Every few weeks some supposed authority puts out a release about how there is no cure for IBS. It never ceases to fascinate me how people can repeat something that they've heard somewhere else and then call themselves an expert. Well, the experts are at it again.
This time it's out of England. Experts there are now claiming that online advice for IBS is unsafe. They fail to mention what exactly is unsafe about it, or specifically how it has harmed people, but apparently it is very unsafe.
This is in direct contrast to the conventional approach to IBS, which involves absolutely no treatment what-so-ever, or ineffective treatment, or unsafe drugs that are eventually removed from the market (ex. Zelnorm). Or, if you are really lucky, you do actually get some relief, but you are only treating the symptom, not curing the problem.
Of course, there are an awful lot of ineffective treatments and products out there on the internet, and probably some unsafe things that I'm not even aware of. But when the medical system leaves people with no alternative, then what do they expect people to do? Give up?
I don't give people IBS advice on the internet, because there are hundreds of different causes for IBS, and each case is completely different. Making it even more difficult for the public is the fact that the lab work for sorting it all out varies tremendously in quality and reproducibility, making it all the more important that you are working with someone who really knows what they are doing.
The idea that there is no scientific research into the multitude of issues that cause digestive problems is ludicrous. It means that people aren't looking for the answer, or think that IBS is a single entity and is something more than it really is, which is a useless diagnosis that doesn't help people to get better. We follow the research on this topic extremely closely, and we post it at http://www.innatehealthfoundation.org/5_c.htm.
If you'd like to see the article from the Daily Mail out of London, it's available at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1265555/Sufferers-Irritable-Bowel-Syndrome-rely-internet-sites-help-But-trust-advice.html. About the only thing that I agreed with in the article is that IBS can be extremely debilitating. The rest is a waste of time, unless you like to read about how there is no hope for you if you have IBS. It's your call, but it certainly doesn't jive with my experience treating people with IBS.
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