I’ve had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) most of my life.
My IBS symptoms waxed and waned through my twenties. The only thing doctors told me were: take more fiber, enjoy this acid blocker for the rest of your life and stay away from broccoli. It all culminated at the age of 27 when bloating, erratic bowel movements, pain, and heartburn escalated to red levels. On top of that, my bladder began to hurt. A lot.
There was a burning, stabbing pain deep in my pelvic area near my bladder that doctor’s couldn’t explain. One doc diagnosed it as Chronic Urinary Tract Infection. He put me on months of antibiotics which ruined more of my gut flora than I could have imagined. The other doctor wanted to stuff me full of pharmaceutical overactive bladder drugs, with no results.
So, I said good-bye to mainstream doctors and went in search of alternatives. This is where the alternative and functional integrative practitioners come in. They are licensed health professionals that help you treat your whole body, not just one symptom. And they never resort to covering up one symptom. They always get to the heart of the problem.
With the help of an integrative medicine practitioner, a bunch of blogs and some books, I began to treat my IBS with diet, supplements and herbal concoctions.
With the help of research and a pelvic floor physical therapist, my bladder pain was diagnosed as IC (Interstitial Cystitis) and subsequently treated with other supplements, herbs, and 2 years of pelvic floor physical therapy.
Throughout this alternative healing journey, I experienced profound healing. Both my IBS and IC symptoms reduced by about 80%. No, that’s not perfect, and yes, I have had many setbacks, but healing a chronic issue is a rocky journey. Staying healthy is an everlasting one. At least I now have options that mainstream medicine never gave me.
I started this blog to share my journey, so that maybe someone else will benefit or perhaps share their own insights to help me.
