Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Diarrhea, and the Migraine Syndrome

"Oh, I must have eaten the wrong thing again! My bowels get stressed out so easily. Sometimes I get severe stomach pain and loose stools. My doctor wanted to do some tests the last time I saw him. Upper GI, gall bladder ultrasound, colonoscopy, and blood work doesn't sound like much fun to me! I wonder: why do I feel this way?" This person may have intermittent loose stools and even occasional constipation. The stomach may hurt and the discomfort or pain usually is at least temporarily better after a bowel movement. IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, does not cause fever, anemia, blood loss, or weight loss. If any of these are noted, then something else is going on--maybe even in addition to IBS. All too often, these patients are operated on for sick gall bladder. There are no stones, but the gall bladder is sluggish and has sludge in it. When someone has migraines, one of the reasons for nausea is a sluggish digestive tract. Who does not have a sluggish gall bladder with a migraine is a better question than do you want your gall bladder removed? This question is best answered by you and your doctor. Unfortunately the stomach symptoms often are only temporarily gone. This person falls into the migraine syndrome profile. Let me explain what I mean by the migraine syndrome. It is the outward expression of the body's sensitivity to light, sound, smell, food, and/or stress. Some people are more sensitive than others; therefore, their reactions to different stimuli are greater. This sensitivity can be manifested in the body as migraines, sinus headaches, neck aches, palpitations, irritable bowel syndrome, motion sickness or vertigo, reactive hypoglycemia, temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), panic attacks, and/or fibromyalgia. Now that's a mouthful! Understanding what is going on with you is very important in the healing process.