Treatment For Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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About Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome
So do you have IBS or Irritable Bowel syndrome? If the answer is yes then your not alone! 1:4 of us will develop symptoms of IBS at some point in our lives! The question is, what are the IBS symptoms and have you really got them? Well, if you have been suffering from symptoms of abdominal pain over the last 3 months or more, associated with diarrhea or constipation or a mixture of the 2 then the answer is likely to be YES if under the age of 55 years with no history of more alarming symptoms such as bleeding, weight loss and anemia.
It's called a functional disease, i.e its the way your bowel functions, but I think this is a bad term as it suggests there is no cause for your IBS, but I suspect that its more a case that the cause/s have not been found yet. I believe it is more of a multi-system disease as its not just your bowel that it affects. Your symptoms may also include bloating, wind, tiredness, frequent urination, reflux or heartburn, headaches, nausea, period irregularities and much more.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be split in to 4 main types:
1) IBS-C or Constipation predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome
2) IBS-D or Diarrhea predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome
3) IBS-A or Alternating constipation and diarrhea.
4) IBS-PI or Post Infectious irritable bowel syndrome occurring after an episode of gastroenteritis. This form often improves over time.
You can probably place yourself in to one of these groups, but you should always get this checked by your doctor first. Occasionally other bowel diseases such as Celiac disease, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns disease), chronic infections such as Giardiasis, Lactose intolerance, Diverticular disease and rarely Colon cancer early symptoms may underlie your symptoms. Your doctor will be able to help confirm this by taking a history and maybe referring you for further investigations such as a colonoscopy procedure.
So, now you know you definitely have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, so what can you do about it? You may have heard some people say "Its all in your head" or "you just have to put up with it", BUT is this really true? Well the answer is NO its not in your head and NO you don't have to just put up with it. There are many ways of helping to improve your symptoms so read on and I will help you with this.......
It's called a functional disease, i.e its the way your bowel functions, but I think this is a bad term as it suggests there is no cause for your IBS, but I suspect that its more a case that the cause/s have not been found yet. I believe it is more of a multi-system disease as its not just your bowel that it affects. Your symptoms may also include bloating, wind, tiredness, frequent urination, reflux or heartburn, headaches, nausea, period irregularities and much more.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be split in to 4 main types:
1) IBS-C or Constipation predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome
2) IBS-D or Diarrhea predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome
3) IBS-A or Alternating constipation and diarrhea.
4) IBS-PI or Post Infectious irritable bowel syndrome occurring after an episode of gastroenteritis. This form often improves over time.
You can probably place yourself in to one of these groups, but you should always get this checked by your doctor first. Occasionally other bowel diseases such as Celiac disease, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns disease), chronic infections such as Giardiasis, Lactose intolerance, Diverticular disease and rarely Colon cancer early symptoms may underlie your symptoms. Your doctor will be able to help confirm this by taking a history and maybe referring you for further investigations such as a colonoscopy procedure.
So, now you know you definitely have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, so what can you do about it? You may have heard some people say "Its all in your head" or "you just have to put up with it", BUT is this really true? Well the answer is NO its not in your head and NO you don't have to just put up with it. There are many ways of helping to improve your symptoms so read on and I will help you with this.......
Treatment For IBS
So, what are the treatment options for your Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Well, the answer is there are a lot! But, do they work and which treatment for IBS is best for you?
I am going to take you through a number of treatment options and discuss whether they may benefit your IBS. Each has there own benefits, but ultimately it may be a case of trial and error before you know what is right for you.
I am going to take you through a number of treatment options and discuss whether they may benefit your IBS. Each has there own benefits, but ultimately it may be a case of trial and error before you know what is right for you.
IBS Diet
An IBS diet is, in my opinion, the single most important treatment for IBS. It will help up to 70% of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Sufferers and can be thought of as a natural treatment for IBS. The type of diet depends on the sort of IBS you have and needs to be adhered to. You may not notice an improvement in your symptoms for several months, but it is well worth persisting with it.Sometimes keeping a food diary over 2 to 4 weeks can be helpful in trying to determine which foods tend to upset your IBS symptoms. It is well worth doing and I really would encourage you to look at this.
More recently, a new diet regime called the FODMAP diet has been introduced from Australia. This is based on the exclusion of fructose containing foods (mainly certain fruits and vegetables) in conjunction with a gluten and lactose free diet. It shows a lot of promise in helping improve your IBS symptoms and should be looked at carefully.
IBS Medications
Medications can be used in the treatment of IBS, but are probably only affective in 20% of sufferers. IBS medication can really be split into pain relief and those that help with diarrhea and constipation.Examples of drugs that help with pain relief and bloating include the antispasmodic drugs mebeverine or hyoscine (Buscopan) and the Peppermint capsules (Mintec or Colpermin). Other pain relieving options include antidepressants that modify pain. IBS and antidepressants are thought to work on the brain-gut axis. It is thought that there is an intimate link between the brain and the gut. Stimulants such as smell, taste, sight, sound result in chemical messengers being created in the brain. These messages result in impulses being sent via the brain to the gut via the spinal cord. As a result, an exaggerated response occurs in the bowel giving rise to IBS symptoms. Antidepressants such as Amitriptyline, modify the chemical messenger response thus reducing your symptoms.
Other medications such as antidiarrheals and laxatives can also be given to help improve your symptoms.
Acupuncture
IBS acupuncture has been proven to be of benefit is some IBS sufferers. It has been around for over 2500 years and works through the use of needles strategically placed in what are called meridian lines. Meridian lines are the energy flow lines and by interrupting them, can affect health.Acupuncture should only be administered by someone who is fully trained in the art and you should always look for a registered practitioner.
Probiotics
By replacing the bad bacteria with good bacteria in the form of lactobacillus or bifidobacter may help to improve IBS symptoms. They can be administed in many different ways including tablets, liquids and yoghurt.
Herbal Medicines
Benefits of herbal medicine in IBS are well documented. A popular natural treatment for IBS, it has been around for centuries and thought to be a safe form of treatment too. Herbs such as Chamomile, ginger and fennel can help soothe the bowel. Peppermint has been long established at helping with bloating and colicky pain. IBS Hypnotherapy
IBS hypnotherapy is a method of placing the IBS sufferer in to a trance and altering the way they perceive their symptoms. This method of treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome has some evidence base and is definitely worth considering for your IBS. Hypnotherapy can be administered either directly with a one to one session with a hypnotherapist or through the use of the internet with DVD's or CD's. RSS: Add your blog
Welcome to the IBS Help Online Blog where you will find articles on IBS and visitors contributions to my website.
by ibshelponline
Hello, my name is Dr Peter Thatcher and I am a Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, Cornwall, England.
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