Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
One Agora Integrative Health Clinic in Bloomington, MN

What is Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach and the small and large intestines. Between 25 and 45 million people in the United States suffer with IBS. Most are younger than 50, and two-thirds are female.

While the cause is unknown, it is believed that IBS symptoms may result from dysfunction in how the immune system, gut, brain and nervous system interact. Flare ups, as they're called, are often triggered by stress or infectious diarrhea, or by ingestion of caffeine, specific foods, artificial sugars and other chemical food additives.

With each IBS flare up, your gastrointestinal tract becomes increasingly sensitive to your triggers. In that way, IBS clearly changes your normal bowel function, so it's essential to bring the condition under control early on. Unfortunately, most IBS sufferers don't seek medical intervention until years after the condition has surfaced.

IBS symptoms can often be controlled through diet and lifestyle interventions. Plus, there are emerging treatments that can have powerful results.

Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

If you have IBS, you may struggle with any of these symptoms or a combination of them:

• Abdominal cramping
• Pain
• Bloating
• Gas
• Diarrhea, constipation or both

The impact of IBS symptoms can range from severe debilitation at its worst to occasional inconvenience in mild cases.

The unpredictability of the flare-ups is one of the most difficult aspects of the disease. People who suffer from moderate to severe IBS experience symptoms serious enough to impair their emotional, social, professional and economic well-being.

Conditions Related to IBS

• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth - Also known as SIBO, this condition develops when an unusually high number of bacteria grow in your small intestine. The incidence of SIBO has been connected to other gastrointestinal dysfunctions like the Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). SIBO is not simply a digestive issue. It also involves the connection between your gut and your brain.
• Autoimmune Diseases - It's been discovered that people with autoimmune or allergic conditions like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, for example, also tend to develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome. In fact, an astounding 20 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients are diagnosed with IBS.

Diagnosis and Testing

There is no definitive test for the diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome; rather, it's a matter of ruling out symptoms and test results of other suspected conditions.

Untangling the complex symptoms and causes of gastrointestinal issues is not a simple process. For instance, the connection between IBS and autoimmune diseases. Irritable bowel syndrome is not considered an autoimmune disease, but rather a functional bowel disorder. There are, however, specific autoimmune conditions that produce symptoms similar to IBS - and yes, you can have IBS at the same time you are suffering from a totally separate autoimmune disease. It's believed that some type of as yet unidentified immune system malfunction may be involved in the development of IBS.

We will test for all relevant conditions and target each cause with the appropriate treatments until your symptoms have been resolved.

Treatment Options

Your bowel function is unique to you. Along with the genes you inherited, a lifetime of nutritional choices, exercise regimens and assorted health conditions has led to the current state of your digestive health.

To accomplish long term bowel and digestive health, we tap all treatment options, from medication and supplementation, to medical nutrition protocols and lifestyle management, as well as more novel treatment protocols that have been developed.

Our goal is to achieve your optimal bowel function, using a customized variety of the following treatment tools:

• Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) - LDN works by binding to the endorphin receptors in your brain. This makes your body produce more endorphins which then can control the body's immune system and slow the production of unwanted cells that cause various medical conditions.
• Stress Management - The link between stress and IBS is well documented. Finding the stress reduction method that works for you is key to overcoming your IBS flare-ups. While stress does not cause IBS, it can trigger and worsen your IBS symptoms.
• Frequency Specific Microcurrent Therapy - Discovered in 1995 by Dr. Carolyn McMakin, Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM) Therapy is a non-invasive protocol using low-level electrical currents applied to the body to treat pain, encourage healing and improve specific health conditions. FSM Therapy encourages tissue repair and addresses inflammation, muscle and nerve pain, and scar tissue.
• Cupping - An ancient, holistic practice with roots in early Chinese and Egyptian medical techniques, cupping therapy has been used for thousands of years to ease pain and treat a myriad of other ailments. The practice involves placing cups on the skin to create suction and promote healing through improved blood flow. This, in turn, helps relieve muscle tension, stimulate cell repair, and form new connective tissue.

Healthy movement and exercise, along with a medical nutrition plan for IBS support, and lifestyle modification specific to your symptoms and co-existing diagnoses, can all be essential in overcoming IBS.

Many conventionally trained doctors will warn you that IBS is a chronic condition that you'll need to manage for the rest of your life. However, we have seen our patients resolve IBS issues completely because we test and target all root causes that are causing each patient's unique gastrointestinal condition.

Request Your Appointment Today!

Gather your IBS symptom checklist, together with your treatment questions or requests - and we'll put together a customized plan to treat the root causes of your IBS until your gastrointestinal system is functioning optimally! Call One Agora Health at (952) 234-5898 or contact us online today.

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