Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Help! doctor told me this

From personal experience, a husband in medicine and university courses I have taken on health/gender etc... Doctors here in N.America are taught Western medicine--essentially treating the illness/disease with medication. It is only beginning to change within the medical community
that things such as diet and exercise (what some of us consider pretty basic) are being considered as integral to health. Other cultures seem to be a little more open to "natural treatments." For example, many people benefit greatly by exercising for symptoms of depression (serotonin levels can be very similar to those taking meds) as well as children with ADD/ADHD that are missing fundamental vitamins/nutrients in their diet--many are eating processed foods and not eating real food. Instead, the diet is overlooked and many are heavily medicated. Diet and exercise affects our psyche, our stress levels, as well as our relationships...What I am getting at is generally Western medicine has a long way from looking at the individual as a WHOLE person...you can't just treat something and not have it affect other things. I do think medication has its place, and that some people improve with it, but arm yourself with knowledge (including non-internet research) and remain open to posssiblities. Doctors do get pharmaceutical perks for prescribing meds. Some get bonuses, some get vacations, not all...but some do. Keep this in mind. YOU have been living with your body and YOU know what feels better...and what doesn't. Doctors are not Gods...they make mistakes like every one else. Take everything with a grain of salt, and don't expect them to have all the answers. They don't--many have incredible knowledge, but only YOU know your body. Peppermint, fennel and natural calm are all safe, you don't have any allergies to them...they are helping you. Don't doubt yourself. You can listen, but you don't have to take something you don't want to. My GI wrote a prescription for a drug for D; I decided I was going to try one more thing because I didn't want more stuff in my already overloaded body.. :I began Dig. Enzymes. I haven't had D since. He said to me at my last appt, "Why aren't you taking the meds?" He was surprised that I didn't need them but wasn't going to argue with me...I know what works for MY body.

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Amy
IBS-A
Stable and thankful!

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