Naperville Integrated Wellness
NAPERVILLE'S TOP RATED LOCAL® FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FACILITY
IBS and Anxiety
If you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, there is a possibility that you also suffer from some level of anxiety or even depression. I often see patients in my office that suffer with both IBS and anxiety. Although there may not appear to be link between these two conditions, there often is. This is because they both involve the “2 brains” of the body. We are all very aware of brain that resides behind our eyeballs, but are you aware that we have a second brain? The second brain of your body is called the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system is the division of the body’s nervous system that controls digestion or what we call gut function. If your upper brain is unhappy, then your gut-brain may be unhappy too.
What is the connection?
It has been well established that anxiety is associated with an imbalance of chemicals in the brain; these chemicals, as a group, are referred to at neurotransmitters. Without proper neurotransmitter levels, nerves are not able to function properly. When the brain above our shoulders is not able to produce sufficient levels of neurotransmitters and keep them in balance, we become subject to conditions like anxiety and depression. While IBS sufferers can experience anxiety and or depression, I have noticed in my functional medicine clinic that the majority of my patients with IBS struggle with anxiety. They often say that when their anxiety is worse, so is their IBS. You can also flip is around and say that when their IBS acting up, their anxiety escalates. The level of anxiety may range from mild all the way up to panic-attack.
Antidepressants
Another observation I have made over the years is that patients who have been on antidepressants for years can begin to develop IBS-like symptoms or chronic digestion problems. Again, the common link here is neurotransmitter balance. The reason these types of medications can cause digestion issues is that they tend
to deplete neurotransmitter levels over time. Have you noticed that people who are taking antidepressants for extended periods of time will either need to increase their dosage or switch to a different type of medication? They usually need to do this because the medication they have been taking does not work as well as it did before. Why do you suppose that is? The reason this occurs is the drug has depleted the levels of neurotransmitters. Most of these medications are what we call reuptake inhibitors. Contrary to common belief, these drugs do not “increase” your brain’s production of neurotransmitters. They help your brain to function in the presence of a neurotransmitter deficiency. The problem is, they ultimately deplete the levels of neurotransmitter over time. This includes the neurotransmitters being produced by your digestive tract. When this happens, you develop a functional bowel disorder. IBS is a functional bowel disorder.
IBS
IBS is what we call a functional bowel disorder. This means the delicate synchronization of bowel motility, digestion and absorption is out of balance. This if different than inflammatory bowel disorders like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. As a functional medicine doctor, I have a thorough understanding of gut function and how it can be thrown out of balance. In my Naperville office, I work with many patients who suffer with IBS and many of them have poor neurotransmitter function of the digestive tract. This imbalance of neurotransmitters prevents the gut from functioning the way that it should, and you begin to see problems with gas, bloating, cramping, constipation and or diarrhea. Unfortunately, this problem is not recognized by most doctors that are treating IBS.
We do find other factors that can contribute to the development of IBS and these include hormone imbalances, adrenal gland stress, food sensitivities and gut bacteria imbalances or parasites. It is important to identify these problems if they exist, but I have found that when both anxiety and IBS are present, there is a strong neurotransmitter component.
Solution?
Once other factors (listed above) have been ruled out, and if neurotransmitter support is required, this problem can be addressed with nutritional supplementation. The goal is to achieve proper levels of neurotransmitters in the gut and the brain. It is however important to work with a functional medicine doctor who has extensive experience utilizing neurotransmitter support for IBS and anxiety. More often than not, doctors (and patients) try using supplements like tryptophan, tyrosine, GABA, 5-HTP, etc. and don’t know how to achieve optimal balance; the outcome being failure and no improvement of symptoms. I did not write this article as a “self-help” tool; this is because there are several important factors to consider when implementing neurotransmitter support. Instead, my purpose is to make sufferers aware that they have another option, that when applied properly, can have miraculous results.
If you suffer with IBS and anxiety, contact our office for more information.
If you would like more information about IBS, anxiety, depression, functional medicine or Dr. Sexton go to www.napervilleintegratedwelness.com
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