Questions regarding "IBS - The First Year"
#2960 - 03/16/03 02:38 PM
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Lorna
Reged: 01/29/03
Posts: 129
Loc: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Heather, I just received your new book "The First Year" yesterday and I sat down to read it and didn't put it down until I finished it! I plan to go back through it thoroughly, bring it to my doctor's office (I've had all the tests you recommend except a couple including the colonoscopy-yuk!). What a wonderful book! I love it!
I have a couple of questions. You indicate in the book that upper GI trouble is NOT a symptom of IBS. I always thought it was. I have GERD and am on medication to control reflux. I got upper GI problems at the same time as lower GI trouble (approx. 12 months ago). In fact, the upper GI trouble was more painful than the lower at the time. Anyway, I assumed they were related. I also read somewhere that GERD was a symptom of IBS (I think I read that on a website somewhere, but I can't remember where because it was a long time ago).
My second question relates to progressive symptoms. Your book indicates that IBS is NOT progressive. I thought it was. Every time I have a flare-up, the lower pain seems to get worse, but since I'm new to IBS maybe it's just what it is that's causing the flare-up???
I'm confused 
Lorna
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Lorna 
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Hi Lorna - Welcome to the board! I'm really glad you've liked the book - hope it helps you.
People can have both GERD or other upper GI problems and IBS as well. But IBS itself is defined pretty much as a lower abdominal problem, as it's a disorder of the nervous system controlling the colon. Often the same triggers (high fat foods, stress) can affect both upper GI problems and IBS, so you could well end up dealing with flares of both disorders at once. But something like acid reflux or heartburn is not considered a symptom of IBS. IBS is defined by what's called the Rome criteria - that's posted in another thread on the boards - you can search for it using the "search" function.
IBS is not progressive in the sense that it will not "turn into" any other disease, like colon cancer. It's also not progressive as inflammatory bowel diseases can be, wherein the symptoms are inflammation and that can actually cause scarring and permanent damage to the GI tract, leading to surgical intervention. IBS just stays as IBS - though there is some evidence that if it's uncontrolled over many years, and particularly if someone is eating a low fiber diet, IBS can put them at increased risk of diverticulosis. But if that happened you'd then have IBS and diverticulosis both - they're two different disorders.
You may well notice that your symptoms themselves (degree of pain, bowel dysfunction, etc.) seem to be progressing in severity. It's not uncommon for IBS to seem to wax and wane - a person can just live with the symptoms for many years, and consider them minor, but then they can increase in severity and become life-restricting. This can go the other way too - symptoms may well become less severe over time.
If you're noticing other symptoms that you never had before - things like a fever, joint pain, swelling, blood in your stool - that's a red flag that something other than IBS is going on, and would warrant a colonoscopy and seeing your doc.
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Thank you Heather! I feel much better now that you've cleared up those questions. After having read some of the testimonials in your book, I thought "that's not what I'm going through!" and I thought maybe I didn't even have IBS, but I think I am in the category of "living with minor symptoms".
I will continue with your suggested diet, which is wonderful by the way and hopefully I can live with "minor" symptoms forever!!
Thanks again!
Lorna
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Lorna
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Hello,
I just have to comment, I've spent a lot of thought on this topic. Heather's explained this very well but I still think the Rome Criteria are limited in describing IBS or at least can be misinterpreted by health professionals. How can you seperate the symptoms of lower and upper GI tracts if these organs are not only close to each other but working closely together, with their work depending on each others functionality!!?
(Sorry for my limited English).
My worse IBS symptom in the early stages was nausea, of course misdiagnosed several times until I found out by coincidence that an antispasmodic (mebeverine) finished off with that symptom in a wink (the nausea was probably caused by trapped gas in the colon?!). Before being finally diagnosed with IBS I developed gastritis three times in the course of long, bad spells of IBS and each time Prevacid helped not only with the gastritis but calmed down the IBS symptoms as well. All endoscopies showed a perfectly normal stomach.
My GE shrugs his shoulders but Omeprazol (I think that is Prevacid in the States) seems to have an immediate impact on my stool consistency, too.
These days, thanks to HEather's diet and excluding wheat, I'm much better, but the calmer my bowels, the more I get hearburn (never used to be my problem before, except when pregnant!!) And, interestingly, during the second half of my cycle I get bad heartburn EVERY day (effect of progesterone, which relaxes the smooth muscles?). Whenever I talk to doctors about all this, they say, Well, it's all linked, isn't it. And that's really it, isn't it?
All the best
Susaloh
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