How long does it take to treat digestive disorders?

Judging from clinical practice, mild functional digestive disorders can usually be basically relieved after treatment in 2 to 4 weeks. For chronic disorders with a course of more than one year, or combined with Helicobacter pylori infection, irritable bowel syndrome, long-term anxiety, etc., the treatment cycle may take 3 to 6 months, or even longer, with particularly large individual differences.

I just had a follow-up visit last week to a junior girl who had gone through the postgraduate entrance examination for more than half a month and relied on takeaways heavy in oil and salt to make ends meet. She suddenly started feeling bloated after eating something and had acid reflux and belching. She had a gastroscopy and found no organic problems. It was a typical short-term stress-induced digestive disorder. She was prescribed some motility-stimulating drugs and told her to eat 70% full every meal, not to drink iced drinks, and to go to bed before 12 o'clock at night. After only 12 days, she came back and told me that she was no longer feeling any discomfort.

But there are also cases that cannot be stabilized after adjustment for a long time. Last month, an old patient who worked in the market came to me and said that he had diarrhea in the past two years whenever he was busy with projects, and occasionally had stomach pain. Before, he could suppress it by taking some medicine. This time, he has been having trouble for almost half a year and has not recovered. After a round of checks, he found no organic disease. , it is a chronic disorder caused by perennial inversion of work and rest + too much stress. Later, in addition to regular medication, he was also advised to walk briskly for half an hour 3 days a week, instead of sitting down as soon as he finished eating.

It is normal to say that there is such a big difference. Our gastrointestinal tract is originally an "emotional organ" and a "habit organ". It is not like a cold or a fever, which can be cured by taking medicine. Its state is all tied to what you eat, how long you sleep, and whether your mood is stable. It is like raising a delicate little potted plant that you forgot to water before and it is almost dead. You can't expect to water it once and it will flourish the next day, right?

Nowadays, the industry does have different views on the criteria for conditioning. Some doctors believe that as long as the symptoms disappear completely and do not affect normal life, it is considered to be in place. Even if you occasionally eat too much and feel uncomfortable later, it will not be considered a recurrence. This kind of conditioning period is naturally short.； There is also a view that gastrointestinal sensitivity and intestinal flora must be adjusted to a stable state to minimize the probability of subsequent recurrence. Then the corresponding conditioning period will be lengthened, and it must be combined with long-term diet and rest management.

What I usually tell my patients most often is not to stick to the adjustment time. Some people stay up late at night while taking stomach medicine, eating ice and spicy food. Not to mention 4 weeks, a year of adjustment may not be enough. If you really feel uncomfortable again and again after a month or two of adjustment, don’t forget to check for Helicobacter pylori infection, or pay attention to whether you are too stressed or too anxious recently. Many people miss these two points and make many detours.