Digestive disorders treatment methods

First, medical examinations are conducted to rule out organic problems such as ulcers, Helicobacter pylori infection, and gallbladder/pancreatic lesions, and then personalized adjustments are made around the three core dimensions of diet, work and rest, and emotion. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and methods that adapt to your own situation are effective.

I met a friend who suffered from abdominal bloating for more than half a year. He drank probiotics and rubbed his belly according to the Internet celebrity's diet every day. He spent thousands of dollars to no avail. Finally, he went for a gastroscopy and found out that he was Helicobacter pylori positive. He felt better after two weeks of quadruple sterilization. Two misunderstandings are quite common nowadays: one is to rush to take supplements and recuperate as soon as you feel unwell, and avoid medical treatment. If there are real organic problems, it will delay the diagnosis. ； The other is that all the examinations are normal, but they still chase the doctor to prescribe special medicines, completely unaware that the problem lies in their lifestyle habit of staying up until 2 o'clock every day and never leaving their hands with iced milk tea. Both of them are quite undesirable.

After ruling out organic problems, the first thing you need to figure out is your own dietary tolerance. Don’t blindly believe in the unified “stomach-nourishing recipes” on the Internet. I once had a patient who was prone to acid reflux. According to popular science, eating more whole grains is good for the body. He ate oatmeal with corn for breakfast every day. As a result, the acid reflux became more severe and he couldn't even sleep well. The dietary fiber in coarse grains is an irritant to people with sensitive mucous membranes. Nowadays, there are many opinions about diet adjustment. Western medicine often recommends a low FODMAP diet, which is suitable for people with irritable bowel syndrome who have no problem but often suffer from bloating and diarrhea. To put it bluntly, you should first avoid onions, garlic, dairy products, artificial sweeteners and other foods that are easy to ferment, and slowly test out your own intolerances. ； The traditional Chinese medicine advice of "avoiding raw cold" is not without purpose. If you have diarrhea when a cold wind blows, or you have to squat in the toilet for half an hour to eat a popsicle, there is really no need to fight with yourself for the so-called "drinking ice water is not harmful". I used to drink ice-cooked Americano every day in the summer, and I would definitely have diarrhea once in the afternoon. Later, I changed it to just adding two cubes of ice or simply drinking it at room temperature. Even though I had to go to the toilet two more times to get warm water than others, I never suffered from this problem again.

In addition to eating, small daily actions also have a small impact. Don't just follow people's advice of "walking a hundred steps after a meal to live until ninety-nine". My mother has mild gastroptosis. She used to be advised to go downstairs and walk quickly after eating every day. As a result, her stomach hurt every time she walked too fast. Later, she changed to resting on the sofa for 20 minutes after meals, and then slowly walking half a circle around the neighborhood. It was much more comfortable. The impact of staying up late is really bigger than you think. A while ago, I stayed up until 2 a.m. for a week to work on a project. During that week, I was not only constipated, my mouth felt bitter, and everything I ate tasted tasteless. Later, I moved the unfinished work to 6 a.m. to do it, making sure to fall asleep before 12 a.m., and within a week my digestion was back on track.

Oh, by the way, don’t think that the stomach is just a bag for food, it is actually a standard emotional organ. There used to be a girl in the same department who would suffer from stomachache when she had to report at the end of the quarter. She had a gastroscopy and a colonoscopy and there were no problems. In fact, it was stress that affected the digestive function through the brain-gut axis. In Chinese medicine, the saying "worry hurts the spleen" is actually the same principle. You don’t have to force yourself to meditate every day to relieve stress. When your stomach is really tight, you can warm your hands and rub it on your stomach for two minutes, or take three deep breaths. It’s better than holding it hard. I frowned in pain last time when I was rushing to give a presentation. I relied on this method to relieve my pain. It works faster than taking temporary stomach medicine.

As for whether the probiotics and stomach-nourishing powders that everyone is quarreling about are IQ taxes, it really depends on the person. If you have just finished taking antibiotics and your intestinal flora is messed up, choosing probiotics of the corresponding strain is really useful. ； But if you have poor digestion caused by staying up late every day and being stressed, taking more probiotics will be useless. Some people also say that you should drink millet porridge for a long time to nourish your stomach. I had a relative who had stomach discomfort and drank porridge for half a year. Later, he couldn't digest some fried and hard vegetables. In fact, eating too soft food for a long time will degrade the digestive ability of the stomach, which is not worth the gain.

To be honest, digestive disorders are the most "recognizable" problems. For others, eating multigrain rice that is comfortable for you may be the culprit of acid reflux. For you, eating probiotics that are useful for others may cause bloating. Don't copy other people's homework. Pay more attention to it and remember what you eat to feel comfortable and what makes you uncomfortable. This is more effective than any internet celebrity's prescription. If you are really unsure, see a regular gastroenterologist or Chinese medicine practitioner. Don’t buy a bunch of health supplements and stuff them in, which will put a burden on your stomach.