# Does IBS effect small intestines?



## Guest (Sep 11, 2010)

I know that when you ready about IBS it only says that colon is involved but does the small intestines get effected? like when your stomach is gurgling like crazy in the middle around your belly button. is that part of IBS? I found one article that talks about it in term so of all of your gut. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/irritablecolon.htmIve ready about an upper stomach problem that sounds like IBS only for the upper stomach. Non-ulcer dyspepsia. same kind of functional disorder.Just wondering why IBS is said to only involve the colon and what others experiences are.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

The researchers divide up all the parts so IBS is a colon predominate disorder. Problems with the stomach (like dyspepsia) are not IBS, however a lot of people have problems up top and down below. You shouldn't see problems with absorption of nutrients like you see with disorders of the small intestine.Many IBSers don't have any symptoms anywhere else, so it is not true all IBSers have symptoms in all parts of the GI tract, but if you look at people who only have problems up top vs people who only have problems down below both are common so a fair number of people would have both even if they are completely and totally independent.However, since the SIBO/IBS hypothesis there can be some involvement in the small intestine, but still not to the point you have unexpected and unexplainable weight loss or losing certain nutrients because you can't absorb them properly.People who come at functional GI illnesses from the clinical end often tend to be lumpers rather than splitters and some people believe all functional GI illnesses no matter which part of the GI tract should all just be one thing, not split up into several things. Researcher tend to separate everything out until there is proof they are exactly the same thing.I'm not sure how easy it is to tell if something is just in your small intestine or is in the colon because basically you don't have a fine sensory network in the abdomen so you aren't getting different things from different organs, the same nerve will cover a large area and I'm not sure how precise you can be with gurgling noises as all parts of the GI tract will make noise when moving stuff around, so how to tell this gurgle is abnormal vs normal vs which exact thing is gurgling and being sure nothing else is.People who have the more classic small intestinal disease symptoms (weight loss when they eat way more than they need or who are anemic or have weak bones even with an adequate diet) should be tested for small intestinal disease and not just be told they have IBS.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2010)

interesting.I wasnt talking about mal nutrition or weight loss, just the gurgling that is much more than normal at times. Its blatently in the middle of your stomach not off to the sides where the colon is.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I'm just not sure how much disfunction you get in the small intestine that wouldn't cause a health problem from it also messing up it's ability to do it's job.There will be some gurgle in the small intestine because you can't move the food around without making noise and the disorders don't seem to be just gurgle and nothing else.http://www.aboutgimotility.org/site/about-gi-motility/disorders-of-the-small-intestine/ lists a couple of things.Bloating and pain with either vomiting or diarrhea is the main symptoms. Although gurgle is typically not considered a symptom.A fair amount of gurgle is normal and the only time the intestines are completely and totally silent is when there is a complete obstruction. So anyway noise, even loud noise is better than no noise at all (even if most of the time you need a stethoscope to hear most people most of the time, and every human's intestines even the completely healthy ones occasionally make a noise loud enough for them to hear).Usually the problem with gurgle is more that people get really anxious about it and the anxiety is much worse than any noise the intestines make while moving things around. I understand how worrisome it can be and people worry about being embarrassed, but it mostly just tells you things are moving, and moving is better than completely stuck.


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