IBS CASE STUDY
A female in her early 20’s came into the clinic with symptoms of gas and uncomfortable bloating, with frequent loose bowel movements. She had been experiencing these symptoms several times a week for the last year. Her symptoms had progressively been getting worse, to the point where she was scared to eat out and always keep one eye on the bathroom wherever she was. She could not identify any specific food triggers and had tried several diets and supplements which were unsuccessful. She did notice that anxiety and stress made her symptoms worse. We decided to do a food sensitivity test to identify food triggers. We eliminated the foods for 12 weeks and added in supplements to support digestion, as well as a high dose probiotic. We also worked on stress management and supporting anxiety. Within the first month of the elimination diet she started to have significant improvement in her symptoms. By the end of the 12 weeks she was having 1-2 healthy bowel movements per day and was not experiencing uncomfortable gas or bloating. She was able to successfully reintroduce all the foods back into her diet, although she felt better overall without dairy and decided to keep it out of her diet.
What is IBS?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal discomfort and/or pain, gas, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea. IBS is a chronic condition affecting 1 in 5 Canadians. IBS is more common in women than men, and if often starts in young adulthood.
These symptoms can range from being a minor inconvenience to having a huge impact on the way a person lives their life. IBS can impact more then just the digestive system. Diet is often impacted with concerns around food intake and absorption of vitamins and nutrients. This can lead to a person feeling fatigued, unfocused, and generally unwell. IBS can contribute to feeling overwhelmed and stressed, and can affect a person mentally contributing to anxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem. IBS symptoms can interfere with work, relationships and social life.
There is no specific disease causing the symptoms (like in celiac disease or colitis) but is a functional GI disorder often associated with:
- Problems with motility and how the GI muscles move food through the digestive tract
- Over-sensitivity of the nerves in the GI tract
- Miscommunication between the nerves in the gut and the brain
- Dysbiosis of the bacteria in the gut
- Microscopic inflammation of the gut lining
IBS is diagnosed based on the Rome IV diagnostic criteria. IBS is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain, at least one day per week over the last three months, and must be associated with two or more of the following:
- Symptoms related to passing stool
- Symptoms associated with a change in stool frequency
- with a change in form (appearance) of stool
There are 4 types of IBS:
- IBS-D (diarrhea predominant)
- IBS-C (constipation predominant)
- IBS-M (mixed diarrhea and constipation)
- IBS-U (unclassified – symptoms don’t fit into the types above)
Common triggers for IBS can be stress and anxiety, hormone imbalances, food sensitivities and intolerances.
How can NDs help?
- Identifying food triggers and sensitivities – with food sensitivity testing, or elimination and re-introduction diets.
- Supplement support to decrease inflammation and irritation of the digestive system.
- Support of the gut-brain connection and work on stress management and mood support.
- Hormone testing – Women often experience a flare in their symptoms around their menstrual cycle.
- Microbiome investigation – Imbalances in the microbiome (bacteria of the gut) can also play a large role in IBS, like if you have had a history of a bad gut bug and felt unwell since. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) has been implicated in some IBS cases. NDs can do SIBO testing or stool testing to evaluate the health of your microbiome.
If IBS is impacting your life, reach out and let us help.
