Menstrual cycle can affect bowel symptoms

[Guest guest]

Menstrual cycle can affect bowel symptoms

NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters Health) -- The

menstrual cycle can affect bowel symptoms in

women with inflammatory bowel disease or

irritable bowel syndrome, a study suggests.

" We observed in our large clinical practice that

many women were reporting changes in their

symptoms or flare-ups of their inflammatory

bowel disease correlating with their menstrual

cycle, " said Dr. B. Hanauer of the

University of Chicago, Illinois, in an interview

with Reuters Health.

To study the possible link, Hanauer and

colleagues interviewed 49 women with ulcerative

colitis, 49 with Crohn's disease, 46 with irritable

bowel syndrome, and 90 healthy women without

bowel problems.

The symptoms of such disorders range from

abdominal pain and diarrhea under stress to more

severe bowel inflammation that can cause fever,

anorexia, frequent hospitalization and the need for

surgical removal of a portion of the intestine.

The researchers found that 93% of women

reported one or more of 18 premenstrual

symptoms, including irritability, depression, and

weight gain, and those with bowel disease

reported premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and

menstrual symptoms " more frequently " than other

women.

Those with irritable bowel syndrome and

irritable bowel disease reported more diarrhea,

either before or at the time of menstruation. And

women with bowel disease were significantly

more likely to have a monthly pattern to their

bowel symptoms than controls.

Treatment can help such cyclic variation in

symptoms, according to Hanauer.

" In many cases, either changing the cycle, for

instance with oral contraceptives, or ablating the

cycle with progesterone or leuprolide, can

improve cyclic-related flare-ups, " he said.

SOURCE: American Journal of Gastroenterology

1998;93:1867-1872.

Copyright © 1998 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. Republication or

redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the

prior

written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors o

[Guest guest]

Thank you for posting this article. This is something I have believed for

awhile now, but had no grounds to base it on.

Each month, a week or two before my cycle, my irratable bowel syndrome

flares up. And I have said for years that it was related to my menstrual

cycle. I am glad to see now that they have done a study to prove that.

Happy Thanksgiving

S. in Houston, TX

rosebud@...

[Guest guest]

Hi Tex,

Irritable bowel can be helped considerably by any of the metamucil type

products, or fibercon, if you want small simple;tablets. My doc tells me human

digestive tract works best with large quantities of coarse foods (millions of

years ago style meals) & just doesn't do well without very refined & prepared

nutrients. These " medicines " add a lot of bulk & absorb lots of acid too.

Taking it a step further, some very cheap papaya tablets, taken with

meals, before, after or whenever you remember) will also help by providing

digestive enzymes without acid to help regulate digestion. Doing this stuff

works almost immediately!

Ken

At 02:04 PM 11/26/98 -0600, you wrote:

~

~

~Thank you for posting this article. This is something I have believed for

~awhile now, but had no grounds to base it on.

~

~Each month, a week or two before my cycle, my irratable bowel syndrome

~flares up. And I have said for years that it was related to my menstrual

~cycle. I am glad to see now that they have done a study to prove that.

~

~Happy Thanksgiving

~ S. in Houston, TX

~rosebud@...

~

~

~

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