Ways To Help Ease IBS Symptoms

Feel like there are days when you’re living on the porcelain throne?? Welcome to the world of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a chronic disorder that affects your large intestine, triggering symptoms like cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea and/or constipation. Yes, IBS can cause constipation too.

It’s the most common GI disorder world wide with some studies estimating 10-15% of people struggling with it. About 2/3 of sufferers are women, because gut hormones can be influenced by reproductive hormones, according to the Mount Sinai Gastrointestinal Motility Center in NYC.

Over the last couple years, new treatments and therapies have cropped up to treat this disease.

Lets look at the strategies and alternative therapies that can help bring relief without causing further problems for chronic sufferers.

SETTING A SLEEP SCHEDULE:

Its not enough to get your 7 hours of zz’s a night. You need to keep a consistent sleep-wake schedule. Those who worked shift work or rotating shifts are more likely to experience IBS, according to a Michigan study. However, this isn’t surprising seeing that all of your bodily functions- including your gut- are governed by your biological clock (which also falls in line with your methylation cycles), so throwing it off may trigger symptoms. If you’re traveling across time zones, taking a melatonin (if tolerated) at bedtime can help both regulate the body clock and lessen IBS symptoms.

EXERCISE:

Ramping up your activity level may not only improve IBS symptoms but also appears to reduce the related symptoms like depression, fatigue and anxiety according to a Swedish study. Exercise raises serotonin levels which affects your gut. It also increases endorphins boosting mood and relieving stress. Try to aim for 3-5 hours of exercise like walking, cycling, aerobics… or yoga if other methods aren’t tolerated. Any exercise, no matter how low key- is beneficial.

VITAMIN D:

According to a UK study in 2015 - Close to 80% of people with IBS are vitamin D deficient !! However, at this time its not clear how the sunshine vitamin affects your gut, but its reasonable to have your doctor check your vitamin levels. There’s no current consensus on what blood level D is enough, but levels under 20 ng/mL are generally inadequate.

If you’ve ever had critically low vitamin D levels it can even affect your ability to walk, function or even think clearly. If you live in northern regions with long dark winters you’re more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency – along with certain medications and certain conditions can affect it. If you’re low, talk to your doctor about taking a supplement, they may suggest taking 1000-3000 IU daily depending on your biochemistry. Serious vitamin D deficiency can lead to one of the 27 health problems.

ANTIHISTAMINES:

IBS sufferers who took the antihistamine Ebastine for 12 weeks reported more relief from their symptoms, according to a 2016 Belgian study published in the journal of Gastroenterology.

Theoretically, it makes sense, since histamine – which is released when you have an allergic reaction – is also released in your gut, causing inflammation that may worsen IBS symptoms. Ebastine isn’t available in the US, but you can talk to your doc about whether it would be beneficial to take another antihistamine, have it compounded, or have it ordered from another country (ie like Canada).

PEPPERMINT:

Peppermint is a natural antispasmodic, relaxing smooth muscles in the intestines and reduces symptoms. There’s solid research behind peppermint oil and a 2014 study revealed that peppermint oil can be a safe and effective short-term treatment. It can help improve IBS symptoms and reducing abdominal pain. Using enteric- coated capsules can help you avoid heart burn.

FIBER:

It could help regardless of whether you’re plugged up or have diarrhea. Not only does fiber get things moving in your digestive tract when you’re constipated, but it also bulks up the stool, which helps slow down the diarrhea. If tolerated, brown rice, lentils, pear, artichoke, oatmeal, raspberries, snap peas, apple, brussel sprouts, and chia seeds.

ANTIDEPRESSANTS:

Low dose anti-depressants have been shown to help relieve symptoms as well. If you have diarrhea, your doctor may recommend a tricyclic antidepressant such as nortiptyline (Pamelor) which inhibits the activity of nerves in your gut, decreasing pain and that feeling of urgency. If you have constipation, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) like Zoloft can help speed up your GI Tract.

ANTIBIOTICS:

Sometimes IBS can be caused or worsened by an overgrowth of bacteria in your intestine The main med doctors prescribe is rifaximin (Xifaxan) which in clinical trials have been found to improve symptoms after a 14- day course of treatment, with relief lasing up to 10 weeks after stopping the treatment. It was approved by the FDA for IBS with diarrhea in May ’15. However, with antibiotics you have to be careful because you can kill off the healthy bacteria and flora along with the bad, lowering your DAO and making you susceptible to more allergens.

LOW FODMAP DIET:

One of the best ‘non drug’ related options is to follow a low FODMAP (and low histamine) diet. FODMAPS stands for "Fermentable Oligasaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols."

Research has shown that many IBS sufferers (as well as mast cell patients) are sensitive to these types of carbohydrates – including fructose (found in fruit and honey), lactose (in dairy), fructans (in wheat, garlic, and onions), galactans (in legumes), and polyols (used as artificial sweeteners and found in stone fruits like apricots, cherries, and nectarines). Following this diet can be complicated and many IBS specialists now have nutritionists in their offices to help you figure out what you can and can not eat.

PROBIOTICS

Its thought that some people with IBS have an overgrowth of “BAD” bacteria in their GI tract causing symptoms of gas and bloating. Supplements like BIFIDOBACTERIUM INFANTIS (which actually helps with degrading histamine) and can turn down the dial on allergy/mast cell /histamine receptors while enhancing the activity of anti-inflammatory agents. Seeking Heath’s Probiota Bifido supplement contains some of the beneficial probiotics for lowing histamine and helping with IBS. There are many probiotic foods out there that can help with improving your gut health, however these foods are often not tolerated by mast cell/histamine/allergy patients; so you’re better off sticking with Seaking Health’s Probiota Bifido supplement.

YOGA:

Several studies have found that yoga can help relieve IBS. It doesn’t matter whether its Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga or some other form of yoga, as long as it helps wind you down. Yoga appears to help boost serotonin levels, which soothes your GI tract as well as your brain. Poses that may work for your GI tract include Corpse Pose (laying on your back, aka savasana), cat and cow, and child’s pose, Knees hugged to chest (apanasana pose), spinal twist, bridge pose, one-legged seated spinal twist, forward bend pose (paschimottanasana), seated heart opener pose, downward facing dog, standing forward bend, open triangle pose, chair pose, pranayama – which is breathing in and out with your hand on your chest taking deep breaths and concentrating on your breathing for up to 5 minute

Mental Health Professionals:

Believe it or not, the CDC discovered in 2014 that 56.3% of adults with serious psychological distress also had severe joint pain. Now it can go without saying that severe joint pain can CAUSE serious psychological stress, research found that beliefs of pain control and feelings of helplessness, emotional factors like anxiety and depression, and social support all play important roles in how we experience and adjust to pain. For those with persistent conditions like chronic joint pain, counseling can help with natural pain-coping techniques.

HYPNOTHERAPY:

Research has shown that another surprising effective treatment of IBS is hypnotherapy according to a Swedish study published in 2012. They found that hypnotherapy helped alleviate IBS symptoms like abdominal pain and bloating in 40% of patients. For some the effects lasted up to a year!!

The key is the hypnotherapist really focuses on your bowels, evoking images such as imaging your bowels as a stream that’s backed up and you have to mentally image removing that blockage (for constipation sufferers). Guided meditation can also be quite helpful and works similarly to Hypnotherapy.

All of these methods, either alone or combined, can be a great and powerful tool for helping to relieve you of many of your symptoms.

Love and Light,

Happy Healing!!