Digestive disorders treatment methods

First, we should eliminate organic diseases through examination, and then make personalized adjustments to diet, work and rest, and mood based on our own triggers. If necessary, we can assist with drug intervention. There is no unified plan that suits everyone.

I met a 27-year-old Internet operator friend a while ago. He worked on projects until two o'clock in the morning for three months in a row. He relied on takeout to make ends meet. When he got anxious, he would order iced milk tea with fried chicken to suppress his mood. Later, he would either not go to the toilet for three days, or he would pass out as soon as he drank something cold. A gastrointestinal endoscopy in the hospital didn't even detect superficial gastritis, and Helicobacter pylori was negative. The doctor said it was a typical functional digestive disorder, so he prescribed some probiotics and gastrointestinal motility pills. After a week of taking it, I felt better. After working overtime to catch up, I immediately returned to my original shape.

In fact, this is the normal state of most patients with digestive disorders: no clear organic problem can be found, but they have alternating stomach bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhea from time to time. After taking medicine for two days, they will suffer from it again if they are not careful. To be honest, taking medicine alone is useless in this situation. You must first understand where your gastrointestinal "thunder spots" are. Many people search for the unified "digestive disorder taboo list" on the Internet. They cannot eat this or touch that. They even drink white porridge for half a month to nourish their stomach. In the end, the acid reflux becomes more severe and they even lose their strength. Here you can see the difference in different conditioning ideas: Western medicine clinical practice does not recommend long-term consumption of porridge, especially for patients with reflux esophagitis and hyperacidity. Porridge has high water content and rapid rise in blood sugar, which not only tends to aggravate reflux, but long-term consumption of liquids will also degrade the peristaltic ability of the stomach, which will slow down recovery. ； Traditional Chinese medicine does not all agree that drinking porridge to nourish the stomach. If you have a disorder caused by food accumulation and dampness and heat, drinking white porridge will aggravate the dampness and stagnation, and the more you drink, the more bloated you will be.

There is actually no uniform standard for truly useful dietary adjustments. Keeping a small book to keep a food diary for a week is better than anything else: If you eat hot pot with iced Coke today, it will become thinner the next day. Next time, you will know not to eat the high-fat and iced ones together.； Others are fine if they drink milk at room temperature, but if you drink it and you feel bloated and fart, it means you are lactose intolerant. Just switch to Shuhua milk or yogurt. There is no need to force yourself to drink milk that "nourishes the stomach". The most exaggerated patient I have ever seen cut out all the foods that are said to be "stomach-damaging" on the Internet. In the end, she only ate boiled vegetables and steamed buns every day, but she still had stomach bloating every day. After a long investigation, she found out that she checked her work group every time she ate, eating a meal for 40 minutes, thinking about KPIs while eating.

Speaking of this, I have to mention the role of the brain-gut axis that many people ignore. When you are nervous and anxious, your intestines and stomach respond before your brain. I once had a child who was preparing for a graduate school exam. He had diarrhea every day for three months before the exam. He took antidiarrheal drugs and probiotics to no avail. He was cured the day after the exam. For this type of disorder, no matter how much food you eat to nourish your stomach, it is not as effective as taking 10 minutes a day to go out, walk twice, and take two deep breaths. Western medicine now even prescribes anti-anxiety drugs to assist with such digestive disorders that are strongly related to emotions. Many people think it is unnecessary, but clinical data shows that the improvement rate for patients with severe irritable bowel can indeed reach more than 60%. ； Traditional Chinese medicine classifies "liver stagnation and spleen deficiency" and generally combines liver-soothing herbs instead of just spleen-strengthening prescriptions. There is no better or worse between the two approaches. It depends on which one you are more comfortable with.

As for whether probiotics, belly rubs, and moxibustion are the most commonly asked methods, they actually vary from person to person: probiotics are indeed useful for antibiotic-associated diarrhea and some subtypes of irritable bowel, but there is no need to buy a box of Internet celebrity strains worth hundreds of yuan. Ordinary medicinal probiotics are enough. Stop after two weeks if they are not effective. It is a waste of money and may increase the burden on the intestines.； People who suffer from bloating after catching a cold can indeed get relief quickly by rubbing their stomachs and moxibustion on the Zhongwan point. However, if the stomach is bloated due to excessive food accumulation, the more you rub it, the more likely you are to have acid reflux, which is not as fast as taking some medicine to aid digestion.

In fact, digestive disorders are simply a protest signal sent by your stomach and intestines: after you stayed up late, got angry, and ate haphazardly, it finally can't bear it anymore. Don’t always think about finding some magic medicine that will make you completely cured after taking it in two days, and don’t get anxious just because you have an occasional problem. Relax and slowly understand the temper of your stomach and intestines. No other conditioning plan will work.