Often, when people say they say they have “stomach problems”, they really mean they have IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. When I was a kid they didn’t have names like that. People were constipated or had the runs. My Swiss Granny kept a close check on me, and gave me an apple every day as a preventative against problems in that area. The Swiss are very preoccupied with those matters, and you would be too, if you ate cheese, white bread, and chocolate all day long.Or perhaps it’s on your mind anyway, since you are reading this.
But as if often the case, when people continue to visit their doctors, special names evolve for conditions we all heard described in simple language when we were growing up. At least the criteria for IBS seem to be stable, and it isn’t usually a harbinger of something worse. Medscape says “In six studies with relevant information, 2-5% of irritable bowel syndrome patients were diagnosed with an alternative organic GI disorder after 6 months to 6 years of follow-up. Long-term follow-up indicated that 2-18% of patients developed worse irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, approximately 30-50% of patients had unchanged symptoms, and the rest either improved or had symptoms disappear.”
The symptoms were unchanged, because the doctors usually prescribe Metamucil or some other fiber compound to help with the constipation and the cramping, and leave it at that. I have seen a new drugs marketed for IBS to relive the spasmodic component; one such drug, Zelnorm, was voluntarily withdrawn after the FDA found an increased risk of strokes, heart attack, and chest pain. (Is that all?).
I had a woman who sought my help this spring. She had not been given the disease name “IBS”, but her symptoms certainly suggested that. Specifically, she had episodes of cramping and explosive diarrhea. After evacuation, the cramping would alleviate. This began after she had a child and then had gallbladder surgery soon afterwards.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we look at things in terms of deficiency and excess when prescribing herbs. Herbs either unblock and draw away things (what we in the West might think of a detoxifying) or build up things. This patient, like many, presented as a mixed case. She had low energy, craved sweets,and felt fuzzy-headed in the morning, indicating digestive weakness. However, the stool had a foul odor and she would feel hot during those episodes, indicating heat that needed to be cleared.
We did five acupuncture treatments, at first biweekly and then monthly, and she took her herbs diligently as prescribed. The herbs included herbs such as White Peony to help cramping, herbs such as Tangerine Peel to regulate the energy of the abdomen, and a type of Anemone that can also be used for dysentery. This last month she tapered off the herbs and had no episodes at all.
