The IBS Treatments That Actually Work (And the Ones That Usually Don't)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects an estimated 10–15% of adults worldwide, yet many people are never told that IBS isn't actually a root-cause diagnosis. Instead, IBS is an umbrella term that can represent many different underlying conditions causing bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and digestive distress.
If you missed Part 1 of this series, 5 Things You Haven't Tried for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) That Your Doctor May Never Have Mentioned OR Part 2: 5 Tests That Can Reveal the Underlying Cause of Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Most conventionally offered IBS treatments are really just Band-Aids. Band-Aids are great for cuts and scrapes...but not so much when you actually need surgery.
So, why are we giving patient after patient Linzess when we know there is a root cause solution to their digestive distress? Because your doctor was trained to make sure nothing is going to kill you (important), but not necessarily how to heal the sh*t (literally and figuratively) that's ruining your daily life.
That’s where I come in. Let’s Dive in.
We’re going to break this up into symptom management (which has it’s role) + root cause solutions!
Symptom Management. Personally, I use these tools while we're evaluating the root cause of a patient's IBS because they help people feel a whole hell of a lot better. And when patients feel better, they can actually do more of what I ask—which means feeling better even faster.
Meal Spacing: Because many individuals with IBS also suffer from SIBO, we want to keep their Migrating Motor Complex (MMC) moving. The MMC rests when we aren’t eating and so when we space meals the MMC comes back stronger to “woosh” away your food and bacteria in the small intestine.
Motility Agents: I like more gentle agents here and to go low and slow like magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide and/or a product called MotilPro by pure encapsulations. Many individuals even with diarrhea who are suffering from underlying SIBO have issues with motility.
Meal Hygiene: Go back to Part I to read about this in depth. In short— chew your food, eat in a rest + digest state, take some deep breaths, don’t guzzle a bunch of water directly before, during or after your meals.
Low FODMAP diet: I want to make this clear that this is NOT A TREATMENT PLAN AND NOT MEANT TO BE UTILIZED INDEFINITELY. Utilizing this as a tool short term can be VERY symptom relieving for patients when searching for root cause or going through a treatment protocol.
AVOID AVOID AVOID… This one is going to seem REALLY surprising but please AVOID PROBIOTICS. Here’s why. If you have bacteria hanging out in your small intestine they FEED on probiotics (which is why a lot of you are like I CANNOT DO BROCCOLI FOR THE LIFE OF ME). When the bacteria in your small intestine feed on this, they burp and create that bloating and digestive distress. Probiotics are like fuel to a IBS or SIBO fire.
Root Cause Treatments
Like any good clinician I am going to say “IT DEPENDS”. Because it honest to God does. It depends on what YOUR root cause is. I’m going to go through some of the common causes and their treatments.
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO): Appropriate targeted antibiotic or herbal therapy. But also… What is the root cause of WHY SIBO HAPPENED? Lots of practitioners miss this piece 👀
Celiac Disease: Going 100% gluten free. Don’t forget to check your personal care products as well and go back to Part II of this series so you know how to get tested appropriately for Celiac Disease. And remember, being “mostly” gluten free is like being “mostly” pregnant. If gluten is an issue for you, you must avoid it (and I HATE limiting anyone’s diet if I don’t need to)
H Pylori: Appropriate targeted antibiotic or herbal therapies
Gallbladder Dysfunction: I come across A LOT of digestive distress because people either don’t have a gallbladder and they weren’t taught how to support after surgery or their gallbladder is currently in distress and SCREAMING for help! Tools I like here are digestive bitters, bitter tea, bitter food, healthy fats, taurine + phosphatidyl choline.
Low Stomach Acid. Contrary to popular belief, heartburn doesn't automatically mean you have too much stomach acid.. I personally like to evaluate for H pylori before directly treating this because Betaine HCl (a supplement used to support stomach acid) can drive h pylori further down into the stomach lining making it more difficult to eradicate if present. Bitters also help here and I LOVE a two-bird-one-stone approach!
If no one has ever mentioned to you that you don’t need to be dependent on Miaralax, Immodium or Linzess for the rest of your life, allow me to be the first.
A recent patient I just finished up with told me:
“I’m going to get a gym membership because now I don’t need to worry about sh*tting my pants”.
If you've been told your IBS is "just IBS" and you're tired of treating symptoms instead of uncovering the cause, we'd love to help.. Book a consult today + learn what your healing journey can look like!
Be sure to check out the rest of the series:
Part 2: 5 Tests That Can Reveal the Underlying Cause of Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Part 4:How to Finally Heal Your IBS: Putting All the Pieces Together
