Stress and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Everyday life events can lead to stress:

Work
Your daily travels e.g. to work and back
Problems at home
Money problems

Major life events can lead to stress:

Marital separation
Family member leaving home
A relationship ending
Severe illness
Death of a parent
Abuse (emotional and physical)

Do any of your IBS symptoms flare up during times of stress?

Constipation
Diarrhoea
Abdominal pain
Cramps
Bloating
Passing mucous
Feeling that bowel movement is incomplete

LET’S CONNECT THE DOTS BETWEEN STRESS AND YOUR STOMACH

The brain-gut-axis refers to the multiple pathways and other connections the brain uses to communicate with the gut. ⁷
Stress disrupts the brain-gut axis, leading to changes in gastrointestinal functioning: the movement of digestive contents along the digestive tract and the release of gastrointestinal hormones, causing diarrhoea or constipation. ^7,8,9
In patients with IBS, a profound dysregulation of the brain-gut axis (BGA) takes place. ⁷

STRESS DISRUPTS COMMUNICATION AND CHEMICAL PATHWAYS BETWEEN THE BRAIN AND THE GUT, LEADING TO IBS SYMPTOMS OR MAKING THEM WORSE. ^{7, 8,9}

IBS management tips – FODMAPS

What are FODMAPs? ¹⁰
FODMAPs are certain types of carbohydrates that can pass through the small intestine without being fully absorbed. If they move on to the large intestine, they get fermented by the bacteria that lives there, causing gas.

They also draw in water leading to:

F = FERMENTABLE (causes gas)
O = OLIGOSACCHARIDES such as onions, garlic, beans, artichokes, dried fruit, plums, watermelon, wheat, rye, barley, pistachio and cashew nuts. NOTE: not all nuts are high-FODMAP. Peanuts, walnuts and pecans, along with moderate portions of almonds, are low.
D = DISACCHARIDES such as milk and yoghurt. NOTE: many dairy products are low FODMAPs. Enjoy cheeses like parmesan, brie, cheddar and feta, as well as moderate servings of ricotta.
TIP: Many high-FODMAP foods become low-LODMAP in moderate servings.
M = MONOSACCHARIDES such as asparagus, sugar snap peas, apples, fresh figs, cherries, mango, pears, honey, agave and high fructose corn syrup. NOTE: pure maple syrup is an excellent replacement for honey. In baking, it’s a 1-to-1 substitute.
(A = AND)
P = POLYOLS such as peaches, blackberries, mushrooms and snowpeas, as well as sweeteners like mannitol, sorbitol, maltilol, xylitol and isomalt.

All patients with IBS should be treated holistically in order to improve their quality of life.¹¹

DOWNLOADABLE IBS TRIGGER DIARY

When you know the things that can make your IBS symptoms flare up, called triggers, you can make a plan to avoid them. That way, you can work on keeping problems with constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and bloating to a minimum. ²
IBS is different for everyone, but it may help to keep track of how you react to the most common symptom triggers and learn to prevent them. ²
Our downloadable IBS Trigger Diary – available online http://www.stressandmystomach.co.za/ may help you connect the dots in discovering what is making your IBS worse, and importantly, assisting your doctor in treating your symptoms.

The diary is simple to use:

We listed a number of common triggers and situations down the side. ^2,3

Simply complete the diary each day by ticking which emoticon best represents “how you felt” against “how you did” that day

You may not experience all of these situations each day, which is why we suggest you use the diary for at least 4 weeks. You may start to see some patterns emerging and we encourage you to visit your doctor with the completed diary to discuss how best to treat your symptoms.