EP01: Surprising Reasons They Don’t Get Better: Key Clinical Insights for Practitioners

Most cases of recurring IBS aren’t about the gut bugs. They’re about what’s upstream and overlooked.

 

Why do so many patients feel better at first, only to end up right back where they started? Tracy Harrison shares the real reasons IBS, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic conditions often come roaring back. She highlights two patterns that get missed far too often: maldigestion caused by low pancreatic enzyme output (which is closely tied to blood sugar issues) and sluggish gut motility linked to subclinical hypothyroidism, vagus nerve dysfunction, or past trauma.

 

Tracy also breaks down how poor sleep and internal stress quietly derail healing, even when a patient’s lifestyle looks “healthy” from the outside. Is someone really sleeping well, or are they just used to feeling tired? Is their blood sugar problem coming from diet, or from the constant background noise of stress?

 

Tracy connects the dots between oral health, immune dysfunction, and metabolic disease, showing how inflammation in the mouth can ripple through the whole system. She explains why high-dose vitamin D can backfire, how common medications like ibuprofen or PPIs might be sabotaging progress, and what to watch for when a patient’s improvement stalls without a clear reason.

 

At the heart of it all is a question every practitioner needs to ask: Am I offering too much, too fast? Tracy reminds us that real change comes from partnership, not overwhelm. The smartest plan in the world won’t help if it leaves your patient behind.

 

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:30 Why IBS Often Recurs Despite Initial Improvements

03:20 Maldigestion, Dysmotility, and Blood Sugar Dysregulation

08:03 The Hidden Impact of Sleep and Stress on Immune and Gut Health

15:26 Overlooked Connections Between Oral Health and Metabolic Disease

17:50 The Role of Patient Engagement and Expectation-Setting in Lasting Outcomes

23:27 Risks of High-Dose Vitamin D and Common Supplement Pitfalls

26:30 Medication Use That May Be Stalling Patient Progress

 

Links

Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips 

Learn more about SAFM's practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program

Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel

Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/ 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm