The Root Cause
It has long been established that IBS is not 'just in the mind', it is clearly a physical condition. Finding the root cause however remains something of a mystery. We take a brief look at why IBS can be so hard to cure for so many, and why it often takes so many attempts to ascertain just what is causing the problems in the first instance.
Cure
To begin with the thorny issue of curing IBS. If you consult medical journals you will find most if not all clearly state that there is at present no cure for IBS. Despite this if you search for IBS cures you will find many sites and claims that curing IBS is not only possible it is often easy. So where is the truth?
The reality is (as ever) the truth lies somewhere between. Treatments and therapies exist which show that IBS can be successfully managed for many, but not all, and some may find that IBS comes and goes based on external factors. Great examples of IBS which would come and go are often stress and medication related. Medication such as antibiotics, Ibruprofen and Aspirin may do harm to our digestion. If for example you take painkillers for a sporting injury, you may develop IBS, which later goes away after you stop taking strong medication. Similarly highly stressful periods in life can bring on IBS as a physical reaction to stress, which may also subside in time.
If you are lucky enough to have IBS come, and eventually go you will feel as though it was cured. Sadly for most IBS does not simply come and go. Yet again the problem relates to an excessive number of digestive disorders being classified as IBS.
Finding the Root cause
With such a 'wishy washy' diagnoses (the Rome Criteria), it is very hard to then simply get to a definitive answer to addressing the problem. If the diagnosis is vague, how can the treatment be specific?
The best method you can follow is detective work and a diary. Medical professionals do a wonderful job, however digestive disorders can often be like finding a needle in a haystack, for those that wish to see the level of complexity we recommend The Digestive System by Margaret E. Smith and Dion G.Morton. It only takes minor issues and imbalances for our digestive system to be corrupted. It is a field which we know an ever increasing amount, however we are some way from totally control of the digestive system.
If you have had IBS from birth then unless you are lucky enough to be able to identify the root cause then using a diary will assist you to manage your condition. If IBS came to you later in life then a diary and detective work will offer you a wonderful insight into when the symptoms arrived and what you can do about them.
For example when the symptoms arrived and what lead to them. You can look at changes in lifestyle (stress), or changes in diet and medication. This information can be of great assistance to whomever you chose to assist. It is so often in the little details that major problems can be resolved.
Don't wait for the quick cure, or quick fix. We all hope that the day will come, however until it does, the more information and knowledge you can gather, the greater your chances of ensuring you manage IBS, rather than vice versa.
