A big problem with IBS is the culture around it. We’re led to believe we have a mysterious disease/condition that needs to be managed. We’re told there’s no cure and shamed about our stress or fear about symptoms.
Lots of people live with IBS for decades because they don’t believe that there’s a solution. The solution starts with the belief that it’s solvable. That it’s a gut puzzle to be investigated and solved.
Unfortunately most doctors don’t dive deep enough into that investigation, preferring to slap on the IBS label instead. This was my big disappointment when I was sick.
These days there’s so much information online. This could be hit or miss in terms of helping. Sometimes it’s informative, often it’s confusing and overwhelming. There’s no one-size fits all diet or supplement to address each person’s unique body and imbalance.
People with the umbrella IBS diagnosis have different causes for their symptoms. I’ve seen this through testing. And it is this testing that helps us solve each IBS puzzle.
People tend to shy away from testing due to the cost, but mostly because they don’t believe it’s worth it. They’ve been conditioned by past experience, where testing revealed nothing and was a disappointment.
The problem was the wrong testing. The right testing works. Sasha’s story and the story of many clients proves this to me over and over again.
Sasha came to me feeling hopeless, reluctant and confused. But she took a leap of faith and invested in herself. Both with testing and the subsequent diet, lifestyle changes and supplements that were required. She now believes in the process because it worked for her.
I love success stories because they lift morale and morale is essential to keep going.
Sasha’s IBS success story
After Sasha’s gall bladder surgery, she thought that her digestion would improve. Instead she developed new uncomfortable digestive symptoms such as food sensitivities, bloating, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Before working with me Sasha exhausted all her options with her gastroenterologist. Her tests came back negative and in normal ranges.
Her doctor suggested a low FODMAP diet to manage her IBS symptoms, but she felt even worse on the diet. She kept following it anyway for lack of anything better to do.
She felt a bit of relief after discovering my blog and following my suggestions to reduce sugar and totally stop gluten. But her symptoms never fully vanished, so she decided to consult with me.
Sasha was not convinced additional testing would reveal anything since previous testing with her doctor had not. She took the leap of faith anyway.
A common problem
Conventional medical tests for parasites and other gut pathogens are not very sensitive and can often give false negatives. Gut bugs are tricky to test for as they can hide under biofilms and not reveal themselves in regular stool tests. H pylori and parasites are particularly challenging to test for. Most doctors don’t tests for fungal overgrowth, bacterial overgrowth or intestinal permeability (leaky gut).
Functional gut testing looks for DNA evidence for a variety pathogens, measure bacterial diversity and finds other clues that pathogens could be present.
Some doctors and Gastros (but not all) will test for SIBO. But even when it’s present, there’s little dietary guidance, it’s treated with antibiotics (not always the right ones) and prokinetics are rarely used. This approach can be less than effective, bringing initial relief and a quick relapse.
Even worse, some doctors will skip SIBO testing and prescribe antibiotics without knowing what gases are present. This is irresponsible in my opinion. You need to know what you are dealing with.
Identifying the problem is half the battle. Sadly, bad testing practices throw people off the right track.
Importance of “second opinion” testing
Testing revealed that Sasha was negative for SIBO, but her stool test showed h. pylori and candida.
H pylori is a bacterial infection of the stomach that lowers stomach acid. Low stomach acid can lead to bacterial imbalance in the large intestine, as well as SIBO or candida. It can make the body more vulnerable to parasites. It can cause also cause a variety of symptoms like nausea, GERD/reflux, burping, bloating, constipation, fatigue and depression.
Strong stomach acid is extremely important for digesting and assimilating food as well as protecting the gut from food born pathogens.
Sasha’s test for h. pylori at her doctor’s office was negative.
As mentioned, h.pylori hides under biofilms to avoid detection and eradication. Biofilms are also commonly used by beneficial bacteria for protection. Biofilms are medically recognized but not addressed by conventional medicine.
Another way to identify a hidden h pylori infection through the GI Map is the presence of Blastocystis Hominis & Dientamoeba Fragilis (parasites) and Morganella (bacteria). There’s also a particular bacterial pattern that shows up with h pylori or low stomach acid.
Because h. pylori has so many downstream effects on stomach acid, digestion, bacterial balance, elimination and gut function, it is always addressed first.
I started Sasha with a two month h pylori protocol.
The information in the link is for educational purposes only. It’s never a advisable to do an herbal or antibiotic protocol on your own, without the supervision of a health profession. This is how people get into trouble.
Sasha’s recovery
Within weeks, Sasha’s symptoms began to subside. By cleaning up her gut and diet, she was able to decrease thyroid medication for managing Hashimotos. Hashimotos is an autoimmune condition, where a confused, over vigilant immune system attacks thyroid tissue
Before working together, Sasha was afraid of food. She didn’t know what to eat or what foods would set her symptoms off.
As she began to feel better, we worked on expanding her diet to feed her biome and support her immune system. This is the opposite philosophy of the Low FODMAP diet, which restricts carbs and fibrous veggies to starve bacteria. We focused on diversifying her fruit and veggie intake and lowering sugary carbs.
Eating gluten occasionally, even in small amounts can cause an inflammatory cycle is you’re sensitive. It’s particularly unadvisable with any sort of autoimmune condition.
The GI Map retest reveled that h pylori was gone. Sasha’s immune system was now working better so we turned our attention on candida.
Candida is an opportunistic yeast that feeds on sugar and thrives when immunity is weak and the biome is out of balance.
Since candida is tricky to address, we rotated anti fungal herbs every few days so the yeast would not adapt to them. We also rotated probiotics.
As we cleaned up her gut, we also worked on hormonal balance, adding in liver support and a targeted supplement to reduce estrogen dominance.
Repairing her gut will mostly likely help with Hashimotos, as most autoimmune diseases start in the gut, where a majority of the immune system resides. Sasha’s goal is to get off thyroid medication completely and manage her condition with a healthy diet and life style. She’s on her way.
Happy ending on a road worth traveling
Sasha no longer suffers from the IBS symptoms, but continues to work on “remodeling” her gut biome and immune system by dialing in sleep, stress and movement.
You can find more details on Sasha’s recovery story here. Casey’s blog has a collection of success stories from people who used natural approaches to recover from ailments, when convention medicine failed them. My own success story is on there.
It’s not easy to face your fear and go against the grain to seek your solution. But the other option is not much better, to stay stuck and sick.
This was not an option for me. I tried many things before stumbling up my solution 15 years ago. Since then, I’ve NEVER visited the doctor to complain about my tummy again!
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease or a disease at all. IBS is a body out of balance. It’s an invitation for change. After solving her own IBS mystery more than a decade ago Angela trained as a health coach to help others.
Angela uses both science and intuition to help people figure out what’s out of balance in their body. She works with lab tests, dietary changes, supplementation and nervous system rebalancing. Get help rebalancing your digestive system and solving your IBS mystery here.
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