It is a disease that I heard about for the first time about a few years ago. irritable bowel syndrome So IBS disease is common irritable bowel syndrome Also known as. I decided to prepare a comprehensive article about IBS after I frequently received questions from my Instagram account about what IBS is, what its symptoms are and how I noticed this disorder. In this article, I present the information I obtained as a result of my research on IBS. irritable bowel syndrome symptoms I will discuss your symptoms, how you can tell if you have IBS, and what you can do to overcome this condition. Enjoy reading!
What is IBS?
IBS Of course, one of the most frequently asked questions about What is IBS comes the question. IBS is the short name for the disorder also known as irritable bowel syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome. Irritable bowel syndrome is defined as a functional digestive problem that affects a person’s large intestine. Since IBS significantly affects a person’s quality of daily life, its symptoms are not difficult to recognize. Symptoms such as abdominal bloating, excessive gas, chronic constipation or diarrhea are the most common symptoms of this disease. It is known that irritable bowel syndrome affects approximately 15% of the population.
People with IBS have abnormalities in their bowel function. IBS, which is mostly detected in individuals under the age of 45, is a chronic disorder that needs to be managed in the long term.
What Causes Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Colloquially, IBS is also commonly known as irritable bowel syndrome. What about IBS or What causes irritable bowel syndrome? and what are the factors that cause IBS? In fact, despite many years of research, the causes of IBS have not been fully revealed. However, I have compiled the information I have obtained as a result of my research from many sources below:
- Abnormal contractions in the intestinal muscles: Our intestines are covered with layers of muscles that contract while passing food through the digestive tract. If more and longer than normal contractions occur in these muscle layers, discomfort such as gas, bloating and diarrhea may occur.
- Inflammation in the intestines.
- Abnormalities in the nervous system: Abnormalities in the nerves in our digestive system can also cause various disorders when stretched due to abdominal gas or stool.
- IBS may also develop after a severe infection or a bout of severe diarrhea.
- Changes in the number of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, known as microflora, which play a key role in health, can also cause IBS.
- The person has a dietary habit that lacks fiber sources.
- Sensitivity to certain foods (food intolerance). Gluten intolerance is one of them.
- The state of being under intense stress.
- Factors such as skipping meals and eating multiple meals are also known to trigger IBS.
What are the Symptoms of IBS?
Again, one of the most curious topics about IBS disease IBS symptoms subject. Irritable bowel syndrome symptoms can be mainly listed as follows:
- Abdominal pain: Abdominal pain may seem like a symptom as mild and unimportant as a headache for many of you. However, the abdominal pain experienced by a person with IBS is different from the abdominal pain we know; It occurs in the form of dull pain and cramps. This abdominal pain, which is mostly felt after meals, comes in waves.
- Bloating: One of the most common complaints of people with IBS is bloating. Because gas in IBS patients cannot be removed from the intestines, it causes serious discomfort to the person. Tightness in the abdominal area, noises especially after eating, and gas bloating are among the most common symptoms.
- Constipation or diarrhea: In addition to constipation and diarrhea, a person may also experience bowel habit disorders in different ways. For example; such as change in the number of defecations or the consistency of defecation, mucus in the stool (a slimy substance secreted from the intestinal mucosa), frequent urination and urgent need to urinate, frequent defecation or the feeling of incomplete evacuation.
- Nausea: Nausea may also occur due to difficulty digesting.
- Other symptoms: In addition to these; Symptoms such as chronic fatigue, headache, sweating, palpitations and shortness of breath may also indicate IBS.
How Did I Beat IBS?
My symptoms of IBS are; It happened just like the above. I was constantly having gas and bloating problems. I couldn’t sleep because of bloating and gas, especially after dinner. After a while, I started to feel nauseous. My bowel order was completely lost. I was either constipated or had diarrhea. Overcoming IBS started with completely removing gluten from my life. Later, when I realized that milk also gave me a lot of gas, I started taking lactose-free milk. My doctor also advised me to eat small amounts of food frequently. This really worked for me. Because when I got very hungry and ate too much at once, I became swollen and uncomfortable. Previously, I was eating 2 meals a day. When I came home from work in the evenings, I would suddenly eat too much and have difficulty digesting what I ate. Now, I try to eat 3 meals as much as possible and have a snack in between. This method also helped me a lot in terms of digestion.
How to Treat IBS?
IBS treatment In fact, it may vary from person to person. Because the disorders caused by IBS are different for each person. For example; For people with abdominal pain and constipation, it is recommended to increase the fiber in their diet and stool softeners may be given. However, people with food intolerance should stay away from these foods. irritable bowel syndrome treatment realizable. Foods that IBS patients should generally avoid include foods containing gluten and lactose. Many people have managed to overcome IBS by eliminating gluten and lactose from their lives. “How I beat IBS?” When you examine many stories on the subject, you can see that the person identifies the foods that he has difficulty digesting and eliminates them from his diet. Beating IBS without medication The first step that can be taken is to change eating habits.
IBS & Fodmap Diet Relationship
It is also known that the FODMAP diet has a positive effect on IBS nutrition. The FODMAP diet, which is effective in relieving bloating and indigestion, is based on the principle of removing some foods from eating habits. fodmap; They are defined as “fermentable” “oligosaccharides”, “disaccharides”, “monosaccharides” and “polyols” (Fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols). So fodmap diet; It is the name given to a diet plan limited in terms of fructan, a component of fructose, lactose, called milk sugar, polyol derivatives defined as artificial sweeteners, and galacto-oligosaccharides, a type of carbohydrate found in high amounts in legumes. To follow the FODMAP diet, you need to restrict foods with rich fructose/glucose content, stay away from foods containing lactose, remove whole grain products and legumes with oligosaccharide content from your diet, and create a menu limited in terms of fruits and polyols.
If you have IBS if it causes constipation To improve this, you can include fibrous foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts in your diet. If you have complaints of gas and bloating:; You can try to increase the frequency of your meals, consume small portions, and eat food slowly and by chewing for a long time.
I mentioned that one of the factors that causes IBS is intense stress. Trying to stay away from stress will greatly help you control IBS. For this, you can take up hobbies that will keep you away from stress. In addition, regular exercise helps reduce your stress as it increases the release of endorphins and serotonin, known as happiness hormones. At this point, I can humbly recommend you to meditate. Because meditation helps me a lot in coping with stress.
People with IBS are also given various medications, especially in the beginning. In addition to antispasmodic and relaxing drugs; I know that antidepressant medications are also given. Of course, you can use medication according to your doctor’s advice in the beginning, but I believe that a radical change in your eating habits will be effective and healthier in the long run to overcome IBS. (Since I am not a healthcare professional, I am only expressing my personal opinion here.)
What are the Differences Between Celiac & Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Source: http://guncel.tgv.org.tr/journal/73/pdf/100574.pdf
Since celiac patients should have a gluten-free diet and a gluten-free diet is recommended for IBS patients, I think there has been a lot of curiosity about the differences and relationship between these two diseases. When gluten is consumed in celiac disease, inflammation and damage occur in the cells as a result of immunological reactions. As the digestion and absorption of nutrients will be impaired after this damage, over time, the body will become deficient in some substances. In other words, when celiac patients consume gluten-containing foods, the villus protrusions and folds in the intestinal mucosa are destroyed and shrink, due to allergy. Thus, the intestinal surface area gradually decreases and the food consumed becomes unabsorbable.
There is no obvious damage or inflammation in the intestines of IBS patients, as in celiac patients. Therefore, IBS is defined as a functional disease in which no structural disorder is detected in the digestive system by examination or standard diagnostic methods.
However, the common feature of celiac patients and IBS patients is digestive problems and a gluten-free diet is recommended for both diseases.
You can also write any other questions you have about IBS as a comment and share how you overcame IBS with me and other readers here.