Natural Remedies for IBS Relief: A Holistic Approach to Gut Health

Cecilia, I recently healed my IBS! It was a complete surprise. I started taking thiamine for other reasons. And got this gift of healing, after 30 years of suffering.

I add two teaspoons of water soluble thiamine (either HCl or mononitrate) to my bath. It's like magic -- another wonderful result is newly soft and supple skin. Best of luck to you! (I do take a B complex orally as well.)

By magnesium chloride, do you mean the magnesium oil that generally comes in spray form? I have this and find it to be very strong. How much did you take and how often?

Thank you!

Christi

I have mixed and it starts out with severe constipation and I usually pass out and throw up or feel like throwing up.

Interested but how much of each ingredient?

This new RCT human study shows that melatonin can be very beneficial in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as discussed here :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10131443/

Here are a few relevant quotes from the randomized, double blind, placebo controlled human study :

' Melatonin can be considered an effective treatment for improving IBS score, GI symptoms, and quality of life in IBS patients with and without sleep disorders. It is also effective to improve sleep parameters in IBS patients with sleep disorders. '

' The results of our trial showed that in both groups of patients with and without sleep disorders, receiving melatonin leads to a significant improvement in IBS score and GI symptoms, including the severity and the frequency of abdominal pain, the severity of abdominal bloating, satisfaction with bowel habits, disease's impact on patient's life, and stool consistency'

' In patients with sleep disorders, significant improvement in sleep parameters, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and daytime dysfunction, was observed, while in patients without sleep disorders, there was no significant improvement in sleep parameters. In addition, quality-of-life improvement was observed in a significant number of melatonin recipients compared to placebo in both groups of patients. '

Of interest in this study is the fact that they only used a total of 6 mg of melatonin per day in two divided doses of 3 mg each. A fairly simple plan for significant alleviation of IBS. Also of interest in this study was the number of participants, 136, a very good size study.

This is a very significant and important study, given that IBS is one of the world's most common gastrointestinal disorders and current medical treatments are often ineffective.

Art

I am 53 y/o and tried Turmeric to loose weight and found it has many AMAZING side effects. I have had horrible irritable bowel since I was 7 y/o. I mean horrible. It will bring me to my knees and make me throw up, forcing me to choose which end should be aimed at toilet. The Turmeric not only assisted in losing weight but stopped my irritable bowel/spastic colitis DEAD IN ITS TRACKS - NONE. I had never experienced a day without pain in my colon. OMG it was amazing.

Cindy,

I was just wondering if you have IBS-C or IBS-D?

Art

I was having terrible IBS symptoms along with extreme anxiety. I started taking 5-htp on the advice of my naturopathic doctor. Within 1-2 weeks, my IBS reduced substantially and my anxiety lessened dramatically. I felt great everyday with a more stable, consistent mood than I have ever felt in my life.

According to my doctor, a large proportion of serotonin either resides or is made in your gut (I forget which) so it makes sense that it helped my IBS. When I started, I was taking 200 mg each morning. It didn't help me sleep though, in fact it kept me wide awake. After taking for about a year or so, I started feeling very ill every morning. It took me a long time to figure out it was the 5-htp. However, my general health has improved much over the past year and I have now cut the dose back to 50 mg per day and can handle it fine. My doctor told me my system probably did not need as much now and this is perhaps why larger doses were making me so ill.

I have to agree with Megyn and all of the above comments. I have HSV2 and got this after already having IBS symptoms. However, I also wonder if the herpes virus isn't making it worse as well. :( This sucks! I take a monolaurin supplement which is shown to help herpes. If I 'ever' run out of it, I am entirely constipated and impacted. I found it also treats h pylori and I have symptoms which indicate, to me, that I have this as well. So, I began 2 T 3 x per day of 10 ppm silver hydrosol and this has helped when out of the monolaurin, so has oregano oil. However, the monolaurin, is a night and day difference. I know that going with the protocol of low FODMAP, allicin, neem oil, berberine, and oreganol helped me in the past but I ran out and 'cheated' before finishing the treatment effects. So, I'm on the fence as to what is the root cause. At the same time, it's freaky to me how using monolaurin alone will regulate my bathroom habits (petrified to run out). I only take pellet form. I will look into lysine again but found little effect on my hsv2. Found out about monolaurin through Dr. Neil. Also, I believe if I cut out so many nuts (I tend to eat a lot of these) that this would really help my hsv2 symptoms, thereby decreasing the need for monolaurin. I wish I had a fm doctor to wade through all of this. I will look at Ted's protocol above for hsv.

My friend had been on blood pressure medicines and was unsure of what to do when her doctor went out of town and she couldn't consult him for continuation of the dosage.

I suggested that she take a tablespoon of ACV in water or fruit juice once a day till the doc was back and she could consult him again.

2 weeks later, the doc was back and after testing her told her she needn't go back to the medication again:)

When the mother of a 20-year old told me he's been having IBS ever since he was a child and that they've tried everything including holistic treatments, we decided to try the ACV. Same dosage of 1 tablespoon with water or fruit juice once a day. By the end of the first bottle his IBS was gone. It hasn't come back in the 5 years since then:)

My daughter suffered from IBS in high school. And on my way to London, I stopped at the Boots pharmacy in the airport. They handed me 6 boxes of Colpermin (Peppermint oil capsules) and I am thankful to this day. It not only worked, but after I year or so of taking it, her symptoms stopped. It's 15 years later and it has never come back.

I suffered for years from IBS and so did my daughter. Until one day when I was flying through Heathrow airport, in London, I stopped at the Boots Pharmacy in the airport. I asked them if they had anything for IBS. And the gal reached around to the shelf behind her and picked up a box of Colpermin. (peppermint oil) I bought many boxes and it worked great, so great that we are both cured. You can buy something in the US that is similar. I think its peptic something, but I am sure its on google.

Can you tell me which probiotics you took.

Try to eat probiotics and cut off with bread, cakes, tacos if you have constipation and try to lower carbs.

THAnk YOU! I used to give black cumin seed extract oil already prepared to my son regularly - just to stave off stuff... But I stopped a while back and he has now developed Ibs type issues. THANKYOU for the good reminder. I've taken it out of the cupboard and am returning to using it. We will hope and see. Thanks and my 16 year old thanks you

This helped me out so much. Thank you.

PLAIN GELATIN

I have a remedy I haven't seen listed that has given me my life back.

I got C.difficil after a double round of antibiotics. I took the special antibiotic to get rid of the C.diff, which it did. But 6 months later I was hit with IBS-D, chronic diarrhea making it difficult to leave the house.

I tried every remedy on this site and others. I saw a gastro doctor who offered little help. Nothing worked.

I read antedotally that plain gelatin helped with diarrhea, and that it helped increase the mucosal lining of the intestines.

I began with 2 packets per day (morning & evening) mixed into my hot coffee or tea. I had relief within the first few days. Soft, but formed stools.

After a couple months I began using just one packet in my morning coffee, and continued with no problem.

After 6 months I did an experiment and got off it completely. I had one or 2 loose movements over a week, a vast improvement over previously. I have gone back to my morning packet ever since, and have not had diarrhea in a year and a half.

I mentioned this remedy to my regular doctor's nurse. She mentioned it to another patient who tried it and told the nurse to tell me "Thank you, I got my life back!"

Buy plain gelatin packets in the baking supply aisle of the grocery store. About $6 for 30 packets. It mixes and dissolves best in very hot liquid. Mixed with cold (even a drop of water in your mug) makes a gelatinous mess that dissolves eventually, but not easily.

Try it and let others know it works!!

My husband has basically dealt with ibs-d for decades. He knows Ice cream and raw veggies will get him bad but diarrhea is present most of the time for him.

For the last two weeks, he has been taking 2 charcoal tablets before bed every night. This has helped him very much. He is even eating salad without difficulty.

My gut was out of whack after travel and a stomach bug. Just one dose of charcoal finally got me back to normal. It's cheap and effective but shouldn't be taken within 2 hours of medications.

Juliette

Hi Cathie,

Yes, I found Dr. Axe's SBO Probiotic. It contains “soil based” organisms. If you do decide to order another brand on Amazon, make sure you're double checking who the seller is. Many sellers are peddling counterfeit products (and many are selling from overseas). However, in many cases it is Amazon itself who is the seller. It will say “sold by Amazon.com.”

I believe Garden of Life was one of the original makers of of soil based probiotic supplements. They were bought by Nestle ,unfortunately. So I don't trust their products anymore.

Hi Cathie from Nebraska –

I'm not Marnie, but there was a mention of a soil-based probiotic in the article by Dr. Amy Myers (her own brand) referenced in Sylvie13fromUSA's posting on Earth Clinic. The article is “10 Signs You Have Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)” – here is the link that Sylvie provided:

https://www.amymyersmd.com/2018/04/10-signs-small-intestinal-bacterial-overgrowth-sibo/

On this page, Dr. Myers talks about the different strains useful for SIBO. https://www.amymyersmd.com/2018/02/soil-based-probiotics-best-sibo/ However, a site called SIBO Survivor might be more useful to you.

There is an article on the best probiotics for SIBO so there is more variety to help make a decision. All are available on Amazon.com when the article was posted. https://sibosurvivor.com/best-probiotics-sibo/

Good luck – hopes this helps.

Hello Marnie!

Were you ever able to find a probiotic for your son as described by Sylvie? Thank you!

Awesome!

Could you please share which strains your probiotic contained, how much of each strain per capsule, and how many capsules you took daily? My son had an emergency surgery as an infant to remove an intestinal obstruction, and he lost half his small bowel, illeocecal valve, and appendix. So he needs something to help keep his intestines in balance - being the small bowel that remains is now open to the colon (no valve to separate). Thank you!

If probiotic drinks and yogurt trigger your IBS, then it's possible you have SIBO.

I suffered from IBS for years, becoming more and more of a shut-in because I couldn't go anywhere without a bathroom close by. I then read an article* that stated 80% of IBS sufferers actually have SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).

If you have SIBO, normally beneficial bacteria migrate from your colon into your small intestine and wreak havoc there. The irony about this is that those bacteria are... lactobacillus and bifidobacillus, i.e., the exact bacteria you find in nearly all probiotics, yogurt, kefir, etc.!!!

In other words, if you have SIBO, all the orthodox remedies for IBS are only feeding it and you will feel worse and worse the more probiotics you take/eat. I'd always felt that way, so I immediately stopped taking my probiotics and eating most dairy.

No more yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, milk, etc., only a small amount of snack cheese slices here and there. Instead, I started taking probiotics, which consist of completely different strains derived from cultured, clean soil and have nothing to do with lacto- or bifidobacillus.

Within about four weeks, I was symptom-free. It was like a miracle. I still get the occasional bout of diarrhea—maybe once every two weeks—but nothing like before, where I could barely leave the house.

Of course, I can't promise that you have SIBO and that this will work for you, but if you do, you might get your own little miracle.

*amymyersmd.com/2018/04/10-signs-small-intestinal-bacterial-overgrowth-sibo/

Those of you suffering from IBS may want to consider taking Cumin.

I recently started it and initially seeing great improvement after 35+ years of IBS. I just boil 1 tsp of Cumin seeds in water for 5 minutes then strain and drink. I have tried many different things for my IBS and this has helped more than others. There is also a study showing its benefits for IBS.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24829694

I also had trouble drinking water in the past. I just didn't care for water unless I was really thirsty, only I did not get all that thirsty for water. I also suffered from Irritable bowel syndrome badly.

I found that if I take a glass jar (like from a jelly or a jam product and clean it thoroughly, I can fill it with ordinary tap water but I must place the glass of water in the refrigerator (not the freezer). For some reason I love the water cold? Then I can drink it like crazy! But remember that the cold water can give you a sore throat so allow the refrigerated water out of the refrigerator before drinking it for awhile so that the water is not too cold, it will still be cold enough to drink and enjoy. Now that I drink refrigerated water, my irritable bowel syndrome isn't bothering me anymore!

Just letting others know what works for me with drinking plenty of water.

I've suffered with IBS D for about 20 years. The consequence of this means going out and long journeys are a nightmare. You have to take a note of toilets en route so you don't get caught out and I have in the past. Spare underwear you have to take.

Anyway, onto the good news. I never say I am cured as this can come catch you out, but 100% better than I was.

All due to the Fodmap diet. Won't bore you all with specifics you can google them. Basically cutting out certain foods which have been tested to disagree with certain people and reintroduce sometime later with caution to see if that particular food should be avoided.

What this has done for me is amazing. Not only has it stopped the diarrhoea episodes, an ongoing problem with chronic coughing has cleared up and I notice my nails have grown longer and stronger.

Of course chronic diarrhea is depleting your body of essential nutrients and leaving it weaker.

This has been a life changer for me so wanted to pass it on to other sufferers.

Are you still taking Biotin now?

I have had ibs d from last 2 yrs. After so many treatments, I found chromium picolinate helps a lot. My symptoms gone.

Kazim,

Have you recently had an in-depth stool test? Not the kind they use to check for colon cancer as advertised on tv, but one that also tests for microbiomes and gut flora etc. Only that way can they see what is in your gut and how to combat it, whether it be digestive enzymes, probiotics, quercitin, etc.

Slippery Elm is the most potent helper to IBS that we have found. It's available in capsule form just about anywhere. My husband had IBS previously and I had never had it up until last night, and I think the thing that I ate that was different possibly was a Stevia/Erythritol sugar replacement. We already eat a very clean diet, and this was the first time I had had this type of sugar replacement, which I thought was safe. Of course I don't know for sure if that's what's caused it, I just know the Slippery Elm has helped me stop running to the bathroom. It also worked for a friend recently

Seems like a healthy swig first thing in the morning would be beneficial too since stomach and everything else 'downstream' is empty and open!

No. You do not. I began by drinking one swallow before each meal ...then two days later I increased to two swallows before each meal. I'm two weeks into it and it has worked wonders for my tummy!!! I now drink 1/4 cup a couple times a day because it helps so much. Literally, it's been life saving. I have IBS-C and it has made all the difference in the world.

If the coconut oil has a foul smell try a different brand. The cheap generic coconut oil has a strong odor. The expensive oil smells fresh and sweet. Coconut "butter" is delicious and amazing, too. It is basically pureed coconut, flesh and oil. I noticed the expensive brand of coconut "cream" I used to use had the odor of the cheap oil, so I swiched brands. Problem solved. I tried baking with the cheap oil and the final product had an even stronger odor, I had to throw it in the trash.

Gertie

For the remedy it is one dose per bottle.

Some folks take more sodium ascorbate, per day as a normal thing. This is based on Ted's doses for the remedy.

In his instructions it is the first dose. All of the sodium ascorbate. I changed it because, "six people" Leaving the house with remedy in hand for work etc. It works this divided up way for us.

Ted's actual instructions call for the Threonine, methylene blue and sodium ascorbate to be dosed first in am. The lysine hourly. I got so confused as to who had what when. 2 people work third shift here. It is even more confusing as 1 third shift is Sunday that is counted as Monday. The other starts Monday but that is really Monday that is actually Tuesday. 1 works second shift. 2 work mornings with different start times. I could not keep it straight. I still cannot. Lol.

So I experimented on myself first. Thank goodness it worked.

Janet

Janet, in your post to me about ibs, you gave your recipe for mixing lysine, etc, with methylene blue in water bottles. Later in the post, you said something about mixing vit C ascorbate(?).

Do you put this into each bottle or is this just a single dose? If it goes into the water bottles, is this the amount/bottle? I assume that this is a single dose, taken once per day and that you make ascorbate so it's buffered and will be better tolerated?

If I don't hear any different, that's what I'll be doing. Thanks.

Gert, I do know about how awful IBS-D is. I finally irritated my large colon to the point of having 9" of it removed two years ago. Just wondered if you had heard of or tried sodium butyrate? It seems magical to me. I take two caps of it three times a day and so far, it's working WELL. I buy mine on Amazon....you can also google and / or watch YouTube videos on colon health and butyrate. Good luck!

Thanks, Janet, I've got some mb on order and will follow your directions when it arrives. Just wanted to make sure. And to the other poster--I have gone gluten free, strictly, for over 2 months in the past and it didn't change anything. I've always wondered--I had chemo as a child (18 months, so I don't remember it & my parents wouldn't tell me what or why--said I'd never get life insurance if I mentioned it). Did that start my problem? Is there any way to fix it now? I'm 60, so I guess all I can do at this point is live as well as I can. But, wow, that ibs d really makes life hard.

Hello, have you tried going gluten free? I noticed that you mention having toast and feeling awful. I would give up gluten for a month and see if your symptoms improve (you may feel worse the first week as your body detoxes).

Gert,

Methylene blue is the most confusing dilution to make. I found a simple instruction 5 years ago. I can no longer find my source. It is on E.C. somewhere.

When I receive my bottle of powder. I add water, to the rim below the cap.

Cap and shake gently. Leave that stand a bit so excess drops out of the upper area of the bottle.

Using the dropper from an empty 2 oz dropper bottle. I fill it. It only fills about 3/4 the way. I put 2 of those in my dropper bottle. Then I add water carefully to the rim below the cap. Leaving room to put dropper in.

I dose 1 dropper into the 4 dose lysine remedy. It usually dissipates its blue when it sits with the whole remedy. I have used a little too much by a drop or two. I have used a little less by a drop or two. No harm to our family.

We have had some light green blue urine. Not often. Never had it gone to eyes. You could try a half dropper if you wish. Taking extra c removes the blue according to Ted. We haven't needed to.

Here is the methylene blue page. Explaining other methods. I did try to make it by cc with a syringe. Then I found the one I use. It works. No after problems.

Janet

https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/methylene-blue.html#diluting

Janet, for the methelene blue--you said 1 dropperful is a dose? A bottle that has 4 doses of the concoction would contain 4 droppers full of MB? Seems like a lot. Also, the vit c is to prevent your eyes from turning blue? If they do get a bit blue, how long for them to go back to normal?

Janet, thank you for your response. I am already doing all the items on the first section, elimination. I will get the items needed for the rest of your post and start that when I've gotten it all. I have some lysine, but probably not enough, and the dhea but will have to get the methylene blue. I may have the l-threonine, will have to look. I have tried everything! When I try something new, I usually stick to it rigidly for at least 1 month and then reassess to see how it's affecting me. Thanks again.

Gert

I know exactly what you mean. IBS d.

It is awful. It has many causes. MRSA. C Diff can be thrown in there. Bacterial infection, Viral components. Mine is from no lower intestine. Surgically removed. My Mom picked it up after her last colonoscopy. Bacterial I think. I could not leave the house, or the bathroom most days. For 5 years She is in the same boat.

Things that helped:

no gluten
aluminum
plastics
fluoride
MSG
table salt, sea salt only
vegetable oil, coconut oil or butter only

These eliminations provide a solid base to heal. Foundational platform.

Killing the viral bacterial component.

Ted's lysine remedy.

These are taken hourly. As lysine only lasts 55 minutes in the body. I make 3,4 dose bottles to last 3 days. 3 water bottles, fluoride free spring water. I pour off about an inch of water. in each bottle.

4 doses of 1000mg l lysine
1 dose 1500mg l threonine, sold as a pure powder on amazon
2 plain aspirin
1 dropper of methelene blue, from amazon aquarium suppliers.

M.B. recipe, It arrives in a powder form in a bottle. carefully add spring water to bottle to rim before cap area, this stains, make on a glass plate. Vitamin c mixed in some water removes stain, if it spills or drips. Order 1 2oz glass dropper bottle, fill dropper 2x with M.B. add to dropper bottle, fill remaining with mineral water leave enough room to put dropper back in.

Cap and agitate the bottle. you now have M.B. solution of .01solution to add to your remedy.

Add 1000mg of sodium ascorbate, vitamin c reacted with baking soda for optimal absorption.

Do each bottle the same. Cap and shake. Mark 4 equal doses for each. Take 1 dose an hour for 4 hours in AM. 1 bottle each day.
Alkalizing drink, the best one for the runs contains apple cider vinegar. The malates it provides help slow down the runs. It also helps constipation. It is a bowel corrector. It has many functions. It provides bicarbonates to digestion where it is critically needed in gallbladder and pancreas. It cleans up kidney and bladder carrying out debris and toxins harmlessly. It improves sleep and sleep stages. It also helps control cortisol during sleep when it tends to jump all over the place.
2 tbsp of ACV in a glass. Add 1/2 tsp baking soda, let fizz, add 1/2 glass of water and drink. 2x a day, 1/2 hour after food, 5 days out of 7. This also has some pain relieving qualities.

Hormones, the hidden culprit in most illness, especially intestinal issues. This has held true for my husband, daughters and my Mom. It does not matter your age. You need correct hormones in your intestine to run everything optimally. First, the devil in the details. Over estrogenation of every living thing on the planet. It is in food. water and environment.

Teds recommendation is DHEA, I took 100mg in the AM for 3 days. 2.5 to 5 mg of melatonin at bed time. Most people take 25mg a day of DHEA, or so but to get over the problem you need more. The first day my problem ended with just melatonin and DHEA. Then 2 extra days to make sure. I take a higher dose because I do not have a lower intestine and long past menopause. 5 days out of 7. Once you are well you can determine better your standard dosage. Quite a miracle.

For piles. 3 different things help. An old baby wipe container. Cut paper towels in half add to clean container. Pour in 1/2 spring water, 1/2 apple cider vinegar. Let it saturate the towels pour off any excess. Use these for cleaning area. Do not flush them.

Soothing pain. In a bottle. I mix 1/2 milk of magnesia and 1/2 castor oil. It acts as a barrier and healer. Apply with toilet paper.

Or a baby organic zinc ointment. Like desitin without petroleum.

2 things I recommend to look into. Vitamin d to get your immunity up to throw off the bacterial and viral things we encounter every day. Grassroots Health on Facebook is a great place to get solid information on it.

Bulletproof coffee. We have had great results with it. It is a great boon to health. Gut health and immunity. You can buy Dave Asperys products or cobble together your own. We just make our own.

When you get past the problem you most likely will be able to take magnesium maltate 250 mg 2x a day. Or use magnesium oil topically. You need it for everything. Especially strengthening sphincters.

Janet

Re: ibs-d. For those of you making recommendations that fix diarrhea, you really need to understand that ibs-d is not normal diarrhea. I see so many folks suggesting to take magnesium (malate doesn't cause loose stools) and I say HA, You wanna bet? EVERYTHING magnesium causes diarrhea for me. Sublingual mg that doesn't reach your stomach, check. Mag Oil or epsom salts that go thru your skin? Yep. ALL magnesium supplements, in any form, trigger an attack. The only mg I can take is via leafy greens. Charcoal does nothing, because it works by absorbing toxins and ibs-d is not caused by toxins, it's a reaction to stimulus, such as stress/lack of sleep/pain and more. Peppermint and calming herbs help but only a little and not for long.

If you don't have ibs-d, then you have no clue what we go thru. For instance, I had to go out of town this week for work. I took 3 immodium the night before my trip, ate/drank nothing after 8 pm the night before and barely made my flight due to diarrhea. I took 5 immodium just to get out the door. When I arrived at my destination I had half a bottle of water and spent an hour in the bathroom. Took 4 more immodium (long drive to my hotel) and stopped several times along the way. Still had not eaten since the night before. Finally got to the hotel, had crackers and water. Several bathroom trips later, I finally got to bed. This is normal for me when I travel. Food did not cause this, stress did. Immodium comes in bottles of 72 caplets. I use a bottle a week. I have juiced, tried all sorts of supplements, gone gluten free for 6 months and tried numerous other things and nothing works. Sorry for the rant but people really don't understand. And add to the diarrrhea, you get hemorhhoids from all the bathroom stops and muscle cramps from dehydration and lack of certain minerals. Headaches from dehydration and not eating. Pain from the cramping. Lack of sleep from the pain........You get the picture. I wouldn't wish this on anyone except the medical researchers. BTW, I've had all the tests and tried all the meds. I am actively lobbying my dr for a colostomy.

Your symptoms sound like mine were when I developed Celiac Disease.

I hope you have found relief by now...I know how terrible it can be!

A simple blood test can reveal If you're a match for Celiac. Heads up though, if you change your diet to gluten free to see if that's the issue you could get relief but at that point the blood test becomes more involved and the Dr's tell you to start eating gluten again....this is the point where I say they obviously don't understand the pain we're in!