Health Advice |
Digestive Health with Claire Dickinson – A Case of IBS
I see lots of different digestive complaints in my clinic at Bristo Place, ranging from IBS, to Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Here’s a typical case history of someone suffering from IBS. Ms X consulted with me in March 2010; she presented with the following symptoms:
As I spoke to Ms X about her general health, I learned that she regularly suffered from stress headaches, a poor complexion and lack of energy. I also learned that Ms X took very little exercise, maybe walking 20 minutes to work, twice daily three times per week. At the end of the fist consultation, I prescribed the following herbal mixture, to be taken at a dose of 5ml three times daily after meals:
I also asked Ms X to take a brisk walk every day, for at least half an hour, preferably one hour. I also requested that she drank around 2 litres of water per day, took more time to eat her meals, and to start thinking about ways to manage her stress. Our second meeting took place 4 weeks later, and Ms X reported to me that overall she felt much improved, with the flatulence and stomach discomfort almost gone. The bowel was clearing better, but still a little sluggish. Ms X had increased energy levels and fewer headaches, and she felt this could be improved further still. She had increased her walking to 1 hour per day, 5 days per week, and was enjoying this and intended to do more exercise. Ms X had become more aware of her eating habits, and was trying to take more time over eating; her liquid intake had improved to 1-1.5 litres of water per day. Ms X had though a lot about how she could better manage her stress, and had already acted on joining a yoga class and purchasing a relaxation CD which she was listening to every night at bedtime. I had also asked Ms X to bring a detailed one week diet diary with her to this session, which she did, and we came up with a plan of how to bring in some positive dietary changes. Mainly I advised reducing fizzy drinks and coffee, and increasing fruit, vegetables, pulses, fish and whole grains. I also encouraged her to further increase her liquid intake to 1.5-2 litres daily. I repeated the same herbal prescription, with the addition of Burdock Root, to further encourage bowel elimination; and asked Ms X to return in a further 6 weeks. At the third consultation, Ms X was happy to report that the digestive complaints were overall 80% better, and now that there was an improvement, she could more easily notice what triggered the symptoms (hurried eating, lack of physical activity and stress – usually a combination of these factors). She was experiencing good energy levels, had not had a headache in weeks and had recently noticed improvement in her skin condition. Ms X had established a good exercise regime, which consisted of regular walking, a dance class and some swimming, and she was very much enjoying these activities. She had stopped going to the yoga class but continued with the relaxation CD 3-4 nights a week. Ms X felt that this, coupled with the regular exercise was working well in managing stress. She had incorporated many of my dietary suggestions, including a healthy liquid intake, and gradually continued to do so. We had further discussion on dietary changes and how to overcome any difficulties. I advised Ms X to gradually reduce the medication over the next few weeks and then to stop taking it. I explained that if she could keep the lifestyle and dietary changes in place then she would probably not require further medication. Sarah Naylor |