As in most syndromes, the irritable bowel syndrome is a build up of different health issues and symptoms. The good news however, is there has been no definite link found between IBS and other serious illnesses, such as cancer. Over the years, IBS has been known by many names, among them spastic colon, spastic bowel, colitis or mucous colitis. There has also been no link established between IBS and inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

When a patient has really severe symptoms and it is affecting their lifestyle, you can be confident that they are going to suffer some stress as a result of it, and a lot of patients will say, “Well, I did not genuinely have depression, or my mood had not been actually bad before, it’s simply that I really feel so drained of my life.” You will find many patients saying that while they did not have depression or mood swings before; their decreased functionality has made them feel helpless and fatigued.

Irritable bowel syndrome can also be complicated by non-gastrointestinal symptoms, taking place simultaneously or accelerated due to IBS. Fatigue is one of the usual manifestations of irritable bowel syndrome. Difficulty in sleeping is another. What makes it worse is that when patients do not sleep well, the body is unable to recharge and heal itself, thus leading to worse bowel symptoms the following day. There have been studies that attest to this. An unhealthy immune system can also result and cause further health issues for the patient. They must control their food diet the ensure a good balance of vitamins and minerals that will assist in reducing the side effects of IBS.

The additional aspect of irritable bowel syndrome is the fact it coexists with some other problems, where you could have symptoms which are outside the gastro-intestinal tract. Like, fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition of the stomach muscles. Some patients develop chronic muscle pain and chronic back pain due to irritable bowel syndrome, and this condition is outside the GI tract. Those suffering from IBS have a tendency to develop other symptoms related to it, and the more serious the condition of the patient, the higher the chances that he will acquire other non gastro-intestinal symptoms, including fibromyalgia, and other treatable medical conditions as migraine headaches.

IBS is also associated with two other conditions: the leaky gut syndrome and gut dysbiosis, where it can be manifested as a small intestine bacterial overgrowth or SIBO. Other than that, IBS may also be linked to various environmental illnesses. Some other medical findings show that those diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Gulf war syndrome (GWS), and autism also experience IBS. Recent research has looked into this relationship and has found possible reasons why IBS so frequently goes hand in hand with these other chronic illnesses which affect the immune system.

One of the well studied links is the involvement of SIBO in all of these illnesses, especially CFS and fibromyalgia. Just as SIBO has been found to be common in IBS patients, recent research has also found this to be the case with fibromyalgia and CFS. Research indicates that SIBO I present in those suffering from either IBS or fibromyalgia.

An interesting angle found in the studies was that SIBO was more serious with fibromyalgia patients, and the gravity of the SIBO of each of the patients is in proportion to the degree of the pain felt. To speculate on this research, could it be possible that if the SIBO of those with only IBS were to get worse, they too would experience fibromyalgic pain? Only further research can answer that question.

Another possible cause of IBS is stress. Due to our busy lifestyles today, we tend not to eat the right foods, we work long hours and have very little sleep. A long and rigorous work schedule is a recipe for stress in many peoples workplaces. A balanced immune system can help to reduce or eliminate the effects of IBS.  To do this you need to lower the stress levels, introduce a healthy diet and have a balance intake of essential vitamins and minerals together with natural enzymes such as Co Enzyme Q10.

multi-vitamins