Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Ibs Stomach

Question:
I found that a stomach flu bug (resulting in diarrhea and vomiting) has aggravated my IBS. I seem to have more abdominal pains and gas, even though the actual flu has been gone for 3 weeks. Any idea why this may be so?

Answer:
The immune system response to stomach flu bugs causes inflammation of the gut wall.  Typically it can take a normal person up to 6 weeks to fully recover from the inflammation that occurs with GI infections.  During this period foods that normally don't bother them may be troublesome.  Like lactose doesn't normally bother them, but during the healing period it does. Sometimes healing is not complete (in experimental models the ganglion (little knots of nerves) in the wall of the colon can have fewer nerves in it after inflammation is induced). IBS sometimes is initially triggered by a bout with a GI bug (GI symptoms continue beyond the 6 week healing period).  The hypothesis is that in people that get IBS this type of damage does not heal properly and the dysfunction of the GI nervous system either takes a long time to heal, or never does.  IBS has a remission rate of 5% per year, so whatever occurs can be reversed spontaneously in some people, but not many. Your post reminded me of something that I thought I'd share with the group. I got the flu about 8 weeks or so ago. It's been about 25 years since I've had the flu and had forgotten how debilitating it can be. It hit me like a brick (Friday night I was fine and Saturday morning I could barely make the RUN to the bathroom).  Anyway, after 24 hours of not being able to keep even water down, my husband half carried me to the emergency room. They gave me something for nausea and an i.v. to replace my lost fluids. Anyway, what really got me was when I was getting the initial check by the nurse.  She did the usual vitals and then asked me if I had any illnesses. I said I had IBS. You have WHAT? she asked. I repeated, IBS. What's that? I couldn't believe that an ER nurse had no idea what IBS was, but okay, they don't know everything. So, I told her what the initials stood for.  She scrunched up her face, giving me the distinct impression that she didn't perceive IBS as being an illness, but she wrote it down just the same (or she wrote SOMETHING down).  Then she proceeded to ask me what my current problem was.  The first thing I mentioned was the diarrhea and nausea.  Well, she said couldn't this just be your 'bowel problem' acting up?  No, it's not the same, I replied.  How is it different...you have diarrhea and nausea, so how can you tell the difference? If I had the strength, I would have sat up and punched the woman in the mouth. It was obvious she didn't have a clue, but instead of keeping her ignorant mouth shut, she kept on showing her ignorance.  I did my best to explain the difference between the flu symptoms (diarrhea with slight abdominal cramping and nausea and a fever of 102) and my IBS (HORRIBLE abdominal cramps and diarrhea...nausea coming from the pain of the cramps, however, these episodes subside after about 4-6 hours and there is no fever).  She rolled her eyes, but continued writing.  Yes, she ROLLED HER EYES. I'm guessing here, but I think this nurse honestly believes that IBS is just another hypochondriac illness. If that damn woman only knew how painful it is, or how embarrassing it is to even talk about.  This woman is a nurse! I thought of complaining to the hospital, but since most of what I had to complain about was based on my assumption of what she was thinking, I decided just to let it drop. It amazes me how stupid some intelligent people really are. I know what you mean.  The number of people who are misinformed or totally don't have a clue about IBS is amazing... It is especially discouraging that folks who are in the medical/healthcare field don't know diddly about IBS or they think it is in our heads.  This kind of ignorance is unforgivable.  While speaking out about IBS is difficult, we should all do what we can to EDUCATE the public, especially healthcare providers about what living with IBS is really like. Same thing happened to me...it took 12 weeks for the IBS flare-up to calm down...Fibercon helped a lot. How much Fibercon did you (do you) take? My GI said he wanted me to take 4-6 pills per day even though the directions on the label say 2 per day (and 4 maximum). I've been taking 3-4. I take 4 capsules a day. 2 in the morning, 2 at night.