July 21, 2020
How Useful Is It to be Diagnosed With IBS?
Gut issues causing you problems?
Gut issues causing you problems?
Tummy bloat after a meal. Constant trips to the loo when you’d rather be with your family. Stomach pains. And when you’re symptom-free, it’s like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hope it doesn’t strike again at my friend’s wedding.
Your doctor says it’s IBS. Which is a relief at first, because it means that life-threatening conditions have been ruled out! But even after you cut several foods from your diet you’re still experiencing attacks –especially when you’re stressed.
What if your IBS diagnosis isn’t that helpful? What if it’s actually hindering your recovery?
Inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS)is a diagnosis pinned to a number of gastrointestinal symptoms, usually including stomach ache and a change in your bowel movements. The Rome IV criteria for IBS diagnosis lists subtypes that can include diarrhoea, constipation, or even a mix of the two.
IBS symptoms are described as:
● Cramping or pain in the abdomen
● Diarrhoea
● Constipation
● Bloating
● Uncomfortable gas
● Stool containing mucus
● Depression
It’s a wide range of symptoms, and it’s clear that usually, IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion. Your doctor can check for serious conditions such as colon cancer, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that if left untreated may become life-threatening. Your doctor can’t specifically test for a biomarker for IBS – there isn’t one. It is simply a diagnosis made when other options are ruled out. IBS as an “umbrella” diagnosis. This is why a successful treatment for IBS has never been developed, and also why those special yoghurts for bloating don’t help every IBS sufferer.
An IBS diagnosis is meaningless, and it short-changes you as a patient. Too much focus is placed on the group of symptoms, and not enough attention is paid to finding out the reasons for them.
Don’t settle for such an empty diagnosis. You need to find out the underlying cause of your symptoms so that you can treat your illness right at the root.
So if IBS doesn’t exist, what’s causing your symptoms and flare-ups? Because they’re real enough – keeping you on edge, rushing to the loo, or in pain. Your gut is obviously unhappy in someway, and it’s important to find out the reason, and treat it in a more considered and individualised way. And not just to deal with the discomfort but because many health issues develop as a result of untreated gut issues.
Benjamin I Brown’s research outlines many of the possible causes of IBS symptoms, and by thorough testing, many of my clients discover what’s truly going on.
IBS symptoms can be caused by any of the following:
● Dysbiosis: Your gut microbiome is a remarkable colony of microbes that live in a harmonious symbiotic relationship with you. Unfortunately, when an imbalance in this ecosystem occurs, it can lead to issues with epithelial permeability (leaky gut), the mucosal lining of your gut, and have an adverse effect on your gut-brain connection.
● Infection: An infection caused by parasites, yeast, or virus can lead to dysbiosis, increased inflammation in the gut wall, and increase epithelial permeability.
● Inflammation: Low-grade inflammation in your gut can often lead to increased permeability,altered serotonin signalling, and hypersensitivity of enteric nerves. The latter can cause your gut to work too slowly or too quickly, but it can also provoke mood issues and abdominal pain.
● Food intolerance: Lactose intolerance results in your bad bacteria feasting on unabsorbed lactose, which causes gas and bloating. Immunological food sensitivities can cause inflammation in the gut, while gluten sensitivity does the same, but also leads to leaky gut and intestinal damage.
● Issues with the migrating motor complex: The process of your stomach and small bowel moving contents down into the large intestine, which is only interrupted when you eat. When this process is poorly regulated or dysfunctioning, the transit of waste may take longer or shorter than expected, causing symptoms usually related to IBS.
● Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO):A condition where the bacteria in your large intestine “back up” into your small bowel, causing the bad bacteria to feast on undigested food unchecked, and resulting in uncomfortable digestive symptoms.
● Pancreatic insufficiency: If your pancreas isn’t supplying the necessary enzymes to digest the food, it can cause an increase in diarrhoea, and increase inflammatory cell activity.
● Stomach acid insufficiency: Low stomach acid can lead to poor digestion, and increased infection in the gut. Related symptoms include abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea, bloating, heartburn, and diarrhoea.
● Structural issues: Conditions such as diverticular disease or the presence of polyps in the gut wall can cause inflammation and the gut can’t function correctly – resulting in IBS-likesymptoms.
● Hormonal issues: IBS-like symptoms in women are made worse by a drop in hormones. So you may experience worse symptoms in the lead up and during your period, or during the menopause.
As you can see, there are many reasons why you could be struggling with your digestive system, and you could be dealing with more than one underlying issue on the list. Thorough testing is crucial to finding the cause or causes. As there are so many different mechanisms that could cause your symptoms, there’s no magic bullet cure to treat “IBS”.
Stress and IBS are often linked together – you may have experienced increased trips to the loo when under a lot of pressure. And unfortunately in the past, this link led to many patients being told the disease was all in their heads – if they got a better control of their stress, their symptoms would disappear. Of course, your symptoms are real, and caused by one or more of the underlying causes listed above. But it’s true that stress can worsen symptoms – though only because of the result of stress on the underlying issues.
Increased stress can:
Alongside an underlying issue, one or more of these stress-related issues can cause further discomfort and worry. This is why I place such an emphasis on testing – there’s little point in trying to treat your condition blind.
While IBS is not a useful diagnosis in itself, there are now ways to pinpoint specific care without resorting to vaguely treating your symptoms. I offer my patients comprehensive testing – checking the health of your gut, your microbiome, and looking for undiagnosed food intolerances. I’ve been in your shoes, and I know how frustrating it can be when you’re just looking for answers. But you have my full support in moving beyond an unhelpful diagnosis into looking after yourself and tackling your underlying gut issues.
I have a background in biomedical sciences and I’m a firm believer in ordering comprehensive lab tests. I combine my science knowledge with experience in holistic practices, lifestyle, and nutrition, helping you regain your health. An IBS diagnosis is not the end – it indicates that you need to dig deeper to find the source of your discomfort. Let me be your guide.
If you’re looking for help with IBS symptoms in Edinburgh, or you’reconcerned about your IBS diagnosis, please get in touch to book an appointment– we’d love to help.