Irritable Bowel Syndrome Blog

Economically, this is not a rosy time. I don’t know about where you live, but here in New York, gas prices are at $4.00 a gallon. In such an atmosphere, it becomes necessary to cut costs wherever one can. Sadly, prescription medications have become a high ticket item for patients. Often, the prices are more than a person can afford, forcing a patient to go without essential treatment. I just read that many elderly people are charging their medications, thus putting themselves at risk for bankruptcy or foreclosure. To me this is tragic.

Trisha Torrey, About.com Guide to Patient Empowerment, has just published a very helpful, timely article: “Save Money on Prescription Drugs”. In this article she offers five ideas for reducing your cash outlay for the medications you need. Check out the article and try out her ideas. My wish for you is that it works!

Further Reading:

• Prescription Medication for Constipation Predominant IBS
• Prescription Medication for Diarrhea Predominant IBS

Good news for teenage IBS sufferers. A new study evaluated the effectiveness of amitriptyline for the treatment of IBS in adolescents. Amitriptyline (brand name Elavil) is from a class of medication called tricyclic antidepressants. Antidepressants have often been prescribed for IBS even in people who are not depressed due to their helpful effect on pain and motility.

In this study, 33 children, ages 12 to 18, who were recently diagnosed with IBS were split into two treatment groups. One group received amitriptyline and the other group received a placebo. Several symptom questionnaires were administered at the beginning of the study and again at various intervals for a total of 13 weeks. At the study’s end, the teens who received amitriptyline experienced significant improvement in quality of life. Improvements were also seen in terms of a reduction of diarrhea and abdominal pain.

For more information on prescription medication options for IBS:

• Prescription Medication for Diarrhea Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Prescription Medication for Constipation Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Source

Bahar, R., Collins, B., Steinmetz, B. & Ament, M. “Double-blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Amitriptyline for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adolescents” The Journal of Pediatrics 2008 152:685-689.

With a chronic disorder like IBS, when you feel sick more often than not, it can be hard to know when to call your doctor. In order to help you to figure out which of your symptoms are typical of IBS and which are not, I have written a new article called “Red Flag Digestive Symptoms”. Don’t be shy! If you are experiencing any red flag symptoms, or if your symptom picture has changed significantly, make the call! It is much better to be a bother than to miss something important.

Sending a wish for a happy, healthy Mother's Day to all mothers who balance the needs of their families with the needs of their IBS body. Not an easy task! My gift for you is to remind you to re-read my article "Six Steps for Having a Life with IBS". Enjoy the day!

There is a very high overlap between panic disorder, an anxiety disorder in which people experience episodes of extreme panic, and IBS. About.com’s Guide to Panic Disorder, Cathleen Henning Fenton, has written an article that addresses any special concerns about dealing with both IBS and panic disorder. If you suffer from panic disorder in addition to IBS, you will find it helpful to read “IBS and Panic Disorder: What to Do If You Have Both”.

For further information on panic disorder, see:

• What is Panic Disorder?
• Treatment of Panic Disorder

Zelnorm may be gone, but there is a new kid in town. The FDA just announced that it has approved Amitiza for the treatment of constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C) in women who are over the age of 18. Amitiza is thus the only prescription medicine approved by the FDA for IBS-C.

Amitiza had previously been approved for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC), which is basically IBS without pain. Interestingly enough, the dosage for CIC is higher than that for IBS-C. Amitiza has not been approved for use by men or children and should not be prescribed to women who are nursing or breast-feeding, or anyone who experiences diarrhea or a bowel obstruction.

For more on Amitiza, see:

Prescription Medication for Constipation Predominant IBS

Do you have any experience with Amitiza? Share your story on the IBS discussion forum!

_Source:

FDA Approves Amitiza for IBS-C

Whenever I hear that a medical professional has dismissed IBS as nothing more than a nuisance disorder that people bring on themselves, I wish I had a voodoo doll. I wouldn’t be terribly vindictive, I would just want them to experience one hour of IBS abdominal pain. Just enough so that they realize that IBS hurts!

Hopefully the number of insensitive medical personnel is dwindling. On a positive note, research is being done to better understand the visceral hypersensitivity that contributes to IBS pain. In the meantime, I offer you my new article: “How To Soothe Abdominal Pain” as a means of helping you to feel more of a sense of mastery in dealing with your pain.

While we are on the subject of pain, I am happy to share with you the news that About.com has a new guide to Chronic Pain, Erica David, MD. Dr David is a board-certified physician who treats patients who experience chronic musculoskeletal pain. Visit her home page at http://pain.about.com.

How bad is your pain? Tell me about it on the IBS discussion forum.

Food intolerance seems to be a theme this week as we go from gluten intolerance to fructose intolerance. A study was just published that looked at the usefulness of placing IBS patients on a fructose-limited diet. The study administered a fructose breath test to 80 patients who met diagnostic criteria for IBS. Over one third of the patients tested had a positive breath test and were given information regarding maintaining a fructose-restricted diet. Only one-half of the patients were compliant with the diet at a one-year follow-up. These cooperative subjects were rewarded for their diligence as they experienced improvement in the symptoms of pain, belching, bloating, fullness, indigestion and diarrhea. The non-compliant patients only received the benefit of less belching. The compliant group reported that the fructose-restricted diet had only a moderate impact on their lifestyle.

The fact that one-third of the IBS patients tested positive for fructose intolerance suggests that it might be a good idea for you to ask your doctor to administer the simple breath test for fructose intolerance. Be prepared for disappointment; remember two-thirds of the people reading this will once again be faced with a lack of a clear-cut reason for their IBS suffering. The optimist in me hopes that someday this number will be significantly lower!

_Source:

Choi, Y., Kraft, N., Zimmerman, B., Jackson, M. & Rao, S. “Fructose Intolerance in IBS and Utility of Fructose-Restricted Diet.” Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 2008 42:233-238.

Celiac disease is a condition in which eating food containing a protein called gluten triggers an immune response that attacks the small intestine. When I first began learning about IBS, celiac disease was seen as an extremely rare condition and thus quickly dismissed as a possible cause of chronic digestive symptoms. Luckily, awareness of this damaging, but treatable, disease has increased.

The symptoms of IBS and celiac disease can often be similar. Nancy Lapid, About.com’s Guide to Celiac Disease, has just published an excellent article called “Is Your Irritable Bowel Syndrome Really Celiac Disease?" Every person who has been diagnosed with IBS should read this article and follow Nancy’s recommendation regarding being tested for celiac disease.

For more information on celiac disease, see:

• What is Celiac Disease?
• Symptoms of Celiac Disease
• Diagnosis of Celiac Disease
• Treatment of Celiac Disease

Imagine a workplace with private access to a luxury bathroom, perhaps one with a whirlpool bath and a flat-screen television. You could disappear for hours on end and no one would bother you. While you are at it, imagine a job description that never involves deadlines, travel or public speaking. Maybe under these circumstances, IBS wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

For the rest of us with real jobs, dealing with IBS at the workplace can be very difficult. To help you with this, I have written a new article: “IBS on the Job: Six Point Survival Guide”. Here you will find some tips for balancing your physical needs with the demands of your job. And in the meantime, it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

Have an IBS and work story? Share it on the IBS discussion forum.