# link between cfs & ibs?



## 20788 (Jun 20, 2006)

hi all!,curious to know if anyone else has developed ibs after having cfs years before?i was diagnosed with cfs in 1996, i was bed ridden with it for 12 months, then slowly recovered, then i developed severe nausea in my first pregnancy in 1998, dr thought it was morning sickness, but it contined after the birth, after years of going to different specialists, i was finally diagmosed with ibs in 2002. my main symptom is the nausea which is constant and very debilitating. i'd like another child, but am worried about the nausea which may wosen as it did in my first pregnancy, have heard that ibs can follow cfs years down the track, and can actually come out when our bodies are under stress. anyone else heard of a link between the two?


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Hi gabsmum,I got IBS as part and parcel of my ME/CFS when it started and it is quite common for ME/CFS sufferers to have irritable bowel/bladder problems...so its entirely possible its a symptom of your ME/CFS or a link to it.Sorry I can't be much help I'm rather tired at mo, must fall into bed...hopefully someone will pop along shortly with some answers, best wishes xxxxxxxx


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

There was a study done a number of years ago out of the U Adelaide that linked about 30% of CFS sufferers with IBS. Of those, 100% had a lowered circulation in the part of the brain that controls digestion. My inquiries with a UK ME organization turned up that this lowered circulation was found in the brain stem of CFSers. Now, I recovered from my IBS-D about 6 years ago through taking a flavonoid supplement designed to strengthen the vascular system, increase circulation, and stop the oxidation of cholesterol to our vasacular walls. From a purely testimonial basis, as this claim has not been clinically proven, a number of people have seen their blockages decreased through long term use. (The father of the man who convinced me to try this had a bypass operation cancelled after his blockage was reduced from 90% to 30%.) Another of the effects it had for me, aside from an increase in energy and clarity of thought, was an end to male smoker's impotence. Thinking this might be a sign of the clearing of blockages from my cardio system, I contacted a urologist, who indicated that would be one cause of the reversal, along with a strengthening of the walls of the collapsed cappillary structures and the increased circulation. At least two of the ingredients, grape seed extract and ginko biloba, are able to penetrate the brain blood barrier and also increase circulation. A third flavonoid, bilberry, is attributed with strengthening the arterial system. Assuming that any plaque deposits would affect functions controlled by the part of the brain that houses them, it is not much of a stretch to seeing the lowered circulation a direct result of those deposits. Clear and strengthen those structures and increase brain circulation and perhaps your symptoms will reverse as well. Mark


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Hi gabsmum!







I believe the majority of all CFS/ME and Fibromyalgia patients DO also experience IBS or irritable bladder, along with a host of other annoying symptoms, as I'm sure you are aware.From what I've read, nobody really knows WHY there is that connection, just that it does tend to exist.


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

This is a link to a short news story about the study. Doctors and university affiliations are named and presumably could be contacted. I know I exchanged a couple of e-mails with Dr. Unger at the time. They may well have dug up other informaton in the time since this was done.http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/03/1019441434909.htmlI think it was the ME Society in UK (could be wrong, this was several years ago, now) that provided the info on the brain stem. I can't speak for other reasons for limited circulation. Cardio deposits just seems the most likely and is the simplist explanation for myself and for CFS/FM sufferers who have experienced similar results. Personally, I think it would bear further research.(Just as an additional note to this, I have posted in the past of a co-worker who had Fibro and who treats it with vitamins and minerals for energy and a Pine Oil flavonoid supplement for pain and was doing just fine when I last saw him. I have also met another--a nurse--who has successfully treated her CFS with USANA vitamin/minerals and Flavonol, their flavonoid supplement. After a year, she bagged up all of her scripts and other OTC things and tossed them away.Having reversed every chronic ailment from which I once suffered, I have written from time to time about how many of us can strengthen our health and treat ourselves with good quality supplementation. This is normally dismissed by our resident experts. It does make me wonder where scientific inquiry ends and prejudice takes over.)Mark


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