Irritable Bowel Syndrome Complications

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder that affects roughly 15 percent of all people in the United States. IBS causes dysfunction in the muscles, organs and nerves of the gastrointestinal tract, but the actual structure of the tract is not affected at all. Although IBS complications are limited, it is important to know what they are if you are suffering from the disorder.

History

• Until the 1990s, biological- and pathogenic-related aspects of IBS had not yet been verified. Until then, IBS was believed to be (and treated as) a psychosomatic illness (caused by mental processes).

Time Frame

• In a 3-year study of IBS, patients were found to be 16.3 times more likely, within that 3-year period, to develop the more complicated Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which is a group of intestinal inflammatory intestinal conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Identification

• Symptomatic complications of IBS (a functional disorder) have been frequently associated with the intake of certain foods. However, having symptoms that are provoked by certain food is usually indicative of a non-functional disorder.

Effects

• Several medical complications have been identified as appearing more frequently with IBS patients. Described as co-morbidities, these disorders include fibromyalgia, headaches and depression.

Misconceptions

• There is a greater risk of IBS patients having unnecessary surgeries such as a cholecystectomy (removal of the gall bladder--87 percent more likely) or hysterectomy (removal of uterus--1 in 3 IBS patients) due to misdiagnoses of IBS complications.

Theories/Speculation

• Current research supports the idea that IBS complications may be caused by an active infection that has yet to be discovered.

Potential

• Studies show that IBS patients undergo abdominal surgeries more often due to inappropriate surgical indications derived from IBS abdominal pain, rather than actual health risks such as gallstones.