How Do You Eliminate IBS, SIBO, and Gut Issues?
To fix your IBS, SIBO, and gut issues, you have to find the causes and fix them.
Using medications can sometimes be useful for symptom control, but they don't get to the root of the problem. So the problem never really goes away.
To schedule an appointment, or a 15 minute complimentary phone call to see how Dr Haiden's clinic can help, call or use our contact form:
408-335-6848
20% of Americans have full blown irritable bowel syndrome. Are you one of them?
The only thing more common than IBS is the common cold.
IBS is not all in your head (but it can contribute to brain fog). IBS is not psychological. Anti-depressants are not the answer.
IBS has a small intestine bacterial overgrowth, SIBO, over 50% of the time.
Up to 70% of us with IBS never seek help. It seems like we learn from an early age to consider bowel discomfort as normal, but it's not normal.
Despite so few of us seeking help, up to 50% of outpatient primary care and gastroenterology clinic visits are for IBS. That is a huge number of people with persistent gut problems.
IBS hits all ages and it can stick around for a long time. Over 50% of the time it has bacterial overgrowth, called SIBO, which is very often never diagnosed or treated.
This doesn't count all of the people plagued by chronic constipation, diarrhea, bloating, food sensitivities, brain fog, leaky gut, autoimmune issues, and any number of things that don't fit the exact diagnostic criteria for IBS.
Obviously, we are not getting the help we need.
More Facts About IBS
• IBS often starts before age 35
• 70% of people still have symptoms after 10 years
• Over 50% of people with IBS actually have SIBO
• IBS affects all ages
• 20-30% of us have GERD (acid reflux)
• There is a lot of cross-over between GERD and IBS
You see, IBS is not a disease. It is a label we put on a set of symptoms. Here's the thing -
A majority of people with IBS have microbial overgrowth in the intestines, SIBO, which can be treated.
But that is a root problem that most doctors are not looking for. That's a shame, because there are several tests now that help us sort out SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) and as well as yeast or Candida overgrowth. And practical treatments as well.
There is a lot more knowledge now about how microbes, the immune system, the nervous system, and food, all play a role in IBS. We have enough knowledge that treating IBS and SIBO using tools to modulate all of these things should be mainstream. But It can take a long time for medical practice to change in response to new information.
Luckily, there are doctors to help.
Break free of your gut problems - IBS, SIBO, GERD, Food sensitivities, you name it!
Get your health, vitality, and life back.
There are three basic steps to find and remedy the root cause of intestinal problems: Identify, Remove, and Restore.
• Identify - First you have to identify the problem or problems.
This involves listening to and hearing your story, and very often, some testing to identify bacteria, yeasts (fungus like Candida), parasites, and other intestinal health markers.
• Remove - Then you need to remove what is harmful.
This may be too many bacteria, or an overgrowth of yeast, or certain foods.
• Restore - The last step is to restore and rebalance.
You have likely heard about probiotics. Probiotics can play a role here, but people react differently, so probiotics is not a one size fits all proposition.
This is the step to also restore balance of different nutrients, concentrate on restoring the health of the intestinal wall, and get those bowel movements regular again, without the cramping and bloating, and with good motility.
Last but not least, this step focuses on leaky gut (intestinal permeability), reducing immune problems, food sensitivities and autoimmune thyroid.
More Keys to Fixing IBS -
It is essential to pay attention to these
• Intestinal motility is a big deal in preventing IBS
• Hypothyroid is a factor in IBS and SIBO (including Hashimoto's Autoimmune Thyroid)
• IBS, SIBO and Candida can cause the gut to be leaky and allow food sensitivities to increase.
• The intestines is home to much of the immune and nervous system.
I've been there. I know this personally. I had horrible irritable bowel syndrome and bacterial overgrowth. And I see the same things in my patients.
Finding out a better way to heal my own IBS and SIBO was a large part of why I now practice Functional Medicine.
Symptom control alone, without fixing the root problem, does not resolve the condition. It keeps on progressing!
Most doctors don't look for the root problem and help you fix it.
As a doctor, I can tell you, when I went to medical school, there were a lot of holistic and nutritional things I didn't learn, because that just wasn't the emphasis.
But to be honest, our understanding of things changes all the time. It can take doctors a long time to change how they do things in the face of this new information.
There is better treatment for most IBS and SIBO, and it's available now.
As a physician, I have seen many years of patients battling with IBS and SIBO.
My own IBS and SIBO, with many severe side effects, such as food intolerance, histamine intolerance (Mast Cell Activation), neurologic symptoms and brain fog, was a real learning and transformative experience.
I spent several years with severe symptoms before I discovered that bacterial overgrowth and immune system and nervous system responses in the gut were some of the prime underlying problems.
I don't want you to have to wait that long.
The idea of gut bacteria, and gut motility, as being at the root of IBS was something that I certainly did not learn in medical school. Nor did I learn it after I was in practice.
I had to learn it myself by researching and learning about functional medicine. There is no going back. Getting my own IBS, SIBO, leaky gut and histamine (Mast Cell Activation) under control, with its bacterial and fungal overgrowth, changed my life.
Getting your IBS, SIBO or Candida under control is my goal for you too.
The key is to normalize the gut bacteria and the whole environment of the gut. You can read more in this article and this article.
How to get personalized help if you need it
If you would like to work with Dr Haiden for personalized Integrative Functional Medicine medical care, we invite you to:
Call the clinic at 408-335-6848
To schedule an appointment
or
Schedule a 15 minute free information call with Dr. Haiden to help you decide if her approach and clinic are right for you.
You can also find out more about her clinic and how to become a patient here.
Dr Ann Haiden DO is an internal medicine physician and functional medicine specialist, two time breast cancer survivor, multiple other things survivor, and advocate of a lower carb, plentiful produce, Paleo/Ancestral eating, and healthy living lifestyle.
Dr. Haiden's practice is in Los Gatos, California. Dr. Haiden does see out of state patients, but all patients must be seen in-person initially.