Do you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? If you do, it can be incredibly frustrating as well as painful. Read on to find out more about what you can do to get help for IBS today. You will no longer have to suffer through pain alone. Find out more about the right way to deal with IBS so that you can efficiently control your pain without difficulty.
Understanding More About IBS Pain
In order to know how you can relieve IBS pain, you need to understand what the characteristics of IBS pain are. This way, you will be able to understand what part of your discomfort stems from your IBS problems, and what parts are completely unrelated.
IBS pain is different for every patient. However, most people plagued by IBS agree that the most prevalent symptom is abdominal pain or discomfort. This pain changes over time for most patients as well.
Keep in mind that the abdomen is the area between your hips and your chest. IBS pain is not exactly stomach pain. Usually, patients feel cramping, stabbing, and sharp pains within their abdomen. This can lead patients to believe that their stomachs are gravely unhappy.
IBS pain is caused by the way the bowels move. Once bowel movement occurs, there is usually less pain or discomfort experienced. If the frequently of bowel movements suddenly increases or decreases, pain and discomfort can be expected. Pain as well as discomfort can also start if the stools change in terms of hardness.
For most people with IBS, pain is the hardest part to deal with. However, people will also experience bowel difficulties as well as bloating. All of these types of pain will lead to nausea and a severe lack of appetite. Many people who have IBS cannot have the diets that they want to have.
Most of this pain is very frequent, while for some people, the pain never ends. It is excruciating, intense, and unbearable. It is not surprising that some people become depressed after suffering from the pain for too long.
Understanding IBS Pain Relief
There is no single cure for IBS. Instead, there are multiple cures for IBS that you can choose from. There are many different types of therapies that are known to be useful to certain people. However, keep in mind that everyone is different. What may be the perfect fix for one person might do nothing for you. Also, remember that each body reacts differently to different treatments. Make sure that you inform yourself by either communicating with your doctor or the people that you are working with to find out about any possible side effects before you begin. You do not want to run into any nasty effects. Remember, do not be alarmed if one treatment is not as effective as you wish. Results are different from person to person.
Here are a few possible ways you can look into for relieving your IBS pain.
Relaxation. Many people have found that relaxation techniques can really help out for relieving pain. Often times, you can relieve your pain not through physical means but through your mind. Several patients have had great success with relaxation therapy, hypnosis, or even cognitive behavior therapy. All of these methods work to improve your level of pain tolerance. If you are better with handling your daily pain, you will be able to feel much better when it comes to IBS pain.
Cognitive Therapy and Hypnotherapy. Some people do not want to only improve their pain tolerance, but also want to relieve the overall symptoms commonly associated with IBS. Cognitive therapy and hypnotherapy can be very helpful with this. Keep in mind that there have not been any serious documented negative events associated with these types of therapies. However, it is not clear whether or not these therapies are definitely effective. If you want, feel free to try it out, but do not feel disappointed if they do not work perfectly well.
Anticholinergic Agents. If you take these types of agents before eating, this might help by reducing some abdominal pain after meals. However, this will only be short-term pain relief. These anticholinergic agents include hyoscine, pinaverium, peppermint oil, and cimetropium. Peppermint oil capsules need to be swallowed entirely. If you swallow raw oil, you might experience very intense heartburn.
Probiotic Products. Probiotics can do wonders for your stomach. They are also great even if you have nothing wrong with your stomach at all. Probiotic products that have bifidobacteria or other combinations of probiotics can really help to relieve pain. By taking healthy probiotic products on a regular basis consistently, you will also experience less bloating in your stomach.
Lubiprostone (Amitiza). This is a prescription drug, so you will not be able to find it over the counter. However, if you talk with your doctor and if he decides that this drug will aid you, it can reduce many overall IBS symptoms. Lubiprostone works even better in women for those that have constipation as their main symptom.
Alosetron (Lotronex). If you’re thinking about what to take for IBS, and Lubiprostone is not a feasible option for you, consider Alosetron. This drug will have a better chance of working for you if diarrhea is your main IBS symptom. This is also a prescription drug. In addition, even though this drug works well for both males and females, women can only obtain the drug through a unique and special access program. Ask your physician clearly whether or not this drug would likely work for you. He or she will be able to find out how you can obtain the prescription if needed.
Antidepressants. This is often astonishing and shocking for many patients to hear, but antidepressants can help with IBS symptoms. However, if you are trying to treat your IBS problems, antidepressants can only be prescribed in very low doses. Antidepressants used in this case are not to help with depression, instead, it is going to reduce the intensity of pain signals that start from your gut to your brain. If your brain is no longer receiving as many pain signals, you will find that the amount of pain you receive will be greatly decreased. Although many people are wary of antidepressants, this is an option that should be considered. There are very little risks associated with taking antidepressants in low dosages. This way, you will feel less pain. However, most importantly, remember that you should never take regular dosages or higher dosages of antidepressants to treat IBS.
Sleep. You can also try to improve the quality of your sleep. Most people that have chronic IBS pain have also admitted that they have severe sleeping problems. Practice better sleeping patterns to improve the quality of your sleep so as to relieve pain. If you are having trouble with this, you may need to contact your physician. From there, you can be referred to specialists that will be able to assist you with your sleeping issues.
Drugs are often used for pain relief for IBS. However, there are still not enough treatments to help the general public that has IBS issues. There continues to be a strong and urgent need to find new and effective IBS treatments within the medical field.
No matter what, you need to consult your primary care physician so that you can make well-informed choices. Before you start or decide on any treatment plan, make sure that you are given all of the information about the treatment. You need to understand the advantages as well as disadvantages of every method suggested to you. Are there any dangerous side effects? If so, is it a risk that you want to take? As a patient, you have the right to a transparent information about your treatment. Your doctor has the responsibility to tell you everything instead of making a choice for you. If your doctor does not do this, make sure that you take the time to ask. Also, if, after your physician has explained, you are still confused by some aspects of your treatment, make sure that you speak up and get the clarification you need. As with all things in life, never walk into a choice without being well-informed.
If you still have misgivings about any treatment options, feel free to do more research online on your own. This will often help you get rid of any last reservations, and free you up to be less nervous about your treatment. Remember, do not be discouraged if the first few treatment options do not have magical effects. Give it a little time. You might have to try several different treatment options before you find the right one for you. Be patient, and above all, always communicate your opinion. Be honest about how you are feeling. This way, your primary care physician will be better equipped to help you. As long as you take in this information and make good choices about your treatment, you can greatly reduce your IBS pain levels in the near future.