IBS Medication: What’s Right for You?

If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), finding a treatment plan to meet your unique needs is critical to your quality of life. This may include a combination of lifestyle changes and medications prescribed by your primary care provider.

Download the Guide: Living With IBS and IBD

IBS Relief: Start With Lifestyle Changes

IBS causes problems in your large intestine. The disorder causes a variety of digestive issues, including:

• Abdominal pain
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Gas

In most cases, your doctor will recommend a conservative approach to alleviating these symptoms before recommending medications. A good place to begin is adjusting your diet with the help of a registered dietitian. He or she can review your symptoms and recommend changes that may include:

• Avoiding dairy products
• Eliminating wheat, which contains a protein called gluten that can be problematic for some people with IBS
• Gradually adding or reducing fiber to minimize constipation or diarrhea

Your doctor or dietitian may also recommend a diet known as the low-FODMAP diet. This eating plan focuses on limiting fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, or FODMAPS, which are difficult-to digest carbohydrates found in certain fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fruit juice, high-fructose corn syrup and honey. If you rely on gas pills to help with IBS, you might find that adopting a low-FODMAP diet reduces your reliance on them, because the foods you can eat tend to be foods that produce less gas.

In addition to changing your diet, you can also try to manage your IBS by getting more sleep, getting more exercise and reducing stress.

Read More: How to Cope and Live With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Medications for IBS

If lifestyle changes are not enough to help you find relief from your IBS symptoms, you may need prescription or over-the-counter medications. Fiber supplements, laxatives, linaclotide, lubiprostone and plecanatide can help relieve constipation. Alosetron (a medication prescribed only to women), eluxadoline, loperamide and rifaximin can help with diarrhea. Your doctor may also recommend include antispasmodics, which can relieve abdominal pain and cramping, and coated peppermint oil capsules, which might help pain and bloating. Anti-anxiety medication can also be helpful, as anxiety can worsen your IBS.

A Beaufort Memorial primary care provider can help you find the best way to treat your IBS and refer you to a gastroenterologist or dietitian for additional help.