Hello Todd,

welcome back to the west coast. Supposed to be sunny the next few days. You
coming from a warmer climate I'd think you would enjoy the typical rain here.
;-)

Another wealth of information here.
IBS being a vata disorder does make it very difficult for me to wrap my head
around since I have been treated mainly for kapha and to some extend Pitta
(especially now in summer), so making the appropriate dietary adjustments is a
real challenge.
I have been following a low glycemic index diet, eating chocolate is an
emotional nurturing I am well aware off and coffee may be as well. I am aware
of the effects coffee and chocolate have on my bowels and have been cutting down
quite a bit. The effects of adjusting my habits are quite immediate.
I'm glad you mentioned pot-barley. the last two days I have been on
pot-barley and eggplant stew (though I know that eggplant is heating to an
extend it seems to have a nurturing quality for my gut when soaked and cooked
with good quality oils).
I believe that the cause for my problems is a raw food diet I put myself on
last year, my digestion has never been the same since and my spleen is still
holding a grudge. So raw foods are pretty well out. So are fruits and berries
as they seem to cause bad reactions.

Vamana dhauti I picked up in reference to a yogic shat karma regime, it was
also suggested to remove excessive kapha in the lungs and bronchies in case of
shortness of beath and asthmatic conditions which I am dealing with on exertion
(unfortunately). I find it helpful though try not to overdue it and use my
discretion - no mucous build-up os shortness of breath meams no dhauti for long
periods of time.

Interesting that neem and karela are too cooling though I know that bitter
flavours tend to be cooling and downward moving, so again I'm guessing that it
may not be a good thing to take during bouts of diarrhea, do you suggest to cut
them out completely for a while? I do try and incorporate fennel, cardamom,
coriander, ginger and pepper into my daily diet, orange peel I'm guessing to
regulate qi (Chen Pi?)?
I have been thinking in terms of spleen qi deficiency yet tend to think that
it may be more of a large intestine problem? Maybe both? Which to treat?

I do have a probiotic manufactured by a local (Vancouver) company you may have
heard of: Bio Enzyme. Also grainfields drink with acidophilus. I try and keep
my meds down so I'm not taking these things on a regular basis, are you
suggesting to only use them with constipation then, and to only then use flax
seed or isbagol ?
Is there anything I can use to substitute gan cao in the formula you gave? I
know it is important to harmonize the formula though the taste and smell of
licorice makes me gag, I think that is why I try to stay away from most chinese
formulas now though for years I have been taking them while I was going to a
college of TCM.

I'm sure that a lot of my problems stem from anxiety and emotional problems
which take a lot more work and usually longer to get identified and to be worked
with. Working on it. Meanwhile this IBS thing is doing whatever it can to grab
hold and distract me from what really needs to be dealt with. Loss of control,
heavy wood issues, aren't they?

Thank you for all your input, I will try to implement whatever I can.
Claudia.

hi claudia

IBS relates to a disturbance in the enteric nervous system (ENS) in the
colon, and thus is a vata disorder