When I was young I had bouts of stomach ache and bloating that usually occurred early in the morning or late nights. The doctor in the family, my grandmother, prescribed hot-water compress on my stomach. If that didn’t work, she had me take a very bitter laxative.
Over the years I learned how to keep away from things which, I suspect, caused them. Unless I am to deliver a speech, which was always preceded by severe stomach cramps or have an occasional diarrhea from bad food, I knew not what IBS is.
Of course, probably due to ignorance or the word didn’t exist then, I simply didn’t know that what I had were IBS episodes.
Anyway, this post is not to give a historical account of my stomach problems but to underscore the fact that IBS can be treated the doctor’s way or grandma’s way.
Here are few of them.
Medical remedies:
There’s good news and bad news re treatment of IBS, medically. The bad news is that there is no treatment for IBS, per se. The good news is its symptoms can be treated.
There are medications for constipation and diarrhea. To control colon muscle spasms and reduce abdominal pain, antispasmodics are sometimes recommended as well as antidepressants to relieve some symptoms.
However, both drugs, antispasmodics and antidepressants, can worsen constipation making it necessary to use other drugs to relax bladder and intestinal muscles.
Consult your physician who knows best.
Natural remedies:
If you are averse in the use of drugs, you can opt for natural medications to treat your irritable bowel syndrome.
My grandma’s natural cure for my stomach problems will not be very handy in the busy world of today. It’s not easy to be pressing hot-water bottles against your tummy while going about your day’s activities.
There are several books devoted to the natural treatment of IBS. One such book, The Secrets to Curing Irritable Bowel Syndrome by Kelly Parks-Hoffman, tops the best-seller list in Clickbank.
It is a product of long years of study in the use of natural remedies, not only for IBS, but of the holistic approach to wellness.
In a world hungry for green technology, this is a good reference material for the natural treatment of your IBS.
Self-help remedies:
In a general sense, you can do your share by watching your diet and your stressors.
Stressors are events, things, situations and circumstances that stress you out.
Stress stimulates the colon spasms in people with IBS. Like the heart and the lungs, the colon is partly controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which responds to stress.
This explains my severe stomach cramps before delivering a speech.
Some evidence suggests that IBS is also affected by the immune system which, in turn, is affected by stress. I am sure that you know that stress can engender a lot of other medical ailments; and it is one of the major killers, world-wide.
If your IBS is wearing you down, check if your stress level is wearing you out.
If you are not as tight as a guitar string, check your diet.
A lot of food that we eat greatly contributes to whatever stomach problems we have.
This year I checked into a hospital in two separate occasions. he first was for severe constipation and, in the second, for diarrhea that almost dried me out. . Both situations were food-related.
Consult your nutritionist to see what food types suit you best.
No treasure is more precious than our overall wellness. IBS, though not life-threatening as it is, can severely affect your day, your life, your happiness and fitness.
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