Bowels on Fire; Bringing Awareness to IBS

Ahhh, April. Not only does its showers bring May flowers, but it brings the excitement of Easter and Tax Day. To add to the diversity of April’s gifts, it is also IBS Awareness Month. So, let’s become aware…

IBS=Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Ya know, this is NOT a fun subject to address, and medicine really missed the mark in naming this extremely frustrating condition. One can assume by its name that your bowel, or your large intestine, becomes irritated a little more often than that of the guy next door.

Irritated…

A two-year-old pulling on your leg, saying “MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA”—that’s irritating.  A pebble in your shoe while you are on your morning run? Irritating. How about that popcorn film that gets stuck between your teeth? That’s irritating too. And “irritating” is the perfect word for when, in true Carey fashion, I hit every red light on the way to work.

IBS puts “irritable” to shame.

I don’t have personal experience with IBS, but I have a son that does. I asked him, “How would you describe one of your IBS attacks?” I am humbled and, sorry son—a little humored, by his answer:

“On mild days, it might involve some slight cramping and bloating that’s consistent throughout the day, with 3-4 bowel movements a day. On bad days, it’s like this immediate and urgent cramping that persists, and the only way to alleviate that is to just sit on the toilet and sweat it out. But even then, there is this constant feeling of discontent somewhere between…um, the “exit”, and my intestines, but mostly the “exit”. On those days, we are talking 5-8 bowel movements of various lengths, substances, and consistencies. There’s even some mental aspect of it as well—anxiety around not being near a bathroom—things like that.”

Heaven help him. And every other IBS sufferer out there.

What the heck is happening? Well, IBS comes in a few different forms. One can have IBS with diarrhea, IBS with constipation, or the real special people can have IBS with both features.  When waste makes its way through the large intestine too quickly, the body doesn’t have time to reabsorb the water it needs. The water remains mixed with the waste products, results in diarrhea AND that urgent feeling you have when you really need to go. Constipation is the exact opposite. Too much water is reabsorbed by the body when waste moves through the bowel too slowly, causing hard, compact stools. The method by which waste moves through the bowel, whether fast or slow, is referred to GI (gastrointestinal) motility. Abnormal GI motility is a characteristic of IBS. Those individuals that are “blessed” with both features? Their large intestines play a mean game of “red light, green light”, and apparently, they didn’t get the memo.

Visceral hypersensitivity is another hallmark feature of IBS. Have you every had relentless allergies or a cold that required the use of full boxes of tissues to blow and wipe your nose? Remember just how sore the outside of your nose became? Imagine that…on the INSIDE of your intestines. The INSIDE of your organ (viscera) becomes extremely sensitive, inflamed, and sore. And now, let’s rub some poop across it. I rest my case.

I’m not gonna lie. My son who shall not be named would disappear after dinner for 30-45 minutes. We thought he was A—making room for dessert, or B—successfully avoiding dinner clean-up efforts. In what was not my finest parenting moment, I neglected to understand how ANYONE could spend that much time in the bathroom and just how miserable my son was. He now watches his diet and develops his stress coping mechanisms, both of which are huge triggers for IBS flares. IBS is associated with psychological distress, interference with work and sleep, and decreased quality of life. A combination of medications, food diaries, exercise, and even therapy for accompanying anxiety and depression can be effective in treating IBS symptoms.

So, don’t be a judger like me. HAHA. Empathy for your frequent bathroom flyers will keep you in the running for “parents of the year”. And, by all means, keep a clear path to the bathroom so your IBS sufferer can…

Be Well! 

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