Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Symptoms Of Ibs

Question:
Just a quick question, can anyone tell me the true symptoms of IBS? I have been getting diarrhea a lot over the last few months and it appears to be getting worse. I am at the stage of having to watch everything I eat. Can't eat greasy foods at all. Sometimes I get so fed up with it. I have had a colostomy bag for about 7 years after having surgery for a perforated bowel. After a few months things seemed okay, but as I said more frequently I get more and more of the diarrhea problems and it's getting annoying now. Whether this is relevant or not, I do have some problems as I have a son with schizophrenia and another with OCD, and this can be quite stressful, so was wondering if this could also be a contributing factor!!! Anyway any replies would be appreciated. I know I should go to a Doctor but hate going to Doctors and leave them as a last resort (guess there are many people like me on that one)!!!

Answer:
IBS (irritable bowel syndrome, also called spastic colon) is a functional disorder of the large intestine. If you don't have a colon, by definition, you can't have IBS! The classic symptoms include alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation that can be made worse by certain foods, stress, and for women, different phases of their menstrual cycle - or for no reason at all. Other symptoms include cramping, feeling 'full,' gassiness and feeling of incomplete evacuation of bowels. That's the classic list. In reality, few people have all the   classic symptoms; some people may have chronic diarrhea with constipation or chronic constipation without diarrhea. Most people do have pain from cramping. It is possible to have IBS and inflammatory bowel disease simultaneously, but IBS is never serious or life-threatening and never leads to serious disease such as IBD or cancer. There are disorders of the small intestine, including short-tract syndrome, malabsorption, etc that can symptoms such as chronic diarrhea and intolerance of fatty foods. Sometimes if a certain part of the small bowel is missing, bile 'dumps' into the system (lousy explanation - this is just shorthand) and can be helped with a prescription called Questran. Of course, the best person to ask is your GI or internist - not some anonymous internet yahoo like me! In other words, the symptoms of IBS are different for everyone and changes with time. What you eat is the key. Please get a copy of the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Intestinal Health Through Diet by Elaine Gottschall, B.A., M.Sc. and read it. You will be amazed at what you read. I'm very glad that you are getting the book. It will be a bit overwhelming at first and difficult to do the complete diet but it will help just to do a little at a time. There is lots of info on the Internet about the book, the author and the diet. The main thing is the book makes sense. It is different and most people poo poo it but read it several times. You actually need your own copy so you can highlight portions that are important to you. Just by reducing the bad carbohydrates I am doing much better. And, I'm too lazy to make the yogurt but I'm eating a commercial brand, Stoneyfield Farm All Natural, fat free, Plain which I get at Publix a chain of grocery stores in the southeast. There is a great web site where Lucy Rossett, the author of a book of recipes, talks about her symptoms. After suffering for many years she was on the verge of having her colon removed by surgery and she discovered the SCD diet and it helped her recover. You should listen to it. http://www.scdiet.org/6research/radio01.html