Don’t settle with unrelenting digestive symptoms, talk to your doctor about treatment options.

Today’s post is sponsored by Salix Pharmaceuticals, but the thoughts and opinions in this post are my own.

As many of you know, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common intestinal condition that occurs in about 15% of Americans and 11% of people, globally. IBS that occurs with the primary symptom of diarrhea is referred to as IBS-D. IBS-D affects up to 16 million Americans.

IBS-D is a complex disease with an unknown cause—and treatments are based on symptom relief rather than a cure at this time. Research has shown that depression and a lower quality of life is more common in IBS-D. Experiencing unpredictable and urgent diarrhea, pain and cramping can truly impact the quality of one’s life and can place limits on engaging in enjoyable activities such as parties, travel adventures, and even simply getting to work on time. So, it’s no wonder that individuals with IBS-D can feel frustrated.

Everyone deserves to go out, have fun and not live in fear that there might not be a bathroom nearby. If you don’t experience IBS-D symptoms then perhaps you might not think of some of life’s pleasures that might take a back seat when living with this condition, such as: enjoying a delicious ice cream on a hot summer evening, camping overnight in a remote area without bathroom facilities, flying on an airplane or running in a road race.

The good news is that thanks to the low FODMAP diet and innovative medical therapies, there are individual treatment options to help control unpredictable symptoms.

If you feel your IBS-D symptoms are not adequately controlled, meet with your gastroenterologist to discuss other options that may offer symptom relief such as the low FODMAP diet, medications, pelvic floor physical therapy or psychological interventions such as gut directed hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and diaphragmatic breathing techniques, to name a few.

Although IBS-D is not considered a life-threatening disorder, it certainly can be a life altering condition.

For additional resources specific to IBS-D, check out. IBSDUpClose.com which provides a science-based overview of IBS-D, and includes many online resources  for people living with IBS-D.