She had given up.  All she could do was eat bland foods and stay at home, because she never knew when the urge was going to hit her.  After the last public incident the humiliation became too much, and she vowed to never let it happen again.  Those people just kept staring and whispering.  It was the worst experience of her life.  If only there was some Irritable Bowel Syndrome treatment out there, she could go out and live again.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment: What Exactly Am I Treating?

Discussing IBS can be embarrassing.  No one wants to have a serious conversation about such things as:

• Gas
• Bloating or Distended Abdomen
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Hair or Weight Loss
• Alternating Diarrhea and Constipation
• Abdominal Craps and Pain

These are not always easy things to talk about, but when you look at the research about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), you see that you are not alone.  Many people suffer from these symptoms, sometimes to the point of interfering with everyday life.

We’re not talking about every day, run of the mill stomach ache, we’re talking about a chronic (long term) condition that affects you most likely on a daily basis.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment: Diagnosis

You can’t very well use Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment, if you can’t tell that you have it.  This often misdiagnosed disease is sometimes mistaken for:

• Common Diarrhea or Constipation
• Coeliac Disease
• Bile Acid and Sugar Malabsorptions

With such similarity in symptoms, it’s hard to distinguish between IBS and other gastric illnesses. With no known organic cause, IBS is a diagnosis made only by ruling out all the other things it could be first.  By performing tests such as:

• Occult Stool (blood in the feces)
• Extensive blood tests
• Abdominal ultrasounds
• Endoscopy and Colonoscopy with Biopsies
• Various breathing tests to rule out malabsorption (not taking in the right chemicals)

Doctors can eliminate causes of your symptoms, and then go through some algorithmic (step by step) questions to diagnose you’re need of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment: Cause

There is no known cause for IBS.  There are a multitude of hypotheses out there ranging from:

• Single Celled Organisms (Protozoans and Amoebas)
• A yet undiscovered pathogen (germ)
• A miscommunication or retarding of the Brain-Gut Axis (the communication pathways between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain)

None have been definitively proven, but development of an Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment is being explored for each.   Only through more research and development will this debilitating condition be eliminated, or at least controlled.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment: Treatment

With so much not yet explained about IBS Treatment, it’s hard to say when and what will work to relieve the:

• Stress
• Discomfort
• Embarrassment
• Outright pain

Of this life altering illness.  There are things you can do though, individually or combined, but not limited to:

• Medications
• Probiotic Therapy (good bacteria)
• Diet (Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment Foods)
• Psychiatric Therapy
• Relaxation and Exercise

Let’s look at each one of these individually.

Diet – Diet appears to be the number one way for sufferers of this condition to eliminate the symptoms.  Many IBSers report marked improvement when they alter their diets individually to suit their gastric requirements.  What works for one may be totally different for another.  The FODMAP diet is one of the few diets that’s had wide success with Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment.  It is designed to give the IBSer a wider range of good food, while eliminating foods that are harder to digest and process like:

• Dairy
• Certain sugars
• Certain chemicals

Probiotic Therapy – Simply put, this is taking supplements consisting of “good bacteria” that line your stomach and keep the “bad bacteria” from making you sick.  The most common Probiotic Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment is pill form.

Psychiatric Therapy – IBS is such an intense thing sometimes, it can cause depression. Imagine not being able to go places in public because you don’t want to “poop your pants” in front of someone.  That’s not being glib or insensitive.  It is a literal concern. This would wear on anyone’s nerves, and seeking psychiatric help for IBS is important.

Relaxation and Exercise – This aspect of management of IBS is crucial.  Movement and stress reduction are paramount in putting up a defense against the depression that can come with IBS, so implement a comfortable program as soon as possible.  Some people have even sought out Acupuncture and Yoga as forms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment.

Medication – Medicine was saved for last because it is the most involved, and in some ways the most unproven method of controlling IBS.  Irritable Bowel Syndrome has no known cure, but certain medications can control side effects:

• Laxatives
• Neurotropics
• Musculotropics
• Psychiatric Medications
• Serotonin Adjusters

All are being used and monitored as Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment.  Consult your physician for further details on treatment of IBS with meds.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment: Final Thoughts

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment is an involved, sometimes tricky process.  You can control the symptoms.  It’s gonna take some time and experimentation on your part, plus medical advice and therapy.  Make sure you exhaust all your options and don’t give up.  There’s a whole community out there alongside you seeking Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment.

Which of the following is important to consider in the treatment of IBS?

a. Eat as little as possible

b. Eat as much as possible

c. Seek out psychiatric and stress reduction therapy

d. Kick the cat every time your stomach hurts

True or False:  We know the organic cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

a. True

b. False

Which one is NOT a commonly misdiagnosed illness of IBS?

a. Single Celled Organisms (Protozoans and Amoebas)

b. Common Diarrhea or Constipation

c. Coeliac Disease

d. Malabsorptions

Answers at the bottom of the page!

Eating for IBS

In this excellent recipe book, specifically designed for IBS treatment, Heather Van Vorous has compiled 175 recipes for an IBS diet.  Vorous subscribes to the idea that the days of old are gone for the IBSers.  Gone are the boring, only eat at home, high fiber diets, and here are the exciting alternative recipes that allow for food enjoyment again.

Thoughts

People with IBS suffer enough discomfort already, let alone having to eat food that has no taste or spice.  This recipe book can add some vitality to the dietary life of the person seeking IBS treatment.  With this inventive and original recipe book by Vorous, you can enjoy home cooked meals, deserts, and party foods.  With the author’s help, the IBSer can get back a previously absent part of their life!

Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Secrets

This handy and useful eBook is chalk full of information about Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  It covers a wide range of topics, and provides hints on how to deal with some of the stickier issues relating to IBS.  It covers many of the possible causes and what might be contributing to your symptoms.  It also gives many hints at how to better manage your symptoms.

Thoughts

No one said IBS was going to be an easy fix; it isn’t.  There are however things you can do to help yourself, and what Alison Wyndham has done is collect a multitude of those helpful hints and remedies in one place.  With practical and handy guides on diet, medications, and staying mentally tough, this eBook “hits the spot” when it comes to dealing with IBS.

Answers 1) c, 2) b, 3) a

In This Series:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Foods to Avoid with IBS Are There Any Good IBS Diet Plans? What is the Treatment for IBS? Is There a Good Irritable Bowel Syndrome Diet?