Have you ever noticed a relationship between how well you sleep and the severity of your IBS symptoms? A new study provides some insight into that phenomenon. According to the abstract, the researchers took a look at serum cortisol and plasma catecholamine levels in IBS patients and healthy control subjects. These substances are hormones that are released by the adrenal glands and are related to the stress response.

The study was conducted at a sleep laboratory. As the subjects slept, blood samples were drawn throughout the night. Overall, the results found no significant differences when comparing the hormone levels of IBS and non-IBS individuals. However, a significant difference was seen in the hormone levels of IBS-C vs. IBS-D patients. IBS-C patients experienced an increase in noradrenaline, adrenaline and cortisol during sleep, while IBS-D patients experienced lower levels of noradrenaline and cortisol. Who says IBS is all in your head??!!

I always advise my patients to consider their hormones when managing their symptoms. If you suffer from IBS-D, you may find that your symptoms are worse in the morning. Just be careful not to assume that a bad morning necessarily means a bad day and make sure to use strategies for calming your system. For IBS-C patients, schedule time in the morning to use your bowel retraining skills, as you will be using your body's natural biorhythms to your best advantage.

Do you see a relationship between sleep and your symptoms? How about a relationship between the time of day and your symptoms? Leave a comment below and share your experience!

_Source:

_{Burr RL, Jarrett ME, Cain KC, Jun SE, Heitkemper MM "Catecholamine and cortisol levels during sleep in women with irritable bowel syndrome." Neurogastroenterology & Motility Published online 1 July 2009.}

Is IBS an environmental illness? Matthew Hogg seems to think so. Matthew runs a website know as the “Environmental Illness Resource”. This site provides information and networking opportunities for individuals who suffer from chronic, poorly understood illnesses. Into this category, Matthew places health conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, autism, and IBS. Matthew’s site is impressive, offering among other things, educational articles, book reviews, and forums. If the notion of an environmental illness interests you, I recommend you take a peek at Matthew’s site and poke around.

The question “Is IBS an environmental illness?” certainly provides fodder for debate. On the one hand, there are reports that go back centuries of historical figures experiencing chronic digestive problems. On the other hand, the prevalence of IBS, food allergies and food intolerances appears to be rising. Is it the stress of modern life that can account for this and can you count stress as an environmental component? Is it the new super-bacteria that we have inadvertently created through the overuse of antibiotics? Is it all the unhealthy ingredients that are poured into our foods and into the animals we consume? I certainly don’t have the answers, but I remain eager to see quality research address these questions.

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Ask a doctor about the relationship between IBS and food and, more often than not, they will say there is no real relationship. Ask an IBS patient and you will get a very different answer! With a gap so wide between medicine and real-life, it can be hard for someone struggling to deal with digestive symptoms to figure out what to eat. In order to help you to develop an eating plan that is right for you, my newest article pulls together all of the information you need to know regarding the relationship between food and IBS:

• Your IBS Diet

What foods do you find most helpful? What foods do you avoid at all costs? What foods do you eat because you love them, but pay for later? Share your experience on the IBS discussion forum!

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Where I live, the Fourth of July is summer at its best. Beach, picnic, fireworks - sometimes I feel as if I am living in a movie set. Fourth of July food, however, is not quite so wonderful for a sensitive digestive system. As the holiday weekend approaches, take a look at my tips for enjoying the Fourth and protecting your GI system:

• How to Avoid Digestive Fireworks on the Fourth

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One of the things that I love most about serving as your Guide to IBS, is the fact that I can offer a place where people can talk openly about topics that everyone experiences, yet are often too embarrassed to talk about. Intestinal gas kind of falls into its own category. Some people spend a lot of time talking about it, in particular comedians and boys under (and over?) the age of 18. The problem is that what doesn’t get discussed is what people do to prevent or deal with the symptoms of gas and bloating.

Well, look no further. My newest ‘Readers’ Tips’ article encourages you to have an open discussion as to how to deal with intestinal gas and bloating:

• How Do You Handle Gas and Bloating?

A study published in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture for relieving IBS symptoms. According to the study abstract, a total of 230 adult IBS patients participated in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: acupuncture, sham acupuncture and a wait list control group. (It is my understanding that sham acupuncture involves needles placed on parts of the body that are not thought to be acupuncture points). The first two groups attended a total of six treatment sessions over a three week period.

Unfortunately, the results were disappointing for the acupuncture world as there was no difference between the true acupuncture and the sham acupuncture on a measure of global symptom improvement. The positive news is that both acupuncture groups did show a small but statistically significant improvement on this scale compared to those on the waiting list.

Who knows what to make of all of this? Obviously more research needs to be done before any strong conclusions can be drawn about acupuncture for IBS. It may be that more treatment sessions are needed to see benefits. The bottom line is that it is a shame that effective treatments for IBS continue to remain elusive.

More on acupuncture for IBS:

• Acupuncture for IBS?
• Electro-acupuncture and IBS

_Source:

_{Lembo, A., et.al. “A Treatment Trial of Acupuncture in IBS Patients” American Journal of Gastroenterology 2009 1489-1497.}

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If you suffer from IBS-D, have you found that there certain foods that you know you must stay away from on bad days? My newest "Readers' Tips" article offers you a place to share your experience and learn from others: "What Foods Do You Not Eat When You Have Diarrhea?" Check it out, maybe there is some food lurking out there that you didn't know might be troublesome when your system is feeling extra sensitive.

While you are at it, you can review my list of potentially troublesome foods for IBS-D:

• What Not to Eat for Diarrhea

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Let's face it - IBS isn't a feel-good public cause, like saving the seals or building a new wing on a children's hospital. But the only way that effective treatments will be found is through research and research takes money. My new article "Donating Opportunities for IBS" offers you some ideas for contributing to the IBS cause. Some of these options do not even require that you donate your own money, but rather that money gets donated simply by the way you use your computer.

Have you donated for IBS? What was your experience? Did I miss a legitimate donating option? Let me know by leaving a comment here or on the IBS discussion forum!

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Did you know someone has recorded a song about IBS? Before I share the details, I must give credit where credit is due.

Like a latecomer to a party, I have finally signed up on Twitter. One of my first finds was a guy (?) with the UserName of CrohnsHumor. It was here that I learned that someone had written a song about IBS.

The song is called “I.B.S. (irratable Bowel Syndrome) by a group called the Arrogant Worms. Punctuation and spelling aside, the lyrics are pretty funny. Check them out by clicking here…sometimes you’ve just got to laugh.

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As if IBS isn't bad enough on its own, the disorder is often associated with a variety of other physical symptoms, known officially as extra-intestinal symptoms. I frequently get asked "I have fatigue...back pain...nausea...headaches along with my IBS. Is this normal?" It may not be normal, but it certainly is common. My newest article "IBS and Other Symptoms" discusses the issue of common physical complaints that IBS patients experience alongside their bowel symptoms.

Accompanying the article is a place for you to share the physical symptoms that you find yourself dealing with: "What Other Symptoms Do You Have?"

It is often the case that health professionals dismiss these other symptoms as not being related or not being important. It is my hope that by drawing attention to the problem of extra-intestinal symptoms, patients will get better treatment, and that this treatment will lead to symptom relief.

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