How long does it take to treat digestive disorders?

There is no unified standard answer. It can return to normal in as little as 1-2 weeks. In severe cases, it may require continuous adjustments for half a year or even longer. It depends on the cause and duration of your disorder, and whether you have changed the bad habits that hurt your stomach.

A while ago, I met a 22-year-old Internet intern. He had to eat heavy oil takeout for three consecutive weeks while working on a project. He stayed up until 2 o'clock every day and drank two cups of iced coffee a day. After eating something cold, he would have diarrhea. His stomach was bloated like a balloon all day long. After a colonoscopy, there were no problems. It was a typical digestive disorder caused by short-term stress. I asked her to eat three meals a day, with no ice, and drink half a cup of warm salt water before meals, mixed with some active probiotics suitable for young people. After 11 days, she said that the flatulence was basically gone, and she would not have diarrhea even if she ate some strawberries or oranges at room temperature. This kind of food has clear triggers and short duration, and it healed very quickly.

But don’t think that everyone can be so smooth. In order to lose weight, my distant aunt almost stopped eating staple food for three years in a row and only ate boiled vegetables. Later, her menstruation became irregular and her intestines and stomach collapsed. She would suffer from acid reflux after eating something with oil. Constipation was common every three or four days. She took various gastric and intestinal medicines and it would recur as soon as she stopped taking the medicine. This is a long-term bad habit that disrupts the entire gastrointestinal rhythm, and also involves the regulating function of the brain-gut axis, which is often said in academic circles. It took more than three months to adjust the diet structure and help her slowly add staple foods. Later, she slowly added the habit of walking after meals, rubbing her belly before going to bed, and occasionally taking Chinese patent medicines to soothe the liver and strengthen the stomach. It took almost 9 months to finally dare to eat rice normally and occasionally eat hot pot without feeling uncomfortable for several days.

There are two extreme opinions on the Internet. One is that digestive disorders can be cured by taking some medicine in a week, and the other is that the disease cannot be cured and requires lifelong taboos. In fact, both are a bit one-sided. The former situation is actually a short-term mild illness like that of the intern. You can use some medicine to help your stomach and intestines survive the stress period, and it will naturally heal quickly. However, if the disorder has been for several years, and you just expect to take medicine without changing your eating habits, and you still stay up late every day anxious, then taking medicine for any length of time will definitely have no effect. It is an exaggeration to say that you should avoid food for life. The people I have met who have adjusted well will basically have no effect at all as long as they don't make mistakes for ten days and a half in a row. Occasionally eating some iced and spicy food will not have any impact at all. The intestines and stomach itself have the ability to self-regulate. If you help it get its rhythm back, it will be able to cope with occasional "little indulgences" on its own.

In fact, this is like adjusting an old clock. If you accidentally press the wrong pointer, you can adjust it by pressing it twice and it will run normally. If you drop the clock and the gears inside are worn out, you must repair it slowly. After repairing it, you have to be careful not to drop it again for a while. Once it stabilizes, it will run normally.

The first thing many people ask me is how long it will take for them to feel better. To be honest, I can't give you an accurate answer. Instead of worrying about time, why not start by having a hot breakfast today and don't stay up until after 1 o'clock to go to bed. If you get moving first, you will definitely get better faster than if you check your phone every day to check "how long it will take for you to feel better."