Digestion , Malabsorption and Weight Lost

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

You should never take Chinese herbal formulas without consultation. On paper many of them will seem right based on “conditions” but that is not at all how you choose the formulas (see “how to choose a formula” and “treating causes and not the symptoms”). To know what you need to take you need to consult with a practitioner and your formula (or formulas) will likely change every few weeks or months and needs to be monitored by your practitioner. And, in my opinion, most conditions will move along quite a bit faster when acupuncture is part of the overall treatment plan as well.

Shen ling bai zhu wan is technically in the “tonify the qi” category. While it may seem appropriate for IBS, and in some cases it is, it is often far too tonifying for the actual pattern that people have. Whether or not it is right for you or whether you should continue or stop taking it is a question that only a practitioner who is deeply familiar with your entire medical history can answer.

All that said IBS and that entire range of digestive issues is well treated with proper Chinese Medicine treatment. If you read our IBS treatment page you will get a range of potential ideas. If there is truly no one in your area we do offer online herbal consultations for a fee via a sister website of ours chineseherbalmedicine.today. There are other practitioners such as a colleague of ours, , who also provide such services. And I’m sure others. Now there are obvious limitations with online consultations but compared to trying to treat yourself with no knowledge of Chinese Medicine whatsoever they would be preferable.