Currently, no cure exists for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but don't despair. There is good news; your symptoms are manageable to improve your quality of life. Here's what you need to know about irritable bowel syndrome treatment.
Where It All Starts
You may visit your doctor because you suffer from excessive diarrhoea, constant constipation or excruciating lower abdomen pain. These may be IBS symptoms, but they could also be symptoms of other illnesses, meaning the doctor needs to run a series of tests.
There is no specific test known as an IBS test; what your doctor does is carry out tests to rule out other diseases that have similar symptoms to IBS. Expect tests like colonoscopies, endoscopies, blood tests, stool tests, MRIs, etc. There is one symptom that may make the doctor lean more towards IBS. If your symptoms are more prevalent after meals, you might likely have irritable bowel syndrome.
What's Next?
Treatment/management of IBS starts with an investigative approach, meaning you have to be patient and understanding. Your doctor may try out different approaches; some might work, while others might not. This does not mean your doctor does not know what they are doing. Different treatment approaches are performed to understand your gastrointestinal/digestive system and how it reacts to various foods or conditions.
Examples of such irritable bowel syndrome treatment approaches include:
- Being asked to consume different types of food to note the foods that make you feel worse. You will, of course, be asked to avoid eating the foods that make you feel bad.
- Testing whether the bacteria in your small intestines are contributing to your symptoms. If they are, some drugs are prescribed to control them.
- Investigating the speed at which food moves in your gastrointestinal system. Slow or fast movement may make your symptoms worse, meaning a doctor may either hasten or slow down the speed as required.
Stress might also be a contributing factor. Anti-depressants may be prescribed to see if they help alleviate your symptoms. Water intake and rest may also be recommended. You may be advised to drink more water than you are used to and increase your resting hours. This means you may need to change your lifestyle slightly for your well-being.
As indicated earlier, irritable bowel syndrome management is a trial and error approach, where different things are tested. The approach that works is used to alleviate your symptoms and improve your quality of life. This means that the approaches mentioned above might not work for everyone, so let your doctor try out different things.
Your health won't look after itself. If you want to live a long and active life, it is important that you understand the services and treatments which are on offer at your local health care clinic. Now, I'm not a health professional but I do have a passion for everything related to personal well-being and health. I've dedicated my time to carefully researching everything you might want to know about local healthcare such as health care costs, healthcare in the workplace, disease prevention, exercise, where you can get a good night's sleep, body awareness, chronic conditions and how to get the right treatment and diagnosis. Read on to find out more!