Irritable Bowel Syndrome -Part I

Over-the-Counter Medications - Over-the-counter medications are what I refer to as "the quick fix." While they may be helpful in relieving your current symptoms, they are certainly not a long term solution to the disease. Options include:

1. Laxatives - such as Ex-Lax, Miralax, and Dulcolax
2. Diarrhea medication - such as Immodium AD, Kaopectate and Pepto Bismol
3. Gas and bloating medications - such as Gas X and Mylanta

Long term use of laxatives is known to be highly detrimental to your GI (gastrointestinal) tract, due to the risk of your system developing a dependence. Furthermore, many of the popular laxatives contain the plant ingredient senna, the long time usage of which may damage your intestines.

Laxatives can, however, be great in helping jump-start your system, if you've become extremely backed up. The more time has passed since your last bowel movement, the more backed up your system becomes, and the harder it will be to move things along. It may therefore be necessary to take a laxative and clean your intestines out before beginning to implement diet and life style changes for the long term treatment of constipation (See part II).

Anti-diarrhea medicines are also not recommended for long term use, as you are not fixing the problem, you're simply circumventing it. Unless you treat the cause of the problem (rather than the symptom), the problem will keep recurring.

Anti-diarrhea medicines are great, however, for dealing with a potentially "uncomfortable" situation - i.e., plane ride, long car trip, job interview, etc.

Gas and bloating medications are OK (if you disregard their taste) for alleviating temporary discomfort, but the symptoms you are experiencing are really just part of a much larger picture. If you suffer from IBS, then the gas and bloating will not just go away. These medicines are not a fix. They are simply a poor band-aid.

Prescription Medications

There are 3 basic types of medications which doctors are prescribing for IBS:

1. Anti-depressants
2. Mild sedatives
3. Anti-diarrhea

Anti-Depressants, such as Prozac and Zoloft, are being prescribed to IBS patients in the belief that people suffering from IBS lack the optimum amount of serotonin their bodies require. While 5% of your body's serotonin receptors are located in your brain, the other 95% are located in your GI tract. It is believed that a hormonal deficiency in your GI tract brings about the slowing of your bowel activities, thus creating a state of constipation. Researchers have discovered that by taking anti-depressants to increase your body's serotonin levels, you can solve the problem of lazy bowel that causes constipation.

It should be noted, however, that the use of anti-depressants as a cure has not been proven, nor does this option seem to help everyone who tries it. Furthermore, like all medications, anti-depressants come with a whole list of potential side effects, among them nausea, dry mouth, difficulty sleeping, loss of, or increased, appetite, decreased libido, and impotence. If taken by a pregnant woman, they may cause birth defects to the fetus. Therefore, I personally would recommend taking a look at some alternative treatment options.

Mild sedatives, such as Donnapine and Librax, are being prescribed to IBS patients in the belief that the cause of diarrhea, an overactive bowel, can be treated by the sedation of your bowels. However, as mentioned above, medicines come with side effects, and the side effects of this class of sedatives include sleepiness (or sometimes insomnia), impaired vision, increased heart beat, mouth sores, inability to reach orgasm, and/or impotence.

Furthermore, sedatives can be extremely addictive, and you may eventually find yourself dependent upon such a mood-stabilizing substance when you didn't even have any serious personal problems to begin with! I am therefore mentioning that this option, if implemented, should be administered with great caution, and used only as a last resort, and on the advice of a doctor or mental health expert.