The good thing about IBS is that it never kills anyone! But the symptoms can be sometimes debilitating and will affect your the quality of life. Although there is no cure for IBS, there are several options including diet, lifestyle changes, supplements, psychosocial therapy, medications, etc.
Dietary therapy-
When it comes to diet, every person is different. There may be certain triggers such as lactose or gluten.
Cutting down on caffeine, alcohol, soda, carbonated beverages often help.
Increasing the amount of soluble fiber such as oats, psyllium, flax may help.
Writing down a food diary to write down what was consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the associated symptoms on a scale of 1-10 will help establish some other trigger foods.
There are special diets such as low-FODMAP diet which is low in certain fermentable sugars and gluten which have shown in clinical trials to benefit some patients with IBS.
Probiotics-
Probiotics are foods or pills that contain good bacteria which may promote gut health. As mentioned above, patients with IBS may have imbalance between good and bad bacteria in the gut (altered microbiome or “dysbiosis”). Adding good bacteria in the form of probiotics (IBplus) may help reduce the abdominal discomfort, bloating and gas. Sometimes using the antibiotics to reduce the number of bad bacteria may also help especially in treating the symptoms of bloating and diarrhea.
Psychosocial treatment-
Anxiety or stress may play a major role in triggering the symptoms of IBS. Examples of psychological therapies include cognitive behavioral therapy, psychotherapy or hypnotherapy. Psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are found along with IBS and treating these problems may also improve IBS symptoms.
Medications-
There are several medication options to treat IBS. Discuss with Dr.Kethu if medications are right for your condition or if you’re IBS can be managed with diet, lifestyle change and natural supplements (IBplus).