This video is part one in our Irritable Bowel Syndrome series.
IBS is the most common gastrointestinal condition worldwide, affecting around 13-20% of Canadians
at any given time.
30% of us develop IBS at some point in our lives.
It can begin in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood and can resolve unexpectedly, only
to return later.
IBS is more common in women than in men.
Individuals with IBS typically have a sensitive digestive system with heightened reactivity,
which causes the bowel to respond differently to normal gut stimuli, such as the passage
of solids, gas, and fluid through the intestines.
These stimuli can cause pain for IBS patients.
Other symptoms can include difficulty passing stool, straining, a feeling of incomplete
evacuation, bloating, relief of pain or discomfort after passing gas or stool, the sudden, urgent need
to use the toilet, and mucus covering the stool.
IBS is often broken down into different sub-groups based on the predominant stool consistency:
IBS-D is when the digestive system contracts quickly, resulting in diarrhea.
IBS-C is when the digestive system contracts slowly, resulting in constipation.
IBS-M, or mixed, is when stools alternate between diarrhea and constipation, sometimes
even within the same bowel movement.
Certain seemingly unrelated ailments are more common in individuals with IBS, such as sleep
disturbances, fibromyalgia, back pain, chronic pelvic pain, interstitial cystitis, temporomandibular
joint disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and migraine headaches.
Female patients have also reported discomfort during sexual intercourse.
Work, school, and social activities away from home can become difficult due to discomfort,
pain, and inaccessibility of washrooms.
Since there is no obvious inflammation or physical abnormality in IBS, it has no specific
diagnostic tests, so diagnosis relies on symptoms and ruling out any other possibilities.
However, the history and pattern of symptoms is characteristic,
and usually easily recognized by experienced practitioners.
Researchers don’t know for sure what causes IBS, but there are some theories about factors
that could influence IBS symptoms, including: acute infection or inflammation of the intestine,
such as traveller’s diarrhea, which may precede onset of IBS symptoms,
physical and/or emotional stress, dietary issues such as food allergies or sensitivities,
or poor eating patterns, antibiotic use
sensitivities to hormones produced in the body, particularly for women,
bile acid malabsorption,
abnormalities in gastrointestinal secretions, and/or digestive muscle contractions (peristalsis).
Treatment for IBS is as individual as the symptoms of the disease itself.
Each patient will have a different reaction to various foods and medications, so it is
important to monitor what does and does not work for you.
You might be able to reduce the symptoms of IBS by making certain dietary and lifestyle
modifications.
Some possibilities include avoiding certain types of carbohydrates, getting
enough fibre and liquids, reducing stress, physiotherapy, and consuming specific probiotics
or medications.
Please watch our video on IBS Treatments for more details.
With proper treatment, many patients with IBS can look forward to a significant improvement
in their condition.
Statistics show that approximately 10% of IBS patients get better each year, although
a different 10% will develop the condition, keeping the percentage of people in the population
with IBS constant at any given time.
IBS remains a condition that can seriously compromise an individual’s quality of life
and, regrettably, not everyone with IBS will become symptom-free.
In most cases, treatment will be ongoing and individualized.
However, IBS is a distinct condition and does not develop into anything else
such as cancer, Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis.
I’m Dr. James Gray.
On behalf of the Medical Advisory Council of the Gastrointestinal Society,
thanks for watching.
For more information on IBS, please search for topics on www.badgut.org.