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Diarrhea
strong odor or burning anus
strong odor doesn't burn anus
no strong odor nor burning anus
mucus with burning anus
mucus without burning anus
yellow and explosive
aggravated by stress
alternating with constipation
doesn't feel done
aggravated by activity
aggravated by cold, raw, or any food
appears soon after eating
pencil or ribbon shaped
undigested food visible
early morning only
dark or purple stools
Constipation
pellet shaped
aggravated by stress
alternates with diarrhea
with heart burn
severe pain
better with warmth
dry and hard, short term
dry and hard, long term
aggravated by diet
lined with mucus
difficult to finish
causes exhaustion
Abdominal Pain
sharp and fixed
aggravated by eating
aggravated by stress
with bloating
better with activity
severe
better with pressure
Gas
with strong odor
without strong odor
burns anus
aggravated by stress
Bloody stools
strong odor
no strong odor
mucus with strong odor
mucus without strong odor
less than six months
more than six months
Heartburn
aggravated by stress
worse when bending or laying down
aggravated by eating
with excessive saliva
Nausea
aggravated by stress
with severe cramping pain
worse when bending or laying down
with bloating, belching, and bad breath
with excessive saliva
mostly clear fluid
with undigested food
Bloating
with constipation or sluggish stools
worse with fatigue
relieved by gas with strong odor
relieved by gas with light odor
relieved by belching with strong odor
relieved by belching with light odor
aggravated by stress
worse in the afternoon
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Welcome to the all new and improved IBS page.
This page used to be the home of one article that talked extensively about two possible causes of IBS as well as their treatments from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) paradigm.
The work that I've done with IBS has proven to me that this article did not address all of the issues that IBS can create. So, I've gone into much more depth on the subject and hope that you can use these pages to better answer your specific IBS questions. Of course, if there are any issues that you don't see answered here, you are welcome to contact me for more information.
IBS is generally a diagnosis of exclusion. In other words, there is no lab test for IBS, however tests can rule out everything else. In some cases, IBS has become synonymous with a digestive problem that Western medicine simply can't explain. That's one reason for the expanded version of this page, to take into account all of the different symptoms that can be part of this issue. Though, from the TCM standpoint, IBS doesn't really exist. We look at things very different.
For instance, the typical IBS problem which is a stress-induced digestive problem, is only one of many possible causes for the symptoms addressed on this page. IBS has to be treated in the individual, because there are a wide variety of possible causes and unless we address the specific cause, the treatment itself will not work.
That is Chinese medicine. Welcome.
Links
Conventional medicine is doing its best to understand IBS too. Here's a consumer-friendly video from Stanford University Medical Center's Dr. Parischa.
His research has come up with a variety of different mechanisms that resonate somewhat with the patterns described by Chinese medicine. While it is inaccurate to draw too clear a one-to-one correspondance between biomedicine and Chinese medicine, I would like to at least put some of his statements regarding IBS on to the TCM map.
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bacteria migrating upstream from colon [damp-heat, qi deficiency, stomach heat].
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post-infection IBS [damp-heat, stomach heat]. Interestingly, Dr. Parischa mentions that this type of IBS represents between 10-20% of all cases of IBS. This is somewhat consistent with my patient population as well. About 10 - 20% have damp heat.
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neurological hypersensitivity [liver-spleen disharmony, qi stagnation, internal cold].
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the enteric nervous system [liver-spleen disharmony, qi stagnation, internal cold].
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central and enteric nevous systems not getting along well [liver-spleen disharmony, qi stagnation, internal cold].
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history of physical of sexual abuse represent 20% of all IBS patients.
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vegas nerve disregulation modulates emotional state along with gut motility [liver-spleen disharmony, qi stagnation, dampness].
This Irritable Bowel Syndrome Web Ring site is owned by Al Stone, L.Ac.
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