If you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or suspect you are suffering from it—don't despair. There are ways to handle it and sometimes even overcome it. We've listed below some of the most common and most effective ways.
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is something no one has quite been able to explain. However, as the name suggests, it is a condition where someone's bowels are more irritable, which often leads to abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and gas. In rare cases, it may also lead to an urge to pee more often, problems controlling your bowels (incontinence), tiredness/lack of energy, passing mucus, and nausea.
If you have rectal bleeding, diarrhea at night, a temperature, vomiting, constant or severe abdominal pain, suffer weight loss, have an iron deficiency, or have problems swallowing, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible, as there can be other underlying causes. In general, if you suffer abdominal pain and changes in bowel movements, you should always see a doctor to rule out any other potential illnesses. Even if you believe in natural/alternative treatment, it's important to first have a proper diagnosis and know your options.
There are several things you can do to help overcome—or at the very least manage—IBS. Below we have listed eight.
To find out if a food is causing your IBS, you can keep a symptoms journal where you note what you ate and the symptoms (though nothing says that symptoms start immediately after eating something). Or try abstaining from certain foods for a month or more, and see if your symptoms improve.
IBS has been linked to people suffering from stress and anxiety. People who have gone through any kind of trauma also seem to be more likely to suffer from IBS.
If IBS is brought on by stress and anxiety, be it due to everyday triggers or an underlying emotional problem/trauma, it's important to deal with that. Cognitive behavioral therapy and many other kinds of therapy have proven beneficial to those suffering from mental health problems. To help deal with everyday stress, it's also good to exercise and meditate as well as to ensure you have time to be social, relax, and sleep well. Spending time in nature, going for walks, and doing art projects also helps many people.
As hormones potentially play a role in IBS, it could be beneficial to find out if you are suffering from any hormonal imbalances. Women are more likely to suffer from IBS, and symptoms sometimes get worse around the time of menstruation.
Not only can stress be a trigger, but by learning to relax your body, you may also lessen your symptoms, even if your IBS is not brought on by stress. Using a technique where you first tense and then relax parts of your body step-by-step, starting with your toes and working your way up, has proven to help. If you practice this technique regularly, you'll become better at relaxing your body. This can reduce stress as well as your symptoms, as you can work on relaxing when they kick in.
In addition to probiotics, eating fermented foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut helps balance the bacteria in your gut. You can also try fermented drinks, such as kombucha. You can easily make kombucha at home, and if you don't like the sugar used in regular kombucha, you can make it with honey and maple syrup.
Dr. John Sarno practiced medicine at New York University and wrote several books on the cause and treatment of chronic pain, particularly back pain, but he also mentioned gastrointestinal disorders. He discovered that many cases of chronic pain were caused by underlying emotional discomfort. He believed the brain's response was to suppress emotional discomfort by causing pain (a distraction so that the patient wouldn't have to think of the emotional discomfort).
Dr. Sarno also found that while many of his patients were aware of emotional upsets they had been through, the pain didn't go away until they understood how the body had reacted to them. Thus, just being aware of your emotional trauma/discomfort is not enough to rid yourself of the pain.
There is no way of knowing which of these eight methods will work best for you if any. However, they've all shown promise and can hopefully help you overcome IBS—either when used individually or when combined.