IBS Treatment and symptom control

MODS: Since there are already two threads on this, please feel free to lock or delete this one according to your discretion, I just felt that what I am going to say would be of immense benefit to people who suffer with IBS and are often unaware how common their ailment is, or that it is even an "illness"; or are faced with the painful, inconvenient and occasionally embarrassing consequences of not being able to control the symptoms.

OK, this is kind of icky, but we're all grown ups here. Irritable Bowel Syndrome can't be "treated" as far as I know but its symptoms can be kept well under control by eating correctly, exercising and taking medication. A prescription drug that controls the symptoms well is Bentyl, but there are many over the counter drugs. Immodium and is what I normally use. Though it is intended for diarrhoea it works very well for IBS. What IBS does, is that it increases the motility rate of your gastro-intestinal tract, usually as a result of certain stimuli (variously, fatty foods, spices, alcohol and in my experience, coffee and caffeine, and anxiety). Immodium is basically an anti-spasmodic drug which stops or slows down the spasms of your GI tract, giving your colon time to absorb water and form solid stools, and this prevents excessive or inconvenient urges for release. Don't use it too often though, as your body starts to adapt to it and it loses its effectiveness. Buscopan is another over the counter remedy but I've never found it as effective as Immodium. H

Often painful bloating and gas are a symptom of IBS. I find Colpermin works extremely well for this. Colpermin capsules are taken before meals, and contain peppermint oil which works its way slowly up the GI tract to sooth bloating, disperse gas and slow the spasms (it moves so far up sometimes that often when I take it in the morning, I can taste it right up in my throat by the end of the afternoon). Coplermin also helps reduce the noises that unsettled or overactive colons make at inappropriate times.

Exercise regularly as well; I find this keeps it under control. More importantly, eat healthily. Eat lots of fibre (not too much of course!) and have those five helpings of fruit and vegetables. Avoid large portions of food - small frequent meals, and always monitor what foods in your diet cause you to have a reaction. Hope this little bit of info helps.

For more information on all things IBS, visit this website

It is a pretty common and inconvenient complaint, so if any of you suffer from it, take heart, and don't be too bothered by it.

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Thanks for all the useful info.

Just wanting to know: how do you use Immodium? Sorry if this is a silly question, but I've always used it after suffering from diarrhoea & to stop any further bouts. But can you use it to prevent diarrhoea in the first place?

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

Anonymous

i always thought that but when u think about it if it can stop it happening again it should stop it happening in the first place. i always found it makes my stomach hurt after taking it and thought it was only for use like when it was really bad. but id much rather put up with my stomach hurting a little if it stopped diarrhoea in the first place.

the doctor gave me tablets he claimed were the same as immodium but a different name but when i was taking them they were nothing like each other and did nothing. can u get actual immodium on prescription cos its like really expensive to buy like 5 pound for 6 tablets which if u take them regularly its guna end up mega expensive.

i hope this doesnt get too graphic here but like when i need to go i dont have diarreah like in the erm "texture" of it its more just the urgency of which i need to go. is anyone else the same? and do u think immodium will still work for this?