6-WEEK NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR-LED PROGRAM
How to Stop Chronic Bloating
Have IBS? Reset Your Gut Health and Finally Beat the Bloat
That chronic bloated feeling? It's the pits.
If you’ve received a diagnosis of IBS and are grappling with the persistent discomfort of chronic bloating, then naturopathic care is tailor-made for you.
As Naturopathic Doctors, we see this scenario a lot in practice: someone dealing with chronic bloating, gas and stool changes, who has done all the testing with their medical doctor to rule out crohn’s, colitis, celiac, etc, but everything appears to be normal. They were then given a diagnosis of IBS, given a handout for the low FODMAP diet, and told they will just have to deal with this life long. The patient then tries the diet, they notice some improvement of symptoms, but find the diet is so restrictive that it’s not sustainable. They wind up feeling worse and worse, getting more stressed about their symptoms, and feeling lost as they no longer feel supported with their health.
If this is you, then you deserve someone to look at your case with a deeper lens.
Chronic Bloating Naturopathic Approach
A naturopathic approach will dive deeper into all of the underlying causes to your symptoms, and root of the issue. Chronic bloating can be related to many physiological mechanisms including:
- Bacterial or methane overgrowth in the small intestine (SIBO/IMO)
- Food sensitivities (such as gluten or lactose intolerance)
- Chronic stress and altered gut-brain connection
- Visceral hypersensitivity in the nerves of their gut
- Endometriosis and cyclical hormone changes
- Inflammation in the gut or pelvic region
- Lack of proper digestive secretion timing (such as stomach acid, bile or enzymes not being released at the right times, or just deficient all together)
- An underlying motility problem related to thyroid dysfunction, medications, stress, etc
- A weakened immune system allowing for overgrowths of bacteria to thrive
- A history of frequent antibiotic use
- A history of recent food poisoning
For a lot of patients, many of the above mechanisms may be occuring at the same time. An initial naturopathic appointment at Sequence Wellness will dive deep into your full body health to see if anything was missed during investigations with other practitioners, and understand the root of your symptoms.
Naturopathic medicine also has access to a variety of testing options if we see fit. Breath testing is an example of a test we may use in chronic bloating, to identify if there is a bacterial overgrowth creating excessive gas in the intestines and causing more pain and discomfort. Testing is not always necessary, but can give us more insight and data if we see fit.
Treatments for chronic bloating involve a multi-pronged approach. Specific nutrition and supplementation can be immensely helpful, and is not a one size all approach. In addition to this, we take the mind-gut connection very seriously as this is often the missing link to many digestive cases. Using a mind-body approach to also work on stress, vagus nerve healing and calming down the nerves in the gut can be very helpful at reducing symptoms long term.
By seeing a naturopathic doctor, you will be able to not only figure out the why of your symptoms, but figure out a sustainable root cause plan to heal your chronic bloating for good.
Your Doctor: Meet Dr. Miller
Dr. Miller is a Naturopathic Doctor who has a special focus on digestion and hormone health. She completed her doctor or naturopathic medicine degree at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, and holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s of science in Human Health and Nutrition from the University of Guelph. Her extensive knowledge of nutrition and her strong foundation in scientific research allows for a very thorough approach to your care.
Dr. Miller discovered naturopathic medicine after struggling with chronic irritable bowel syndrome for many years. She saw multiple doctors with no solution, as IBS was not well understood at the time. To take matters into her own hands, she devoted her master’s thesis to IBS research, and from here was introduced to naturopathic medicine which helped her immensely. Today Dr. Miller devotes a large part of her practice to treating digestive concerns and chronic bloating as it is very near and dear to her heart. Her goal is to blend the balance of nutrition, modern research, lab testing and traditional medicine to get to the root of her patient’s IBS and chronic bloating.
