IBS FAQs

What is Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic gastrointestinal (GI) disorder that refers to a group of symptoms that affect the abdomen, including abdominal cramping or pain, bloating, gas, and altered bowel movement patterns. IBS is a type of functional GI disorder in that the GI tract functions abnormally, leading to the symptoms, with no sign of damage due to disease.

IBS can be severe for some people, interfering with work or other daily activities. (1)

Who is at risk of developing IBS?

Anybody can have IBS but you are at a greater risk if you are under the age of 50, if you are a female, or if you have a family history of IBS. Mental health is also closely linked to IBS, so if you suffer from anxiety, depression, or have experienced abuse in the past, you may be at risk of developing IBS. (2)

What causes IBS?

The term IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is used to describe a group of symptoms. Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome include abdominal pain or cramping, bloating, gas, and altered bowel movement patterns (such as diarrhea or constipation) that are present for at least 3 months. There are multiple causes of IBS and this is why Corporate Medicine cannot find a drug to treat it. Irritable Bowel Syndrome requires a Functional Medicine approach to look at the individual issues that can end up causing the condition. The causes of IBS are individual and can include such things as food allergies and sensitivities, medications, past antibiotic use, low stomach acid, and food additives, just to name a few.

I’m taking other medications. Could they be impacting my IBS?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be caused and/or aggravated by different medications.

Some medications are more likely to cause diarrhea than others. Some particularly problematic medications include:

• Most cholesterol lowering statin drugs, such as simvastatin, lovastatin, and Lipitor®.
• Most heartburn medications, including: omeprazole (Prilosec®), Nexium®, Prevacid®, pantoprazole (Protonix®), cimetidine (Tagamet®), ranitidine (Zantac®).
• Bone density medications like Fosamax®.
• Antibiotics and even NSAIDS such as ibuprofen (Advil®) and naproxen (Aleve®).
• Anything that dries you up like Allegra® or Claritin®.
• Antidepressants: especially tricyclic antidepressants such as amitryptiline (Elavil®) and imipramine.
• Calcium channel blockers such as such as Cardizem®, Zyrtec®, and Procardia®.
• Antispasmodics: Dicyclomine® and hyoscine (Hyoscyamine®).

Even we were surprised to read the National Institute of Health (NIH) statement that “nearly all medications may cause diarrhea.” It’s a reminder that all medication is foreign to the body. Therefore we should expect side-effects rather than be surprised by them. And yet, most doctors and most patients still believe that side-effects are rare! (3)

Is IBS the same as Celiac Disease?

The answer is yes and no. Celiac is the name given to digestive disorders that can be traced to a gluten allergy. Many people with IBS have undiagnosed gluten allergies and/or undiagnosed gluten sensitivity. In Corporate Medicine, the understanding of gluten is very basic and, as a result, many people go undiagnosed. With Functional Medicine, the science of gluten is more comprehensive and testing is more complete.

What are other names for IBS?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome has also been called mucous colitis, spastic colon, nervous colon, and functional bowel disease.

Are there different types of IBS?

There are four classified types of IBS, based on a person’s typical stool consistency. Knowing the type of IBS you suffer from can help identify triggers, and determine treatment that will help alleviate your symptoms.

Types of IBS are as follows:

IBS with constipation, or IBS-C:

• Hard or lumpy stools at least 25% of the time
• Loose or watery stools less than 25% of the time

IBS with diarrhea, or IBS-D:

• Loose or watery stools at least 25% of the time
• Hard or lumpy stools less than 25% of the time

Mixed IBS, or IBS-M:

• Hard or lumpy stools at least 25% of the time
• Loose or watery stools at least 25% of the time

Unsubtyped IBS, or IBS-U:

• Hard or lumpy stools less than 25% of the time
• Loose or watery stools less than 25% of the time (4)