Irritable Bowel & Bladder
Symptoms
Gas, bloating, indigestion, acid reflux, cramps, abdominal pain (especially after eating or drinking), constipation and/or diarrhea (or alternating), mucus in the stool, liquid seepage from the rectum, heartburn.
Possible Causes of IBS
Digestive Disorders, Lack of Dietary Enzymes, Food Allergies (or sensitivities), Lack of Exercise, Constipation, Emotional Distress, Ongoing Stress, Pinched Spinal Nerves, Fibromyalgia, pH imbalances.
SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) may be an issue if you had a case of food poisoning and have not felt 'normal' since. Even minor food poisoning can cause a bout of SIBO. Treatment is the same as for IBS.
There is no evidence that IBS will ever cause a disease. This does not apply to all bowel irritations, so it is important to rule out other conditions. It is most often caused by emotional stress and by eating 'trigger' foods. These foods may be different for different people, but there are some common foods (listed below) that can cause IBS in sensitive individuals.
Spiritual Psychological causes: Irritable Bowel has many different symptoms and each symptom is an expression of something going on in the mind. When it comes to IBS, there is gut-wrenching dread over something. You are worried, and this may be an understatement.
Flatulence (burping and passing gas) - Something in your life is making you gulp like a fish out of water. There is a fear here, perhaps of slowing down, for whatever reason. Is there an aspect of your life you are having a hard time digesting?
Mucous in the Stool - Mired in the past. There are layers of confused thoughts and you are having a hard time assimilating the new.
Cramps - Fear of letting go of the unnecessary or unwanted in life ( relationships, objects, old worn out commitments, etc.). Holding on out of fear of what is coming next, which may be unknown.
Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Place an ice pack, alternating with moist heat, on your spine. Use the same heat/cold guidelines as with Irritable Bladder. Place a heating pad on your tummy.
Invest in some Multi-Enzyme supplements. Make sure your enzyme supplements have all of the enzyme groups! The label should at least contain Amylase, Lipase, Cellulase. There is an exception to taking certain enzymes and that is if you are taking blood thinners. Those on blood thinners should not take proteolytic enzymes. Please talk to your doctor about the use of enzymes if this is the case. Pancreatin, papain, bromelain, trypsin, chymotrypsin and rutin are proteolytic enzymes.
Watch your diet for spicy or acidic foods. Grain and dairy are the worst culprits for Irritable Bowel. Avoid them when you are having an episode. They aggravate IBS.
Learn relaxation techniques or begin to do some gentle stretches to tone the back and abdominals. This will increase the tone and function of the gut. Refer to 'Exercises for HSPs (Highly Sensitive People).
Do some journaling. Get those feelings out of you and onto paper!
Eat 'baby' food until you are well past the diarrhea stage.
Try eating orange and yellow veggies (not fruit) Eat squash, carrots, pumpkin (etc.) for constipation. Soluble fiber is great, but tone down the roughage.
Switch to using virgin coconut oil in your diet. I have read that people have been helped by switching to virgin coconut oil for their salads and for cooking. The equivalent of about 3 tablespoons per day is the suggested dose.
Take probiotics to restore the healthy flora in your bowel.
Garlic's allicin (anti-microbial) wards off infection and it's quercetin (anti-inflammatory) relieves aches. Eat one raw cloves daily for two weeks, then twice per week thereafter. Placing it in your salad is an excellent way of getting it down. There are limitations to how much Garlic you should consume. It is a very powerful herb. Always follow directions on labels and if you have any current medical issues (high blood pressure, etc.) ask your doctor first.
Please visit my 'Energy Wellness Tips!' page for more information on Constipation and Diarrhea.
For Painful Gas & Bloating
Gas and bloating are often symptoms of food allergies, candida or unbalanced natural bacteria in the gut.
Peppermint is a natural muscle relaxant and used properly, can be a wonderful stomach soother. Be aware that if you have acid reflux or indigestion due to the lack of stomach acid Peppermint can make things worse! In fact, it can cause it. Peppermint relaxes the sphincter muscle at the top of the stomach. This muscle keeps food from entering the esophagus. Peppermint is found in many stomach relieving preparations, including multi-enzymes. If you have either one of these conditions, use Peppermint in capsule form so that it will bypass the throat and upper stomach and go directly to where it is needed to soothe intestinal pain. If bloated, you can also drink Peppermint tea or suck on a Peppermint candy.
Chew 1/2 Teaspoon of Fennel seeds at the end of a meal. make sure you have some water with it so it doesn't bulk up in one spot in your gut.
Use 'Beano', which is a plant-derived enzyme available at most stores. Better yet, take multi-enzymes!
Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda in an 8-ounce glass of water and drink it down. I know, yuck! But, it can help!
A little emergency seltzer water can help in moving gas bubbles along too! For more information on enzymes and their role in good health, visit 'Eating, Naturally!'.
Have any grapefruit around? Take some grapefruit peel and place it in a glass of hot water. Drink it like tea. It helps keep burps away.
Treatment for Heartburn & Indigestion
Heartburn is not your heart hurting, even though it feels like it. It is the result of the sphincter muscle at the top of your stomach being too relaxed, which allows stomach acids and food particles to move up into the bottom of your esophagus. This causes a burning sensation.
Do not drink fluids with your meal. It slows digestion. Drink some before hand and some at least 20-40 minutes after. Fluids disturb and wash away enzymes.
To improve digestion, improve mood and mental clarity, and increase healthy bacteria in the gut, take Probiotics.
Do not use Peppermint unless it is in capsule form and can bypass the esophagus and the upper stomach. It will relax the stomach's sphincter muscle and make heartburn worse. More on Peppermint above under 'Gas & Bloating'.
I do not recommend antacids, but when they are necessary (for severe pain associated with gas), a fast acting one for gas pain is Rolaids Multi-Symptom, or Digel (hard to find). Most people with indigestion have too little stomach acid. Antacids make it worse by blocking acid production. It is not the acid that causes the indigestion or heartburn. The discomfort is from the partially undigested food sitting in the gut. Antacids coat the stomach offering some relief, but what you need is something to help you digest the food and enable it to continue further down the digestive tract. This is why I recommend dietary enzymes.
Digestive bitters can help as well. Swedish Bitters is a 500 year-old formula (of 11 ingredients) that stimulate the secretion of digestive juices in the stomach, liver and pancreas.
Something else that may help is Turmeric. It reduces gas and bloating in 87% of all cases. It is otherwise called Zeodary root and originates from India.
Do not play around with Hydrochloric Acid supplements. This will aid with digestion, but is not for those with existing conditions of heartburn, acid reflux or peptic ulcers.
Mix 2 Tablespoons of Organic Apple-Cider Vinegar to 8 oz. of water and drink. Vinegar helps to break down foods in the stomach by replacing acid that some of us no longer have. It also contributes to PH balance and weight loss. Vinegar may also be added to juice. You can do this 3-4 times through out the day.
Drink Aloe vera juice, not gel, to heal the lower esophageal sphincter and soothes mucous membranes. It also make for a great digestive aid and helps with heartburn, IBS and acid reflux. Don't use the plant! It contains natural chemicals that will give you diarrhea. This has been removed in store bought products. Drink 1/4 cup of juice 10 minutes before a meal for 6 weeks. Fair warning! It can be nasty tasting, so you might want to mix it with juice.
Chew on raw carrots. Chew them very well.
Are You Often Constipated?
Chronic Constipation can lead to toxicity, and all manner of disease as a result. It can also cause pain involving the lower back and the sciatic nerve. There is an herbal bowel regulator from India called 'Triphala'. It is an Ayurvedic medicine, which is a mixture of three fruits. It tones the digestive system without being a stimulant laxative. It is intended for regular use and benefits improve the longer it is used.
Try swallowing 1 teaspoon of Olive Oil every morning until regulated.
Eating 2-3 prunes or drinking 4 oz. of prune juice everyday helps some folk get 'regular'.
Some Indigestion FYI
The feeling of something stuck in your throat, but not really, is a sign of too little acid. Stress suppresses stomach acid. Another sign of indigestion is having a white tongue (not associated with pain or sores) that seems dry and shows teeth marks on the side. Eating millet or barley cereals may help with this. Very dry tongue and eyes may be a sign of something more serious, but a white tongue is often a sign that you are having digestive problems. You may also be dehydrated.
Irritable Bladder Syndrome
Symptoms
Pain (as if you had a bladder infection, but you don't), frequent urination or the urge to go, waking up often at night to relieve yourself, piddling on yourself when you laugh, sneeze or run, often being aware of your bladder and/or not being able to completely empty the bladder.
Possible Causes
Caffeinated & Carbonated Beverages, Diets Too High in Oxylates, Pinched Spinal Nerves, Hormonal Imbalance (Menopause). Irritable Bladder is often related to Irritable Bowel, especially in relation to constipation and bacteria that can cross the bowel, vaginal and bladder walls, pH imbalance.
Spiritual/Psychological cause: Anger, probably the result of insecurity, has you in its grips. You are afraid of letting go. Blame is part of this syndrome. In fact, you may be quite pissed off!
Treatment for Irritable Bladder
Placing an ice pack over your bladder, or between your legs for no more than 20 minutes, then rest for 20 minutes (or alternate with heat). Repeat up to 4 times and then break for one hour. You might also try the ice pack on your lower spine and tailbone.
Drink pure water, 6-8 glasses per day.
Avoid anything fermented, squash, mayonnaise, fruit juices or cranberry juice (it is too high in sugar, use cranberry supplements instead), strawberries, hot spices, preservatives, food dyes, tomatoes, mushrooms, carbonated beverages, yogurt and cheese, fake sweeteners and dark chocolate.
Change your body's PH balance from being more acidic to being more alkaline. See 'Eating, Naturally!' for a list of Acidic vs. Alkaline Foods.
Don't wear tight, restrictive clothing.
Don't sit for more than an hour in one position. Get up and walk around. Stretch a bit. If you have an office job, where you sit most of the day, invest in a good chair or cushion that is supportive to your 'seat' bones. Constant pressure on bones and muscles can effect nerves that lead to the bladder and can cause pain later.
Irritable Bladder may be related to Atrophic Vaginitis, a result of decreased estrogen or the continuation of a bacterial infection such as Gardnerella.
Irritable Bladder is not the same as Nocturia. Nocturia is the need for sudden or frequent urination at night caused by the release of a certain hormone during oxygen deprivation, and may be a symptom of Sleep Apnea. The feeling is so great that it can cause panic attacks or a sensation of fearing movement and it may it may even take awhile to return to sleep.
Try Kegal exercises once you are healed to improve the strength and tone of the vaginal and bladder walls. You can do Kegal exercises anywhere and in just about any position. No one will even know that you are doing them. Empty your bladder before you do them to avoid pressure. What you do is tighten the muscles of your vagina and rectum, as if you were trying very hard not to go to the bathroom or pass gas.
Hold for a count of 5-10 seconds, or until fatigued. Then, relax for the same count. Repeat. Do a set of 10 squeezes up to 4 times per day. "Fatigued' means that if there is any discomfort, or you begin to feel your muscles grow tired, STOP. You are not supposed to stress and build your muscles, but rather tone them with gentle exercise. Can you do more or do it more often? Yes, but only gradually. Start with the above suggestion for one week. If you feel fine, then you might add 5 seconds to each squeeze or add 5 more squeezes to each set, but not both.
Change Your Shoe Style!
Ladies, if you are wearing spiky high heels, or even heels at all, try wearing flats until you feel better. If your symptoms return with the shoes, buy yourself a new shoe wardrobe in all flats or low pumps. Heels cause pressure build up in the legs that can cause tension higher in the body in the bowel, bladder and reproductive areas. Recently, there has been news that wearing heels actually tightens up muscles in the lower abs, uterus and sexual organs as you wear them. This is great, but constant tension can cause muscle tissue 'tiredness' and pain. If you wear high heels one day, try wearing just flats, or pumps, the next. Rotation, ladies!
For both Irritable Bowel and Irritable Bladder, seeing a chiropractor can help if the problem is pinched nerves. Massage may also help.
May Love & Energy Be Yours!
