Call me Crazy

I was about 1 year into my treatment for IBS, trying different medication and diet changes. In the midst of a bad flair up, I saw Dr. Gingold on a regular basis. On this day I was a crying, hot mess and he was not thrilled I was in his office yet again. He said “Samantha, you need to manage your condition. I know it’s a pain in the ASS.” Funny guy, right? “It’s like you get to the top of the stairs and when your symptoms flair up, you fall all the way down to the bottom.” (Little did he know I had roughly 10 more flights before I hit the true bottom.)

The Toolbox

He told me I needed to use my medications as tools to control my symptoms. This would help manage these issues before they went out of control. Great, I had a plan. I had a new medication to try and I was going to learn to manage. Sound like a fairy tale ending? It was just the opposite. Ironically, I had a terrible reaction to the medication. By that night I felt like all the wrath of hell was unleashed on my body.

The Ah Ha Moment

Fast forward another year and I was at a follow up appointment with Dr. Gingold. We were laughing and chatting about how much progress I had made in such a short time. After the unleashing of hell incident, he stopped treating my “condition” and started treating the root cause of my issues, psychological and hormonal. He explained that IBS is a term used when digestive issues are triggered by different systems of the body. Psychological issues, emotional stress and hormoes all play a role. He explained most patients don’t respond well to hearing their symptoms originate from their mental health therefore the diagnosis of IBS. We discussed that it was unfortunate since much time and money could be avoided by having this knowledge and accepting the root cause of the condition rather than giving it a name.

Don’t ask how to relieve your symptoms. Ask WHY you are having them. You can’t treat the leaves without treating the roots.