Fibromyalgia - Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth
With all of the changes that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and "leaky gut syndrome" (LGS) present, there is another complicating factor that enters the picture. In a recent study published in "The American Journal of Gastroenterology", it was found that 78% of the study group who had been diagnosed with IBS had something called intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
So what does this mean? The small intestine normally doesn't have colonies of harmful bacteria present because in a normal GI tract, the acidity present and motility (the ability of the intestines to propel foodstuffs forward) prevents this from occurring. This SIBO can cause symptoms which both mimic and can exacerbate the abdominal discomfort found in many people with fibromyalgia. (There is a breath test that can be useful in determining whether SIBO is present.)
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Complicating the picture for those with fibromyalgia, there is a strong correlation between fibromyalgia, IBS and "leaky gut syndrome" (LGS). LGS, in fact, may well be the major contributory factor in many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Here is what happens in LGS. The lining of the intestinal tract is called the intestinal mucosa. The mucosa is responsible for allowing essential nutrients to be absorbed across it into our bodies and also is the barrier which keeps harmful microorganisms, toxins and by-products from digestion from being absorbed.
One condition that is being diagnosed more and more frequently is irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. IBS affects 10-20 percent of the population in the western world and affects twice as many women as it does men.
Although about 60 per cent of people who seek treatment for gastroenterologic problems are diagnosed with IBS, conventional medicine has yet to find a definite cause or cure for this condition.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder of motility of the entire gastrointestinal tract that produces abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea.
Irritable bowel syndrome affects women three times more often than men. In this syndrome, the gastrointestinal tract is especially sensitive to many stimuli. Stress, diet, drugs, hormones, or minor irritants may cause the gastrointestinal tract to contract abnormally.
Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that can be harmful to our cell membranes and the cellular damage they can produce puts additional stress on the already dysfunctional immune system found in the fibromyalgia syndrome. Free radicals are produced during the oxidative processes in the production of energy. An excess of harmful free radical production can result from the effects of air pollution, radiation, toxic wastes, food additives and pesticide residues.
Your immune system's backbone
A certain bacteria that reside in the oral cavity would seem that is to blame for obesity treatment by some of us, tells a team of American researchers from The Forsyth Institute, Boston.
Given the explosion of obesity phenomenon in recent years, especially in the United States, research on this issue have become increasingly common. Currently, more than 26% of Americans are obese.
Thus it was found that, depending on the cause which has determined, there are several types of obesity, including the inflammatory nature or caused by an infectious agent.
If all of the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia aren't enough of a physical challenge, many females (remember that approximately 90% of those affected are female) have the added burden of having severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms.
The physical symptoms of PMS include:
- Abdominal bloating
- Backache
- Breast tenderness
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Nausea
- Swelling of hands/feet.
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