If you’re one of the one in five Americans that suffers from Irritable bowel Syndrome (IBS for short) you know that IBS can be quite a problem. The distress of crampy abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea or constipation can make it nearly impossible to live a normal life.

You may find yourself scheduling your day around your bowels—getting up early way in advance to make sure you’ve taken care of your business before leaving the house. Or you may have a potty map of the entire town in your mind “just in case” you have to go while out. Or you may have even stopped going out to restaurants or friends homes because of your unpredictable bowels.

If any of the above describes your life, read on because you’re about to find out how you don’t have to suffer with the pain or embarrassment of IBS.

Irritable bowel syndrome is really a diagnosis that describes a set of symptoms.  After you doctor has run all sorts of expensive and uncomfortable tests to rule out serious diseases your doctor usually gives you the good news; “you don’t have any disease you have irritable bowel syndrome” While its good news that you don’t have a dreadful disease, living with irritable bowel can be down right dreadful and very stressful.

What causes IBS? My experience working with thousands of patients shows that most people who suffer from IBS have one or more of the following issues: Food intolerances (like lactose intolerance), compromised digestion, or food sensitivities.

If you have IBS your doctor may have told you things like; eat more fiber, drink more water. Or your doctor may have even said, “You’ll just have to live with it.”

This sort of advice usually isn’t the answer you need to effectively overcome IBS. If you are intolerant to fiber, additional fiber may just stop you up, and create more constipation, or it may exacerbate diarrhea. Or you may already be drinking several quarts of water and adding a few more glasses per day doesn’t do anything other than tax your bladder.

Traditional methods of dealing with IBS don’t usually work, because they don’t address the four causes that I mentioned earlier—food intolerances, compromised digestion, and food sensitivities.

In our clinic, we actually test you to find out what is causing your IBS.  Our first step is to evaluate what foods you digest, and which foods you don’t process. Thorough a combination of a non-fasting and fasting physical exams along with a 24-hour urine test, we can identify food intolerances and digestion stress. We also test for food intolerances and sensitivities. Your IBS symptoms may be caused by compromised digestion of fat, protein, sugars, or fiber. Testing tells us which major food groups you are not digesting, and helps us identify intolerances and sensitivities that are the root cause of your IBS.

Once we have determined the cause of your bowel symptoms, we can accurately bring your body back in balance by modifying your diet, and enhancing your digestion with professionally formulated enzymes for your specific problem. Our approach can also desensitize you to foods that produce allergy-like reactions, so you can once again eat foods that you have had to avoid.

If traditional medical approaches to IBS are not working for you, you owe it to your self to see how you can have your life back again. Call Dr. Patrick’s office at 530-899-8741 to schedule a consultation to see if our approach is right for you. Live life free of the pain and embarrassment of IBS.

Dr. Patrick Giammarise D.C., Internal Health Specialist, Founder of the Digestion Relief Center, specializes in effective, natural relief for food sensitivities and digestion problems. Dr. Patrick can be reached at 530-899-8741

2010, © Dr. Patrick Giammarise, DC

Original Publication Date: July 22nd, 2010.  Chico Enterprise Record 'Health Beat'