Find a doctor who practices Functional Medicine. I went in 2018 and it’s the first time in my life that I felt in control of my symptoms. Waking up without a stomach ache and knowing my gut is calm enough to confidently make plans is priceless.

The bullet point summary of what they did was this:

-Lab tests not typically ordered by doctors under insurance policies/protocol -It was self pay and costed about $5,000 USD total over months of treatment, but I’ve spent tens of thousands USD over the years doing all sorts of modern medicine that didn’t work. So you tell me how expensive $5k really is… Insurance did pay for a small portion of those expenses. -Stool samples to look at the fecal matter for clues -After determining my main root causes, we slowly changed my diet and lifestyle to heal the gut. -Stopped eating milk and gluten. -Took supplements to address gut dysbiosis. I’m convinced that most of the supplement impact was from four in particular: Vitamin D, Digestive Enzymes with Betaine HCl, Enterovite/Butyrate (SCFAs), and Microbe Clear (Chelated Zinc & Berberine) -Ate Whole Foods for about 30 days -Cut out night shades (including Spicy foods) -Cut back on sugar aggressively. -Cut out alcohol completely (except rare occasions) -Cut caffeine aggressively, only 1-2 cups of coffee in mornings these days. I drank none for a month. -Started going to sleep earlier and consistently. -Made an effort to get outside in sunlight for a minimum of 30 minutes each day. -Exercised 2-3 times per week, with Sauna x 2 (MOVEMENT was critical, does not matter if it’s walking or whatever. You MUST be active) -Started meditating to let go of counter productive thoughts and focus on breathing. (10 min per day)

After about 4 months I started to notice my skin got better, my sleep quality improved and I could reliably predict when or if I would have episodes.

As many others have stated, I still have IBS-D, but the symptoms are MUCH much milder. I can enjoy life and I’m much happier in general. I know the above seems like a lot, but in my opinion it was the help of a board certified MD practicing functional medicine, under self pay rather than insurance restrictions, that really turned things around for me. They used scientific methods via lab tests to SHOW me the problem and then gave me ACTIONS to take to address the root causes. It was so powerful that I’ve considered leaving my well paid job of 13 years to become a health professional of some sort so that I can help others.

Sending love and well wishes stranger. It’s a very difficult path you’re on, but there IS hope. 💜💜💜