To return to the sitemap click this link.Sitemap

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Diarrhea, and the Migraine Syndrome
by: J Wes Tanner MD

"Oh, I must have eaten the wrong thing again! My bowels get stressed out so easily. Sometimes I get severe
stomach pain and loose stools. My doctor wanted to do some tests the last time I saw him. Upper GI, gall
bladder ultrasound, colonoscopy, and blood work doesn’t sound like much fun to me! I wonder: why do I
feel this way?"

This person may have intermittent loose stools and even occasional constipation. The stomach may hurt and
the discomfort or pain usually is at least temporarily better after a bowel movement. IBS, or irritable
bowel syndrome, does not cause fever, anemia, blood loss, or weight loss. If any of these are noted, then
something else is going on—maybe even in addition to IBS. All too often, these patients are operated on
for sick gall bladder. There are no stones, but the gall bladder is sluggish and has sludge in it. When
someone has migraines, one of the reasons for nausea is a sluggish digestive tract. Who does not have a
sluggish gall bladder with a migraine is a better question than do you want your gall bladder removed?
This question is best answered by you and your doctor. Unfortunately the stomach symptoms often are only
temporarily gone.

This person falls into the migraine syndrome profile. Let me explain what I mean by the migraine syndrome.
It is the outward expression of the body’s sensitivity to light, sound, smell, food, and/or stress. Some
people are more sensitive than others therefore, their reactions to different stimuli are greater. This
sensitivity can be manifested in the body as migraines, sinus headaches, neck aches, palpitations,
irritable bowel syndrome, motion sickness or vertigo, reactive hypoglycemia, temporomandibular joint syndrome
(TMJ), panic attacks, and/or fibromyalgia. Now that’s a mouthful! Understanding what is going on with
you is very important in the healing process.

J. Wes Tanner, MD, is a family practice and headache specialist who has been treating people for over 30
years. He has extensive experience in treating migraines and fibromyalgia with excellent success. In Doctor,
Why Do I Feel This Way?, Dr. Tanner exposes the secrets and myths about fibromyalgia and the migraine
syndrome. To find out more, go to http://www.migrainesyndrome.net.

More on IBS