How I Stumbled on an Effective Treatment for IBS
For 12 years I tried to develop a solid IBS treatment plan everywhere. I would like an individualized IBS protocol, including information on how to stay healthy, without restrictive diets and pills.
My name is Christopher Eddy. I am currently in Pharmaceutical Science and registered as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine. I have worked in hospitals and clinical practice in Australia and China for the past 10 years as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine. Also, I suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) for 15 years. This is what I endured from 15 years until 2 years ago. I went to countless practitioners. I once calculated that I spent about $7,000 (AUS) over 10 years and used about 25 practitioners; I was told that my problem was emotional, physical, spiritual, viral, bacterial, structural, energetic, yin, yang, and so on. In the end, I didn’t care! I just wanted to feel better!! For years I pulled my hair out, western science, and eastern science…looking for answers.
2 years ago I met a doctor who solved at least half of my IBS problem which set off a flurry of discoveries and VOULA! at last! Over the next 2 years, I put together a treatment structure that worked for me and 90-95% of my patients and helped them get well 75-99% of the time! I was excited!!
A brief outline
I want to share with you a brief outline of what I found worked for me and many of my patients. This is not my discovery, I cannot take credit. I have simply put what other geniuses have found before me into a simple structure.
So why do we need a structured protocol? To work step by step in the correct order so we can eliminate what doesn’t work and if so where to go next.
As a practitioner, I realized that no single person can be treated the same. That’s why there can never be a ‘magic silver bullet’ for IBS. It is impossible!
Also, we cannot individually blame drugs, vaccinations, emotions, painkillers, hormones, GM foods, fluoride in water, extreme hygiene, etc. Other. But let’s be a scientist, let’s learn to be our health detective, find out how your external environment affects your body and digestion along with the mental, emotional, and physical aspects.
Main groups
There are three ‘streams’. I have divided the types of IBS into three main groups. That is, when a patient comes to my clinic, they usually fall into one of three categories and then we go from there.
Series 1
Series 1 accounts for about 10% of the patients that come through my door. It is suitable for people who have irritable bowel problems, but also chronic skin problems, and/or headaches, and/or sinusitis, and/or fever. It usually looks at factors that may have started with bacterial IBS, but then led to a ‘chemical food intolerance’. These patients usually need to go on a low-dose chemical regimen for a few months while using probiotics and a gut repair protocol.
Series 2
Series 2 affects about 5% of the patients I see in the clinic. This is for people who have irritable bowel problems most likely caused by parasites. These parasites are usually D fragilis and B hominins, among others. Patients will usually present with a rash and fever. However, these symptoms are not obvious in every case. If your digestive system has started while traveling abroad or working in the dirt, it’s beneficial to get a good stool parasite test first. These patients need to get the right type of test done first, there are many inaccurate parasite stool tests around. Then go on a strong 3-drug antiparasitic course, then start gut repair.
Series 3
This is where about 75% of my IBS patients have fits. Standard bowel problems are not complicated by anything else. From here I recommend the Fecal Microbial Assay test (FMA). This will tell us if you have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) which I find in 80% of patients in this series. Not everyone has access to this test and it can be quite expensive. So the other option here is to skip the FMA and go straight to the FODMAP diet. After that, specific probiotics are usually used and the gut is repaired for the next 3-4 months.
