Welcome to Oshi Patient Stories, an interview series where we hear from the real people who have found lasting relief from digestive symptoms with Oshi’s virtual gastrointestinal (GI) care. In today’s interview with Kim, she shares how managing IBS on her own began to limit her lifestyle, and how working with Oshi helped her feel more optimistic through personalized, holistic, and empathetic care.
Kim shares her experience with Oshi Health.
How did you feel about your GI symptoms before starting care with Oshi, and how do you feel about them now?
I had struggled with IBS for a long time, and for a while I was just managing the symptoms on my own by adjusting my diet and knowing what my trigger foods were. But I got to the point where it was starting to impact my lifestyle. I wasn’t exercising the way that I wanted to anymore. I always had to be careful about what I did and when I was socializing, going on hikes, or being outside.
So now, I contacted Oshi and I feel more optimistic about the way I’m handling my symptoms because of the medication that they prescribed and some of the tips that they’ve given me.
What tips or strategies have you learned while working with Oshi that are helping you live a better life today?
I wasn’t aware of the fact that there were so many different kinds of fiber. I had tried fiber supplements that I felt like weren’t helping my IBS symptoms, but the clinicians at Oshi encouraged me to try different fiber supplements. The one that they suggested now, that’s a prebiotic fiber, has been really helpful for me, and my body’s responded really well.
So I’m grateful for the tips that they gave me to keep being persistent and to try different things until I found the one that works well.
How would you describe your Oshi experience to a friend who’s struggling with similar symptoms?
The two words that I would use to describe healthcare with Oshi are holistic and empathetic. It’s holistic because the providers are thinking not only in terms of your physical symptoms, but also your mental health, your nutrition, and your habits. They’re really working with you to think about how your GI symptoms affect other aspects of your life.
And then empathetic, because the healthcare providers are really patient, listening to your story, and trying to understand what it is you’re trying to get out of your care. I found that to be really reassuring in my own healthcare journey.
