tofu and any other similar foods eg shallots. Avoid citrus friuts and drinks and dont have many grapes, much bread or anything else that has yeast type properties.
Most cases will improve dramatically by following this area of advice, but may for a few weeks get worse as the patient goes through a healing crisis. For example of the client suffers from candida then causing a die off of the bacteria results in more gas and bloating etc but this does improve.
Obviously it should be said that all cases are different and any readers should not take any of this post as advice, merely as comments on how cases in my clinic have been helped. All readers are recomended to take qualified medical advice specific to their case and no advice should be taken from this post.
Tracey (The doctor is in)
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