IBS: Living with the Discomfort, Inconvenience and Pain of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Did you know it is estimated that IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, affects between 30 to 60 million people in the United States alone, most of them women? Not only that, but the bulk of visits to gastroenterologists, which are doctors specializing in intestinal and gastrointestinal disorders, are for patients that have IBS. This inconvenient "syndrome" has become not only a nuisance, but also a serious indicator that something is not right with either our diets or our lifestyles and it only seems to be getting worse instead of better.

Most people who have this somewhat mysterious disorder may not even know they have it. They may just chalk it up to having a "sensitive stomach". Some may even think they have the more serious related disorder called Crohns Disease or IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), which behaves somewhat like IBS but is actually a disorder, only to find out they have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Fortunately IBS is a much more treatable and controllable disorder that can be effectively controlled through diet, exercise and even supplementation to the diet.

It can also be controlled - and flareups avoided - by cutting out or seriously limiting certain "trigger" foods for individuals. The trigger food for me may be anything containing caffeine, while the trigger for another may be the consumption of anything dairy like cheese, milk or ice cream.

If You've Got IBS, You've Learned What Your "Triggers" Are

Most people who have suffered with IBS learn throughout their life and experiences to relate certain periods of flareups to eating certain foods, or even stressful or anxious periods of their lives. Believe me, some physicians may disagree with this, but IBS is defnitely aggravated by stress and anxiety. It is not just strictly a disease where symptoms are brought on by foods or drinks we put in our body, but it is actually a very "emotionally connected" disorder for many.

Most people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome will tell you that they notice uncontrollable urges to evacuate around times of stress or emotional duress. This is usually following a period of constipation since most IBS patients suffer the same pattern of constipation followed by sudden diarrhea. Yet other sufferers will experience almost constant bouts of diarrhea, but usually patients report a mix of the two and never being able to achieve regularity where the two are balanced for long periods.

IBS is, to say the least a very uncomfortable and even many times socially embarassing and isolating disorder. Many people with extreme cases of IBS feel limited in the time they may spend away from their home for fear they may have a sudden urge to spend a half hour on the toilet - many times in pain. Yet others feel that it interferes with their professional life and that whenever they find themselves having to cope with the inevitable stressors of a career, their IBS kicks in.

There is one certainty, the occurrence of IBS shows no signs of slowing down, and in fact the numbers of people diagnosed with the syndrome has increased exponentially over the past ten years. What does this say? That just may be for another discussion!