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The doctor wrote the mysterious-sounding IBS symbol on your patient record. You already know that this abbreviation stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. However, you still have no idea what you should do with this condition, why it happened to you, how to treat it and… how to live with it.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a disease entity described in 1849, formerly known as intestinal neurosis, spastic bowel, functional bowel disorder or, finally, irritable bowel syndrome. Currently, it is the most frequently diagnosed disease of the gastrointestinal tract, affecting mainly women (70% of patients) aged 30-45 years. It manifests itself, among others frequent pain in the lower abdomen, alternating constipation and diarrhea, a feeling of incomplete bowel movements.
Everyday habits that lead to intestinal dysbiosis
Roman diagnosis
To be sure of a correct diagnosis, doctors have compiled a list of symptoms known as the Roman Diagnostic Criteria. According to them, IBS occurs when a person has experienced abdominal discomfort or pain in the last 12 months, at least 12 weeks (not necessarily consecutive) that has at least two of the following characteristics:
- receded after defecation,
- its appearance was associated with changes in the frequency of bowel movements,
- it was accompanied by changes in the appearance of the stools.
In irritable bowel syndrome, strong contractile abdominal pain is felt during the day, but disappears when you fall asleep. Pain worsens after meals and is often accompanied by a feeling of so-called expansion (usually 60-90 minutes after eating), which weakens or completely disappears after defecation or gas. The pain itself is most common in the lower abdomen on the left side. Often, due to pain and urgent pressure on the stool, it is necessary to use the toilet quickly. When diagnosing IBS, it is also worth paying attention to bowel movements – numerous strands of mucus appear in the stool, but there is no blood in it. You can buy a mail-order test of the intestinal microflora from feces today at Medonet Market.
The patient often has a feeling of incomplete bowel movements, their rhythm is irregular, constipation and diarrhea alternate, or both. That is why doctors distinguish IBS as constipation, diarrhea, or mixed. The form of the stool can change from day to day, or even within a single bowel movement. In addition, these ailments are also accompanied by an increased frequency of urination and the feeling of “flowing over the stomach”.
The diagnosis of IBS is bad news, but Irritable Bowel Syndrome does not lead to cancer development. However, if you notice any symptoms waking you up, blood in your stools, fatty diarrhea, fever, weight loss (although you are not on a diet), or anemia – go to your doctor quickly and get a thorough checkup. These symptoms may indicate the development of a neoplastic process.
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Gut microflora – how do you know it’s disturbed?
Many reasons
Recent studies have shown that 30% of people with IBS have recurrent abdominal pain between the ages of 5-17. Sometimes, however, it also happens that although you were healthy in childhood, after suffering from an acute bacterial infection of the intestine (e.g. dysentery), the first symptoms of this syndrome could appear.
If you live under constant stress or when you are depressed, and you eat irregular and poorly balanced meals, poor in fiber, full of preservatives (e.g. fast food), irritable bowel syndrome will affect you faster than a person who eats properly and lives slowly. Other studies indicate that IBS is common in people who overuse antibiotics and in those who have undergone abdominal surgery.
There are also reports that people suffering from the so-called aerophagy (that is, excessive swallowing of air). In this case, however, simple recommendations help, such as stopping carbonated beverages with a lot of CO2, giving up the habit of chewing gum and the addiction of smoking.
There is really no single identified cause of IBS. Anatomical and physiological studies indicate that in people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, the muscles of the intestines respond with strong contractions (the so-called visceral hypersensitivity) even to their slight stimulation, caused by the mere presence of food in the intestine. This is due to excessive sensitivity of nerve endings in the gut and abnormal levels of serotonin (which plays an important role in regulating peristalsis and pain sensation). In a healthy person, the muscles that make up the outer layer of the intestine contract at the correct rate on their own. In a patient with IBS, these muscles contract too much or too little, too slowly or too quickly, which causes cramps.
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Get tested
As Irritable Bowel Syndrome is individual and has many and often opposing symptoms (diarrhea or constipation), it is important that you get tested. In this disease, doctors talk about the so-called diagnosis out of exclusion, where we first eliminate other causes of the same symptoms to find the right disease at the end. So you need to do tests to rule out other inflammatory bowel diseases: bacterial, fungal, parasitic, inflammatory bowel disease, and finally cancer. The doctor will definitely refer you to:
• blood count (to rule out anemia that is common in tumors),
• ESR test (an increase indicates inflammation in the body),
• examination of stools for the presence of parasites and occult blood (inflammatory bowel diseases, cancer),
• bacteriological culture from the stool (to exclude bacterial infections),
• per rectal examination (patients with IBS have characteristic tenderness),
• rectoscopy or sigmoidoscopy (excludes e.g. hemorrhoids and other anal diseases),
• thyroid hormone tests – T3, T4 and TSH (especially in the form of constipation IBS),
• gynecological examination.
In people over 45, especially if there have been cases of rectal or bowel cancer in the family, it is also worth having a colonoscopy or rectal contrast infusion (shows intestinal diverticula, polyps, and tumors).
The doctor may also order an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and a lactose tolerance test for flatulence and frequent diarrhea.
You can also opt for a mail-order examination for irritable bowel syndrome. It should be performed by people who feel discomfort after eating, have irregular bowel movements or have other digestive system disorders.
How many sick, so many drugs
Because the range of symptoms as well as the causes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome are very different, no single drug has yet been developed to provide relief for all patients. Depending on the form of the disease, as well as your personal tolerance to various medications and diets, you need to find the treatment method that is right for you.
Drug treatment, however, is always a second-line treatment. If it is already necessary to introduce them, sedatives, drugs that normalize or inhibit the functioning of the intestines, antispasmodics and anti-flatulants, and sometimes even antidepressants are used. For example, in the form of constipation IBS: drugs that regulate the functioning of the intestines – Spasmophen, NO-SPA, Buscopan, Scopolan, Duspatalin Retard, Debridat, Dicetel, Tribux; anti-flatulence drugs – Espumisan, Esputicon, Silol. In the diarrheal form, Loperamid, Laremid, Stoperan, Imodium, Reasec, Carbo are used; probiotics – Vivomixx, Lacidofil, Lakcid, Trilac, Lacidozone, Dicoflor and synbiotics – regenerating the intestinal flora, eg Beneflora.
In addition, you can also take preparations of natural origin: Iberogast, Citrosept, Passispasmin, Bellergot, Colonix, Colon C. Recent scientific reports inform about the beneficial effect of melatonin at a dose of 3 mg before bedtime on IBS.
In the treatment of IBS, however, it is contraindicated to use laxatives, both chemical (Bisacodyl) and herbal (Alax, Laxiplant, Regulax, Rhelax, Xenna, Senes) – they irritate the nerve endings in the large intestine, which aggravates the symptoms of the disease.
Psychotherapy and diet
In the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, psychotherapeutic methods such as relaxation techniques, yoga, biofeedback, hypnosis and meditation also bring very good results. Patients confirm that often just talking to a doctor who will explain the essence of the disease reduces stress, which in turn alleviates symptoms. The specialist will also help you to get rid of the fear that you have to be constantly close to the toilet.
The systematic use of the principles of a proper diet is also of great importance. In general, you should avoid fatty, spicy and fried foods and combine the foods correctly: protein with vegetables, and vegetables with carbohydrates. It is disadvantageous to combine meats, fish or cheeses with potatoes, bread and carbohydrate products.
It is healthiest to eat five meals a day, at regular times, in a relaxed atmosphere. Use fruit and fresh juices no later than half an hour before a meal.
In the form of constipation IBS, limit your intake of cocoa, coffee and alcohol, and drink more fluids and consume fiber-containing foods (30-50 g per day), such as bran, groats, beetroot, and wholemeal bread. But if you have the diarrheal form of the disease, you should avoid high-fiber foods.
In case of flatulence, exclude from the menu: broad beans, beans, cabbage, carbonated drinks, beer, apple and grape juice. If your stomach hurts after eating a meal, reduce the amount of fat in your diet and eat more protein. With lactose (milk) intolerance, you can reach for yoghurts and kefirs.
In irritable bowel syndrome, you can benefit from the healing properties of herbs. Try, for example, the organic herbal tea Mint Garden, which not only has a positive effect on the digestive and digestive systems, but also improves your mood and helps you relax. We also recommend Artichoke Herb, from which you can prepare tea.
Fear has big eyes
IBS does not require surgery. You just have to accept that your gut is more sensitive than most people. Radiological (X-ray) or endoscopic (colonoscopy) tests performed in patients with irritable bowel syndrome show that their bowel structure is 100% normal. The only thing that changes is their functionality, i.e. the pace – the time they shrink and move food. Your intestines will not be permanently damaged in spite of diarrhea or constipation bothering you, reducing the quality of life, and the disease itself will in no way shorten your life, as in the case of cancer. However, IBS cannot be completely cured and you have to learn to live with it. You have one of the many so-called chronic diseases that last for years but do not die of.
Text: Rafał Jabłoński, MA in pharmacy
Source: Let’s live longer