"How Did I Get Irritable Bowel Syndrome?"

IBS is right up there at the top, sharing first position with the common cold, as the medical reason for  absence from work. The impact on the workplace is not insignificant, but it can have a truly devastating effect on the individual.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a miserable condition as any sufferer knows. It can vary in how it presents itself, how uncomfortable it is, how long it lasts and how it affects individuals. Perhaps the most disruptive aspect - is that a flare-up can happen without warning. Plans for the day go out of the window as a day in bed, near to the bathroom is all that is practical.

When I started nursing in the 70s, there was no such thing as irritable bowel syndrome. Even ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease were rarities. I do remember that there were a few cases of "spastic colon", which I guess was the forerunner to IBS but again it was rare. What has happened since then to make gut problems commonplace now?

I have interviewed hundreds of patients during my career as a nurse and I have often been asked "how did I get irritable bowel syndrome?" Over this time I have been able to put two and two together and after considerable researching, reflecting and witnessing, have at last made four! For so long, the sums just made no sense. Why do some drugs cause diarrhoea? Why is it many people do not recover completely after a nasty bout of holiday tummy? Why is an upset stomach common after chemotherapy? Or more to the point, the question I eventually asked was - why is it some people are OK after these things?

Most of us have had antibiotics at some time, but for women in particular, a course of antibiotics means another problem - thrush - why? Or for anyone, antibiotics can cause diarrhoea - again, why?

There is a common denominator in all the above situations and it is candida. The ubiquitous yeast, candida.

The symptoms of candida infection (overgrowth), exactly match those of IBS. Bloating, abdominal cramps, headaches, gas, constipation and diarrhoea and more. Can this be coincidence? I don't think so and over the next few weeks, I want to answer some of the questions I have posed here.