Get Help with Your Digestive Health
Girls, Your Body is Not the Enemy!
Let’s listen to what your gut is trying to tell you, so that you can take back your health and get back to living your best life!
I’m Brie Wieselman, I’ve been helping people with complex cases, like yours, in clinic for the last 15 years!
Keep reading and I’ll show you exactly what to do (and not do) to finally heal your gut and build healthy digestion for good!
Gas, bloating, pain, reflux, food reactions, diarrhea, or constipation…
If you’re like most of my clients, the daily struggle with your gut is endless, takes up too much of your time and mental space, and limits your lifestyle.
It doesn’t have to be this way!
Maybe you’ve tried medications, supplements, a million diets… only to be left frustrated, back where you started, with uncomfortable and embarrassing digestive symptoms.
It’s just not sexy to feel so bloated that you look 6-months pregnant by the end of every day, or to hope you won’t have stinky gas at an inopportune moment.
Maybe you’ve chosen to skip social events or avoided dinner plans, unsure of how your body was going to respond to the foods available to you.
Wouldn’t it Be Amazing if You Could:
- Get rid of bloating & constipation, reflux, diarrhea, constipation, or food reactions for good?
- Stop the Google searches and know exactly what steps to take to heal your body instead?
- Eat all the healthy foods that you love, without fear or confusion?
- Reinvent your relationship to your body, so that you can live inspired, doing the things you love, without worry or frustration that your symptoms might limit you?
The 4 Strategies that Never Work
(even though these are what everyone tries)
1. Taking fiber supplemets like Metamucil, Flax, or Psyllium Husk
If you talked to your doctor about your IBS, this is most likely one of the first treatments that was offered to you. If only it was that easy!
While some people’s symptoms get a little better with added fiber, the body reacts differently to insoluble and soluble fibers.
Although your doc was well intentioned, each of these types of fiber can help or hurt, depending on the IBS symptoms you’re experiencing at the time.
Fiber is a prebiotic–it acts as food for gut bacteria.
While this is a good thing in the long run, for most women with IBS, adding fiber before addressing root causes can be like pouring gas on the flames–not fun for your gut!
2. Relying on anti-diarrheal, antacid, or laxative medications (more than once or twice)
Western medication has saved my life more than once, so I’m grateful that we have prescription drugs and surgery.
But medications like:
- Lomotil and Ammodium (which can help slow diarrhea),
- Omeprazole/Prilosec/Nexium (acid blockers),
- and laxatives like Miralax, Senecot, Fleet enemas, or even natural herbal laxative formulas,
May help in a pinch, but most of the time we start using them daily.
This can cause your gut to become dependent on them for normal function. It’s not wrong to use these in extreme situations, on occasion–but thinking that they will solve your constipation, diarrhea, or bloating for good is misleading (or at worst very damaging). These are a band-aid and nothing more.
3. 7-10 Day parasite or gut cleanses
These days “cleansing” is super sexy–while not a bad idea, these kits are just wholly inadequate to solve actual GI infections.
First, a 10-day course of herbs isn’t adequate to resolve them without them coming back.
The main reason for this is that most digestive parasites have cyclic life-cycles from egg or cyst form, into larvae, and then into full grown organism. And not all stages are vulnerable to herbs (or even antibiotics).
Second, without knowing which organisms you have, it’s hard to know that the herbs you are taking are the correct ones for the specific infections, bacterial overgrowths, or fungal overgrowth that you may have (and, trust me, strength of herb matters greatly when you have a nasty year old or longer infection).
Ultimately, it’s better to “test, not guess” to know which pathogens are present, so that an experienced professional can help guide you to the right combination of products, for the right amount of time.
But even if you don’t do that , please never again think that 10 days is enough to kill these bugs because I’ve seen on labs time and time again, that it’s not.
4. Thinking the right probiotic will fix you
Probiotics are one part of many successful gut healing programs, but the wrong strain or wrong amount can be a waste of money and hope because it’s not addressing the root issues of the gut problem.
Research-backed strains of probiotics have certainly been shown to help reduce symptoms in people with certain types of digestive problems.
They can help to influence your gut immunity and microbiome in a positive direction.
But ultimately, just adding good bacteria into the mix stops short of addressing other factors such as infections, nutrient deficiencies, or heavy metals that can be drivers of your digestive symptoms.
What You Need to Do Instead, to Get Better Now
Take Strong Digestive Enzymes
Remove gluten, dairy, eggs, and processed sugar
Find the Root Causes of your digestive symptoms
While the above steps can help you feel better NOW, ultimately, to solve digestive symptoms for good, you have to identify and treat the root causes.
Most women with digestive issues have several of the 7 common root causes (outlined below), that if addressed thoroughly, stop the symptoms in their tracks.
Often, women feel better after just identifying these root causes because they finally know what exactly is causing their pain.
The relief that women feel when they connect a test result to the pain and symptoms they have been feeling in their body is liberating.
In my 15 years of practice, I’ve seen time and time again that if we identify the sources of your digestive symptoms, we can treat them and the issue is resolved for good.
This same approach is what I used to heal my own digestive problems as well!
It’s All About Fixing Digestive and Hormonal Issues at the Root
The key to healing gut and hormone symptoms lies in addressing the causes, not just band-aiding the symptoms.
This means that it isn’t usually a quick fix.
Identifying all the root causes and addressing them can be difficult and confusing if you’re trying to do it on your own.
Partnering with a trained, experienced practitioner can get you results faster and save you lots of frustration.
An in-depth health history and the right lab testing are the essential first steps on your journey to better health.
Many of my clients have 3-5 simultaneous root causes that aren’t easy to identify by just discussing the symptoms they are experiencing.
The 7 most common root causes that I see are:
- Dysbiosis and gut infections: parasites, bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and candida/fungal overgrowth.
- Adrenal Fatigue (HPA Axis Dysregulation)
- Food Allergies/sensitivities
- Detox overwhelm (pesticides, chemical exposure, heavy metals, mold, genetic methylation issues, and toxins from the gut)
- Stress
- Nutrient Deficiencies (especially zinc, magnesium, vitamins A and D)
- Leaky gut
Health issues are almost always a case of “the perfect storm”, rather than one specific cause.
It’s the norm, rather than the exception, that someone might have a parasite, nutrient deficiencies, and adrenal fatigue going on all at the same time.
Want 1-on-1 Help Identifying Which of These 7 Root Causes Might Be Causing Your Symptoms?
In this FREE Root Cause Analysis Session you will meet with my assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Amelia Luker.
During this 15-minute call, Amelia will pay close attention to your story.
You’ll come away with a good idea of which 2-4 of the most common Functional Medicine root causes are likely contributing to your health concerns.
After the call, if we feel that we can help you, the next step is to meet with Brie for a 1-Hour Initial Case History Review, where she’ll do a deep dive with you to get your full health history.
Based on her analysis of your case, Brie will recommend specific labs to confirm your root causes, and, based on the results, will customize a 3-12 month plan to help you fix them for good.
Who this is NOT for:
- You just want me to change your diet, and don’t want to look any deeper. I will not just put you on a more restrictive diet and mislead you to believe that I think that will solve your problems.
- You’re looking for a quick fix–we’ve been trained to think we go to the doc once in a while when we feel sick. Functional Medicine is about lifestyle change, so success requires a series of regular appointments, for period of time, to create a health shift. Length of treatment depends on the severity and duration of your health issues, and may range from 4-18 months. Once you’re better, you’re welcome back any time on an as-needed basis.
- You’re not willing to spend money on labs, supplements, or medical appointments. (Labs may cost $350-1500 initially, and supplements average $200-400/mo depending on the severity or how long you’ve had your health problem).
- You are not willing to make changes– (in diet, lifestyle, belief/thought process, sleep patterns, exercise, relationships, learn new communication skills). In ancient time, it was known that health was based on how the patient lived, not on what the doctor did. This is not an “I fix you” modality–it’s only as effective as the steps you take!
Who this is RIGHT for:
- You’re committed to cultivating inspired health– We’re committed to getting you results, and you need to be too! We form close relationships and care deeply about each person that is a member of our practice. We only work with clients who are ready to take responsibility for creating their health. This does not mean that you need to do everything perfectly, it simply means that you need to be ready to take the steps needed to heal, so that you can live the life you want to live. I may suggest changes that challenge your beliefs about what creates health…please come with an open mind.
- You are comfortable meeting via video consult, working with practitioner from a distance rather than in person, in an office. All sessions are completed over the internet using Zoom, a secure, private video chat platform. If you are in Santa Cruz, CA, we can see you in person at our local office–local appointments are limited.
- You want a skilled and seasoned practitioner who listens deeply and actually researches your case (rather than relying on one-size-fits-all protocols). We love the detective work. Many of our favorite cases are the ones where a client comes to us after having seen many other practitioners. We love to dive deep to search for what may have been overlooked or not yet been discovered.
Before You Schedule:
- We have limited room for new clients, so troubleshooting sessions are for those who are serious about working with me (or another practitioner in my practice) and want to be considered for a spot.
- We do not accept insurance for services or products. Certain lab companies that we work with may provide an insurance option for some lab tests; reimbursement is dependant on your particular policy.
Looking forward to meeting you!
Brie Wieselman, L.Ac
About Brie Wieselman, LAc, MTCM
Brie Wieselman, LAc, is passionate about empowering women with the knowledge and tools to reverse their health concerns so that they can focus their energy on positively impacting the world around them, in their own unique way.
Using her programs that integrate Functional Medicine and Chinese Medicine approaches, she has helped hundreds of clients living anywhere from Dubai and New Zealand to California, providing them with a personalized road map for understanding and transforming their health.
She currently practices virtually at www.BrieWieselman.com, and is the director of her integrative clinic in Santa Cruz, CA.
What People Say
“I thank my lucky stars to have found someone as knowledgeable as Brie. While I was initially skeptical that an acupuncturist practicing on-line could possibly help me, she easily got to the root cause of my symptoms, when medical doctors and naturopath were clueless.”
~M.M.
“My health and body were slowly deteriorating after one of my worst flare-ups of my life. Intestinal bleeding for 7+ months + steroids left my entire body a mess — hormone imbalance, adrenal fatigue, depression, anxiety, etc. So glad I started working with Brie! Her prescription of a chinese herb formula made the bleeding stop magically. With the inflammation subdued I was pretty shocked that after just 1 week of following her protocols I already felt 50% better.”
~Laura N.
“Working with Brie has helped me to peel back the layers and support my body while removing gut infections, addressing dysbiosis, and working toward restoring balance in my hormones and energy. The functional medicine approach has truly shifted my health and I’m forever grateful to have found it. Brie provides sound protocols based on her research and experience, and will problem solve through anything that comes up along the way. She has, above and beyond, been the most helpful, encouraging, and knowledgeable person I’ve worked with.”
~G.D.
“While crashing into my own emotional and physical rock bottom, you brought me to a place of healing beyond my comprehension. Though my health is an ever improving landscape, the light at the end of the tunnel is very bright, indeed. I will forever be in your debt. I believe in your work, Brie. It is my honor and privilege to spread the word about the amazing changes you’ve helped me make in my life – and those I believe you can make in others’. On the home stretch of my horrendous health conflict, I find peace and purpose – not only in myself, but in the ability to direct others to a similarly successful future of freedom and happiness.”
~Anna M.
Whether you’re looking for help with your gut, your hormones, or both, our team of practitioners work together to treat the WHOLE you – guiding you to a healthier mind, body, and spirit day by day.