Insult to the gut and how it can cause the onset of IBS...
09/15/03 12:21 PM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Hi kiks, and welcome! Your new doc is right - there probably is a connection between your onset of symptoms in Mexico and your IBS now. This is a bit different than Judith, though, who actually has two separate problems - IBS and the intestinal parasite. But, if you haven't been tested for intestinal parasites, do ask your doc about this. They're one of the things that needs to be ruled out for a diagnosis of IBS. For details about diagnostic criteria, check the IBS Glossary here web page
I'm guessing what happened to you is termed an "insult to the gut". This is what leads to the onset of IBS for a significant number of people with the disorder (though not all of them). Basically, you suffered a severe physical trauma to your gut (perhaps dysentery, or amoebic assault, or food poisoning) in Mexico. You then recovered from the physical insult itself, but were left with a dysfunctional enteric (gut) nervous system, and thus IBS.
There's in-depth info about this in the First Year IBS book, and that whole chapter is posted on the site. Check here web page for gut insult info, and here web page for all the other chapters to read through. This is a great starting point, and with IBS information is really key to managing your symptoms.
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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