Irritable Bowel Syndrome
------I have had Irritable Bowel
Syndrome (IBS) all my life. I serve as a moderator for one of two
yahoo IBS lists on the net. What is IBS? Irritable bowel
syndrome, or IBS, is a problem that affects mainly the bowel,* which
is also called the large intestine. The bowel is the part of the
digestive system that digests and stores stool. The word syndrome
means
a group of symptoms. IBS is a syndrome because it can cause several
symptoms. For example, IBS causes cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea,
and constipation. It is a syndrome and not a disease. It will not
cause death or cancer. I am still alive, after 60 years with it, and I
don't expect it not kill me.
------Don't buy into the business
that stress or anxiety causes or has caused you to have IBS. That is
the stupidest rumor on the Internet. No one knows for sure what cause
one person to have IBS and another one who doesn't. IBS will not lead
to cancer or ulcerative colitus and hasn't much to do with the colon,
eg. spastic colon. It does have to do with the larger or small
intestines, getting out of hand when food moves through them. IBS
will definitely not kill you, because I have had it all my life, and
that is over a half century. Do I sound dead to you?
------Is adding bulk the simple
answer? No. Any one who says that, doesn't have IBS. Could adding bulk
be part of a complex answer? Maybe yes. Maybe know. I wouldn't
recommend you taking flax meal. From first hand experience, and a
close to death experience, I can tell you with all honesty, that flax
meal won't work. But those of us who have IBS, big time bad, ...
every time we have a bad IBS episode, it is a close to death
experience.
------Go to revolutionhealth.com and see
if you can find a much longer article about my IBS. I have spent the
last 4 days with, what I call, my big time IBS rash. Yep. It can even
cause problems in other areas as well.
------IBS is no laughing matter. To
those who have painful IBS, the pain is real. Having chronic IBS can
certain put anyone in "a semi-state of depression,"and that was my
catch-all phrase I would give, when someone asked me how I was doing.
MY FAVORITE LINK: FROM LYNN
Link to University of North
Carolina's Center for Functional GI &
Motility Disorders. This is a good site to help answer
questions
and find coping skills.
(Basic FAQ's on
IBS)
http://ibscrohns.about.com/od/irritablebowelsyndrome/
(Lots of articles about IBS)
(Check
out the library link)
(Link to an Article on
Hormones and their effect on IBS)
(International Foundation for
Functional Gastrointestinal
Disorders. This group has a link for children also)
(Basic
overview)
(IBS Association has good links for info on new research and
meds.)
(BACK)