[mgi]

I suffered horribly from IBS for over 30 years. I tried practically everything under the sun. I had just about resigned myself to lifelong management (read suffering). Then I found a cure. My experience is purely anecdotal (a sample size of 2). It would be nice if others helped to confirm.

I purchased a whole body vibration plate on Amazon

(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N3L89D4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

In the morning and at night I lay on my bed. I turn the plate upside-down with the side edge pressing into my stomach. My knees are either up (like doing sit-ups) or are flat with a pillow under my knees. The plate rests on my legs and presses into my stomach. I turn the plate on the lowest setting and let it go for 10 minutes.

When I first started, there was a lot of pain in my bowls (from IBS) then it slowly went away. And sometimes it seemed to make things worse. However, after several months I no longer have pain and no longer have IBS episodes (previously I had 4 to 5 a week) and now I have normal well-formed stools. I did not even remember what they were like. No drugs are necessary now.

The plate is heavy (35 lbs) and the movement is fairly slow, so this is a very deep, thorough bowel massage.

I also now run it upside-down on my lower back and shoulders and my back pain has gone away also. Sweet!

My wife had chronic constipation and it has worked for her also, even though she had the opposite condition I had. She is a nursing instructor and likens it to the deep bowel massage her Philippian students practice.

I am a scientist, and an attorney so I deal in evidence. I only have our experience to offer you. It would be nice to have more evidence to back this up. $135 may seem like a lot, but I for one would have paid anything for this result. And yes I made up the name "Deep Bowel Vibration Therapy"

Matt

 

[laylow]

This is insanely awesome. How long have you been good for?

 

[mgi]

I have been good for about 4 months. I have had one episode in that time and it was mild. PS I meant filipino students, my spell checker attacked)

 

[laylow]

Congrats, I hope it lasts. I wonder how it works? Maybe the vibration disrupts some of the bacteria that is attached to the colon wall? Maybe it allows for better bacteria to take hold.

 

[laylow]

What gave you the idea to try this?

 

[mgi]

You hit on my theory right away. The deep massage likely promotes a vibrant microbial community. This also squares with most of the new research on IBS, with it being linked to a thin or skewed gut biota.

I probably invent something every week. It is a near compulsion.

 

[laylow]

In this study it mentions bacteria adhering to the gut wall: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4202343/

The role of intestinal microbiota in the pathogenesis of IBS has drawn much attention in recent years. As a natural reservoir of microbiota, the GI tract plays a physiological role in metabolic, protective and structural functions in the body, while dysbiosis may contribute to several diseases, including IBS[15]. Chronic stress can induce dysbiosis and enhanced bacterial wall adherence, while the interaction between host and microbiota can modulate the neuro-immune-endocrine systems[16], suggesting that stress-induced microbiota alteration of the gut also plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of IBS. It has been reported that the abnormal GI microbiota interacts with the immune system and nervous system, which may cause the GI tract dysfunction by disturbing the brain-gut axis[17]. Now, the emerging concept of a microbiota-gut-brain axis suggests that targeting the gut microbiota may be a viable approach to treating complex disorders of the central nervous system[18].

 

[mgi]

Here is my wife's theory.

Pathophysiologically speaking (nurse talk), The deep massage promotes blood flow in the bowels. Stress is a frequent trigger of IBS. Stress causes vaso constriction which decreases both the oxygen supply and the production and distribution of critical lymphatic and neural maintinance chemicals in the gut.

Did you know the human gut has 200 million neurons? As many as is in a dog or cats brain.

 

[laylow]

Sounds like a good theory. I want to try it. You think that is the best device to create the vibration? I guess it worked for you.

 

[mgi]

There are other ones out there but I picked this one because it has a square end and would press into my stomach but not too much like a round end one would

 

[mgi]

This new one looks good too. Better speed control.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XQ9DZ2N?psc=1

 

[laylow]

It would be sweet if Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Kohls, Walmart, would have something like that. Then it would be easy to take back if it didn't work. But if it did work, if would be worth it's weight in gold.

 

[mgi]

Amazon Prime has a very good return policy.

 

[mgi]

Thinking about it from a systems engineering perspective (one of my vocations) I believe that both my wife's pathophysiology explanation and our microbial vibrancy theory are likely both correct. She is postulating direct physiological causation/cure of the fault and we are further down the effect chain.

The human gut evolved in very different environment than the one it currently exists in. There are numerous differences:

Diet - Natural foods versus modern industrial food

Super loading of sugar in the diet

Chemical - The massive increase of industrial chemicals in the body including pharma

Pervasive loads of antibiotics

Microbial - The move from an agrarian to an urban environment means that the co-evolved transfer of animal to human microbial populations is vastly restricted or changed

Physical - The modern sedentary lifestyle means that the gut is not in constant or near constant movement as it was before

Emotional - Modern stress and depression (this subject way to too large to go into)

All of these factors can lead to changes in the way the alimentary system functions. Probably no single change is the cause of IBS, but together, in mysterious combinations we can end up with a cascading system failure.

So what do you do? My solution is to tackle each of the possible causes, not expecting any to work by itself, but maybe if I change enough of them I can right the ship.

I avoid industrial foods. I drink a fruit, fiber, protein, fat and probiotic smoothie I developed every morning for breakfast and often for lunch. (believe it or not it tastes pretty good, and I have lost the 10 pounds that were aggravating me) I try to cut back on processed sugar. I do not use antibiotic soaps and do not eat antibiotic laden meats. I have a dog. I have a rowing machine. I use my tummy giggler (wife's name for it) every morning and night. I try to control stress through meditation and working at home (I am a little bit social averse. My wife is amazed I am actually socializing on this forum.)

I have kicked my IBS to the curb. I cannot point to a single thing that cured me, although the tummy giggler was the final piece of the puzzle for me. I am content to keep doing all of them if it means I am not running to the bathroom in pain several times a day.

I can point to when it started (massive loads of antibiotics in South America 30 years ago, to survive amoebic dysentery). But that does not explain its persistence over the intervening years. I guess I just needed to rebalance the system, and get it back to a healthy and sustainable state.

Matt

 

[laylow]

I agree with your assessment. I am concentrating hard on diet and now experimenting with probiotics more. This is something I now plan to incorporate. I have a few other strategies as well. I think prayer and faith are probably my most important.

 

[laylow]

Did your wife have pain with her constipation?

 

[mgi]

Only to the extent it hurt her hemorrhoids

 

[laylow]

Matt, what were your main symptoms?

 

[mgi]

Explosive decompression

 

[mgi]

I would start to sweat. Then it felt like someone had stabbed me in the gut. Then the explosive decompression. Then dump all the way to acid. Very painful!