Irritable Bowel Syndrome is known as IBS and it is not a laughing matter. When a patient is suffering from IBS he/she is having functioning problems with the part of their digestive tract that is responsible for stool production. The symptoms that one may have an impeded stool can be any of the following or a combination of the following: constipation, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. IBS is sometimes also referred to as spastic color, spastic colitis or mucous colitis.
IBS has been ranked as the second leading reason for miss work days each year. It is estimated that about 15% of Americans are suffering from IBS.
Many doctors have been curious about the link of the overgrowth of bacteria and the connection between IBS. Doctors know that we have a huge amount of bacteria within our colon, approximately 1,000,000,000 bacteria per ml of fluid resides in our colon. At the same time, only less than 10,00 bacteria per ml of fluid resides in our small intestine. The types of bacteria are also different between the two.
Doctors all ready have recognized that a condition called SIBO (Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) resembles many of the symptoms of IBS. Patients with SIBO have reported experiencing gas bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Only a few of these patients reported suffering from constipation.
When a patient has SIBO they have been found to have more bacteria in their small intestine. On average, about 100,000 bacteria have been found per ml of fluid in their small intestines. These bacteria also resemble the type of bacteria found in the colon.
To test for SIBO, doctors have been having their patients take a breathing test. They would take what is called an abnormal hydrogen breath test. It is easy. All they do is breathe into this special bag like device. Then their breath is measured. After the test, if it is found to be positive, the patient is put on a round of antibiotics to help stop the bacteria from growing.
A doctor by the name of Mark Pimentel, who is director of the Gastorintestinal Motility Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, conducted a study to see if the antibiotic Xifaxan could help IBS patients.
Unlike many antibiotics, Xifaxen does not enter the blood stream. It lays in the stomach. Thus, it can further work at eliminating the bacteria before it enters the digestive tract.
In this study, Dr. Pimentel and his team studied 87 male and female patients who suffered from IBS. These patients had not taken any antibiotics for at least the pass three months prior to the study. Half of the patients were then given 400 milligrams of Rifaximin three times a day for ten days. The other half of the study was given a placebo. A weeklong stool diary with questions regarding their symptoms were submitted before and after the pills were given. Then the same diary and questions were submitted every week for the following nine weeks. The results were calculated and proved that 37% of those taking the Rifaximin showed about a 50% improvement of their IBS symptoms. Only 15% of those taking the placebo showed any improvement.
Side effects were also rare. The main one being stomach discomfort.
The symptom that showed the best overall improvement among the group was less bloating to their abdominal region.
Since study, doctors have begun prescribing this antibiotic (Rifaximin) to many other patients who have suffered with IBS. Many of these patients have been able to take the antibiotic for the mere ten days and have found relief from their IBS symptoms for many months later.
Most doctors are now recommending that patients who are finding relief from their IBS symptoms by using the antibiotic Rifaxmin should take it about once a year.
This breakthrough has helped many people and it is leading to the study of more antibiotics and more ways in stopping the bacteria from growing. For these reason, IBS suffers may not have to suffer as much or as long. Hope is here and more hope remains for the future.
