Heather, Please I have some questions..
#53630 - 03/24/04 05:36 AM
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Heather,
In a study you have, "Symptoms across the menstrual cycle in women with irritable bowel syndrome. "
That body mass index, was used to compare patterns of symptoms across the menstrual cycle by oral contraceptive use and predominant bowel pattern (diarrhea, constipation, alternating).
My question when you say body mass, are you referring to body weight? Does weight have a roll in this? Meaning if I'm over weight, it flares up more?
Also, I'm not taking oral contraceptive, but when women are expecting there period, even just before, the systems are getting worse, what can we do to combat this.
I've been waking up at 3AM with pain again. I can't say it's constipation because I am going to the bathroom everyday, but I still get pain. Is this spasms without constipation, or diarrhea? However, a lot of gas..
I'm doing a search in your liberty trying to understand all of this.
Does emotion have any part of this?
I have to ask you this question. Can the root of this problem be genetic, and rooted in fear, and insecurities even from the parents to the child?
Thanks,
Christine
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Christine,
I just saw your post from the other day and wanted to give you my thoughts (even tho I'm not an expert!!)
You asked, "Does emotion have any part of this?" Based on what I've read, emotion doesn't CAUSE the underlying medical problem of a hyperactive gastric-colic reflex. But emotion certainly can trigger an episode in someone who has it. I know my tummy clenches up when I'm afraid or angry.
You also said "Can the root of this problem be genetic, and rooted in fear, and insecurities even from the parents to the child?" Again, from what I've read, it does seem to run in families. But whether a parent can pass on insecurities to a child, and thus cause IBS, I'm not sure I'd go that far. Are you concerned about passing it on to your kids, or do you think your parent may have passed it on to you? (If I'm being too nosy, never mind!!)
These are good questions, Christine. Thanks for making me think about them.
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Laura
Keep it simple!
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Hi Christine, I can try to answer a couple of your questions too. As for IBS getting worse right before your period, there's not much you can do to control it. BUT... you can eat very carefully when you know your period is coming. That's what I do... sometimes I even revert to the What to Eat When You Can't Eat Anything diet when it feels like it's going to be a bad one. That way I seem to head off any problems that could arise... although it isn't a surefire thing no matter what.
Yes, you can have intestinal spasms without having actual diarrhea or constipation. I don't know what causes them, but I get them sometimes too. It just means things are a little too active down there... but for me it usually doesn't amount to much, as long as I'm not eating things I shouldn't.
I hope that helps!
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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Hi - body mass does mean weight, but I've never seen anything to suggest that being over (or under) weight makes one more prone to developing IBS. I'd say as a general rule here that if your body weight is far enough from healthy to cause you problems, you're likely going to have more IBS flares, simply because IBS does tie into your overall health. The better your overall health, the easier it will be to keep your IBS stable. Things that come along and affect how you're doing physically (from menstrual cramps to the flu or a cold) will make it more likely that your IBS will flare. But, I don't think the study meant that if you're a few pounds overweight and you lose that weight, your IBS will disappear.
Do a search for menstrual cramps and IBS - lots of good advice has come up about that in the past.
It is not typical for IBS to waken someone from a sound sleep, especially just with pain and no bowel dysfuction. While this can happen, if it's happening to you more than once in a blue moon I'd see a doc. This could be a big red flag for inflammatory bowel diseases, celiac, and other GI problems.
Emotions can certainly trigger IBS symptoms, but I haven't seen any studies that show IBS can develop from emotional stress. I have, however, heard from a number of folks who developed IBS in the midst of a really stressful time in their lives, so I do think there's a real possibility for this. My guess is that eventually some study will show that severe emotional trauma could lead to the development of IBS.
IBS seems to have a genetic component, but it's not strictly an "inherit it or else" type of deal. Many people with IBS have others in their family who have the disorder as well. But it's not like if you have IBS, then your children will too.
The whole brain/gut dynamic that underlies IBS is really complicated, and both physical and emotional elements play a role. How much of each element is involved seems to vary from person to person - a lot. Some folks come down quite heavily on the side of IBS being part and parcel of emotional trauma, fear, anxiety, panic, insecurity, etc. Whether IBS led to these emotions or vice versa is not always clear, and there seem to be people in both categories here. Then are the folks who have just about no emotional component to the development of their IBS, who had their symptoms arise from a clearly physical cause (dysentery, abdominal surgery) and who have no history of emotional problems in their life, before or after IBS. There's also a group of what I like to call mystery patients, who just develop IBS one day for no discernible reason at all, and who have no emotional OR physical elements they can point to as possible causes of the disorder.
Obviously, they still need to do a lot of research on IBS!
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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