Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: I agree. And it does feel wonderful

One thing you'll want to keep in mind with acupuncture is that it favors certain types of IBS over others.

Just as IBS can manifest with diarrhea, constipation, bloating, pain, heartburn, etc... so can it be caused by a variety of issues.

Lining up the cause and the treatment is essential according to traditional Chinese medical theory. Biomedicine does the same thing, but because IBS is so vaguely understood, they don't talk about that too much.

In particular, I find (I'm an acupuncturist) that the stress induced type of IBS issues respond best to acupuncture. If your digestive complaints aren't aggravated by stress then herbal medicines may be more effective.

In either case, herbs can do a wonderful job of addressing your situation, but try and avoid cure-alls that don't differentiate your particular type of condition.

If the herbal product being promoted is 100% effective, run away. That's marketing. A phenomenally effective IBS medication (herbs or drugs) would be good in 80% of the patients who take it. If someone is selling something that is 80% effective, not only is that a very effective herbal blend, but the the marketing has integrity. If the marketing doesn't have integrity, how much quality and ethics do you really think that they're putting into their products?

Also, because Chinese medicine likes to address the underlying cause along with the symptoms, a good Chinese herbal formula will seek to determine that cause such as "aggravated by stress" or "worse after eating". That sort of thing. For the record, those two examples I just gave would require two different formulas, though they could be taken together in some circumstances...

Okay, I'll get off my soap box here.

-al.

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Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

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