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It’s difficult to understand that so many processes good and bad are happening in our gastrointestinal tract, just like the positive and negative forces that drive electricity. It brings to mind the reality that the positive and negative elements in our lives are absolutely necessary if we are to attain a full and healthy life. On the one hand we have GI disorders and on the other the medications such as Domperidone to combat them.

A brief overview of IBS

Essentially, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be described as a common disorder which affects the large intestine.

Some of the main signs and symptoms comprise abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea or constipation, or both, gas accumulation, and bloating.

By its nature, IBS is usually a chronic condition and it involves treatment over the long term.

Despite the fact that it’s a common condition, only a few people who suffer from it show severe signs and symptoms.

In some cases people are successful in controlling their symptoms mainly by managing their diet, make changes to their lifestyle habits and manage their stress and anxiety.

These severe signs and symptoms can be treated with the use of medication and counseling.

Despite its debilitating impact, IBS doesn’t cause alterations to tissues in your bowel or increase your risk of getting colorectal cancer.

The telltale signs of symptoms

Nothing is more telling than the sudden and unexpected appearance of the signs and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but it should jolt us into immediate action to treat it.

The first and most important action you should take is to let our doctor know that something is amiss and you need help. Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands and your treatment will happen quickly.

Instead of being negative signs Symptoms are truly helpful in giving the doctor some idea of what is causing these symptoms to appear and in most cases an underlying condition is the cause.

This leads you doctor to the crux of the problem and they immediately start treating the underlying condition in the hope that the symptoms will disappear which is usually the case.

IBS signs and symptoms

The signs and symptoms of IBS usually undergo changes but the norm is that once they appear they’ll remain for a long period of time. The most common of them can include:

• Abdominal pain, that’s usually accompanied by cramping or bloating, which are usually the result of the constant movements of your bowel.
• Alterations to the appearance of movement of your bowl
• Changes in the frequency of your bowel movement.

Other symptoms such as bloating, increased gas accumulation and mucus in your stool are often interrelated.

When do you see a doctor?

The best time to see your doctor is when you experience continuous changes in your bowel movements or any other IBS signs or symptoms.

These signs or symptoms may point to a more serious condition of colon cancer and they usually:

• Persistent pain which does not abate with the passing of gas or a bowel movement
• Weight loss
• Difficulty when swallowing
• Nighttime diarrhea bouts
• Strange and unexplained vomiting
• Rectal bleeding
• Anemia caused by deficiency of iron in your body

Causes of IBS

No precise cause of IBS has been pinpointed but there are factors that are thought to play a part in triggering the causes as shown below:

• Contraction of intestinal muscles. The intestinal walls are covered with muscle layers that automatically expand and contract while they push food through your digestive track. The stronger and longer lasting contractions usually cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. The weaker contractions of your intestines usually move food at a slower pace resulting in hard, dry stools that usually result in constipation.
• Disorders in the nervous system. Sometimes, irregular functioning of the nerves in your digestive system may cause you to experience greater discomfort than you normally do. The reason is due to the stretching of your abdomen from gas pressure or stool movements. This sometimes causes the poor coordination of signals between the brain and your intestines that can cause overreaction to the changes in the digestive process which results in pain, diarrhea and constipation.
• Chronic infections. It’s usually the case that IBS may develop following a severe attack of diarrhea (gastroenteritis) from a secondary attack by bacteria or a virus. IBS may also be triggered by an excess presence of bacteria in your intestines also known as bacterial overgrowth.
• Childhood stress. Some people who find themselves exposed to stressful experiences especially during their childhood have the propensity to get more IBS symptoms.
• Microbe changes in your gut.  These can involve changes in bacteria the population of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that normally live in the intestines and play key health roles. Research has indicated that the microbes in people with IBS may be very different from those found in healthy people.

Can Domperidone effectively treat IBS?

This generic medication, that contains active ingredient Domperidone, is also known by its brand name Motilium is also used for the treatment of people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

If you are one of those suffering from IBS, Domperidone may be the right medication treatment for you.

This active ingredient has the propensity to block the dopamine receptors in the upper part of your gastrointestinal tract.

This interference can lead to an increased flurry of contractions of the stomach and bowel and by increasing these contractions Domperidone dine (Motilium) assists food to move more smoothly through the stomach.

At the same time, Domperidone can act to relieve nausea and vomiting usually associated with impaired digestion.

Another benefit of Motilium (Domperidone) is its anti-emetic drug that acts as a prokinetic agent that accelerates the digestive process thereby preventing a nauseous feeling.

Bottom line

When you gradually become more familiar with the main features of drug medication Domperidone, by knowing its nature and how it can induce more movement into the gastrointestinal tract, it becomes easier to see how efficacious domperidone can be in treating irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. It should be noted however that there’s a plethora of medications and natural remedies that can be used for treating IBS.

If you’ve had the misfortune of experiencing the debilitating and painful impact of an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you would have noticed that its impact bears no semblance to other conditions that are experienced by many other people. The difference with other conditions is that IBS symptoms are recurring over the long term despite the fact that a plethora of treatments including domperidone are available for treating it.

The Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) condition

This condition is a family of intestinal symptoms that usually take place at the same time with varying degrees of severity and duration for different individuals.

While they usually last for a period of three months at a stretch, they usually occur for at least three days in every month, stop for a while and can reoccur again.

It can cause intestinal damage in its wake in some cases but this is usually not a very common occurrence.

It’s not similar to inflammatory bowel disease and while it’s known not to increase the risk of causing gastrointestinal cancers, its impact on your life can be significant.

You can learn more about the impact of IBS on your life here.

Symptoms of IBS

Listed below are some of the typical symptoms of IBS that can include:

• abdominal pain
• cramping
• diarrhea
• constipation
• bloating and gas

When people are suffering from IBS, it’s not unusual for them to experience bouts of constipation and diarrhea.

However, the symptoms of bloating and gas usually dissipate following a bowel movement when gas is released.

IBS symptoms are usually of short term duration that can resolve themselves over several days but usually comes back again. However, for some people, their symptoms are continuous.

You can get more information on IBS symptoms here.

IBS symptoms in men

The symptoms of IBS that appear in men are similar to those experienced by women but the difference is that fewer men tend to report their symptoms to healthcare providers for treatment than women.

Click here to learn more about the effects of IBS on men

IBS symptoms in women

Typically, women are more susceptible to have IBS symptoms round about the time of their menstrual cycle, or they experience more symptoms during this time.

Conversely, menopausal women experience fewer symptoms that women who are still menstruating at the time of their monthly cycles.

Some women have actually reported an increase in certain symptoms during their pregnancy. For more information on women symptoms, click on at this link.

Pain from IBS

The pain caused by IBS can be the same as the pain caused from cramping, but the pain is usually accompanied by the following experiences:

• some pain relief following a movement of the bowel
• how often you have a bowel movement may be changed
• the way your stools look changes

Diagnosis of IBS

Your doctor will usually base his diagnosis on your IBS condition on the symptoms that you have. They will also most likely follow one or more of the steps listed below so they can cancel out other possible causes of your symptoms:

• suggest that you take up a certain diet or leave out certain food groups from your food intake for a period of time to leave out any food allergies you may have
• examine a sample of your stool to rule out any infection influences
• undergo blood tests so as to check for anemia and to rule out any celiac diseases
• recommend the performance of a colonoscopy

A colonoscopy is done only if your doctor suspects that colitis, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease), or cancer are responsible for causing your symptoms.

To learn more about the process of diagnosing IBS, click here

Ideal diet for IBS

Dietary changes can greatly benefit some people by helping to ease their symptoms.

Because IBS symptoms are different among people who have the condition, the approaches to dietary changes must also be changed.

In order to have a wide perspective and understanding of the different dietary approaches available for you to use, you should click this link.

IBS remedies and treatments

Home remedies

The home remedies or lifestyle changes that can help to relieve your IBS symptoms without using medications, especially if the symptoms are mild. These lifestyle changes can include:

• joining in regular physical exercises
• reducing the intake of caffeinated drinks that stimulate the intestines
• cutting down on the size of meals
• controlling and minimizing stress (counseling may help)
• taking of probiotics (which are ‘good’ bacteria usually found in the intestines) for relieving gas and bloating symptoms.
• avoidance of spicy or deep fried foods

Foods to avoid while having IBS

When you want to boost your performance on the track you train hard and take drugs and if you want to have muscles great muscles you do lifts and take steroids.

It’s the same for combating IBS although you don’t increase your ingestion of food but you deliberately avoid certain types of foods. And you’ll find that it’s worth your while.

You can start by minimizing your intake of dairy, fried foods, indigestible sugars. Beans may help reduce different symptoms.

The adding of spices and herbs such as ginger, peppermint, and chamomile in cooked meals has helped  to reduce some IBS symptoms.

You can learn more about how some foods interact with IBS symptoms by clicking this link.

Medications for IBS

Sometimes, home remedies such as lifestyle and dietary changes, are insufficient for improving your symptoms and your doctor may suggest using medications.

If you opt to do this, you should know that different individuals will respond differently to the same medication so you’ll to work closely with your doctor to find the ideal medication for treating your IBS.

It’s very important for you to tell your doctor about any medications you are already taking that should also include herbal remedies, as well as OTC treatments.

This will enable your doctor to identify medications that may interact with the medication you are already taking.

There’s a plethora of medications available for treating IBS but you and your doctor will need to select the most effective and most appropriate for your IBS symptom. These medications work to control muscle spasms, ease pain, and help ease constipation.

The following medications can be used for treating your specific IBS symptom:

• Domperidone (help increase bowel contractions)
• Tricyclic antidepressantsand antibiotics(eases pain)
• Antibiotics (for easing pain)
• Linaclotide and lubiprostone (constipation)

Conclusion

The one thing that all patients truly desire is that their condition will be treated effectively given the availability and potency of the medication or medications that have been selected for treating their specific condition, which in this case is IBS. This article has been written to enforce this truth and to present a brief general coverage of the medications that are available for treating IBS symptoms.

It’s an undeniable fact that in the United States alone, between 3 percent and 20 percent of the population are affected by symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It’s also a fact that this disease affects more women than men and some people experience only minor symptoms of this discomforting condition. However, for other sufferers, the symptoms can be very severe and can disrupt their daily life.

What is this discomforting condition?

IBS is a chronic, debilitating, gastrointestinal (GI) disorder that comes with different symptoms that include abdominal pain, changing bowel behavior such as diarrhea and constipation or both in turns, and bloating.

When IBS appears, it means that the movement or function of the bowel is not what it should be.

Surprisingly, no medical tests can either confirm or rule out a diagnosis and yet it’s the most common worldwide condition can affect individuals.

It’s also the most frequently presented disorder that’s referred to gastrointestinal specialists known as gastroenterologists, for treatment.

The possible causes of IBS

As already indicated, it’s not possible as yet to pinpoint the real cause or causes for IBS.

However, it can be said to involve the interaction between the gastrointestinal tract, the amount of bacteria living in the gut, the nervous system, and the impact of external factors, such as anxiety or stress.

While unproven there are theories that claim that various factors may influence IBS symptoms such as the:

• neurological hyper-sensitive nature of the nerves within the gastrointestinal tract
• presence of physical and/or emotional stress
• chronic infection or inflammation of the intestine (enteritis), manifested by traveler’s diarrhea which may be precursors to the onset of IBS symptoms.

One important aspect to note is the sensitivity of the GI system to adrenalin, a hormone that’s released in the body when you become excited, anxious, or fearful, and also to other hormones.

Changes in female hormone levels can also impact the GI tract, so it follows that IBS symptoms may become exacerbated during specific times during the menstrual cycle.

Because these hormones are able to influence the movement time of food through the digestive system, it may be the reason why women get IBS more readily than men, but evidence is still scanty to substantiate this thinking.

It’s also very important to note that as there’s no definite proof as to the source of IBS, many suggested causes and offered cures for this syndrome are often just speculations and you shouldn’t be entices by them.

While there’s little doubt that IBS is a chronic and painful condition some consolation may be had in knowing that no evidence exist to suggest that there’s a relationship between the condition and an increased risk of even more serious bowel conditions such as inflammatory bowel diseaseorcolorectal cancer.

Managing IBS

Being an extremely complex system, it follows that the GI tract is greatly influenced by numerous nerves and hormones.

Another aspect of IBS is that it’s also affected greatly by the types of food that’s consumed, the frequency and environment of when and where the food is eaten, and the medications given for treatment, can impact both the secretions and movement (motility) of the intestines in the GI tract.

The most important aspect of managing the treatment of IBS is first and foremost to know and understand the rather unique nature of you symptoms and any factors that can aggravate and trigger them.

It’s also a relief to recognize that a period of time may lapse before your bowel returns to its normal functional mode and to also know that once treated, your symptoms can reoccur soon after treatment.

Changes in dietary and lifestyle habits

Eating

Eating is a human habit that attracts the closest scrutiny and response from your GI tract and hence the reason why it’s very important that you regularly engage in this habit.

However, regular eating should also consist of well-balanced, moderately sized meals that are eaten with the knowledge that IBS symptoms can improve when sufficient time for regular eating and bathroom visits develop over time.

Equally important is the culturing of a healthy sleep regimen that dovetails with a moderate amount of exercise which can also help reduce your symptoms.

Effects on IBS symptoms

Some people have reported that a diet consisting of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a food additive, can trigger IBS symptoms.

Others have found that symptoms are exacerbated when they consume large quantities of liquids with their meals.

Still others find that IBS symptoms improve when they consume cooked fruits and vegetables as opposed to eating them raw.

IBS sufferers may find that they need to reduce their consumption of foods and drinks that stimulate the GI such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and particularly if diarrhea is the main   symptom.

 GI tract gas

When you get IBS, it doesn’t mean you will produce more intestinal gas in your digestive system but it may mean that your intestines are very sensitive to the movement of gas.

One way to counter this problem is to reduce the amount of ingested gas and to avoid eating large quantities of gas-producing foods.

To reduce air ingestion you should avoid chewing gum, gulping food, using liquids to wash down food with liquids and sipping hot brews.

Increased air swallowing can also be done through loose dentures, severe postnasal discharge, acute pain, anxiety or tension.

A new dietary treatment

For the treatment of IBS, a new dietary therapy known as the lowFODMAP diet has gained popular approval in North America.

 The full name is Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharaides, and Polyols which represent the names of carbohydrates that have not been digested properly.

They find their way into the large intestine where they are fermented by bacteria living there. Of themselves, they do not pose a problem but those with IBS say the foods actually made their symptoms worse.

The new diet works by avoiding specific foods for six to eight weeks to find out if symptoms subside. If they improve, a tolerable amount of FODMAPs may be reintroduced to the diet.

Because FODMAPs are found in many foods, removing them from your food intake over the long term can cause nutritional deficiencies.

While study results are promising, not everyone is helped which means that more research is needed and for this a simpler diet may be the answer.

The best way to monitor irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is to keep an intake diary for noting adverse reactions.

By using this method, you can readily identify and remove problematic food from your diet and determine an approach that works best for you.

You should nevertheless consult a registered dietitian for moving any food over the long-term.

Conclusion

It’s important to note that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly inconsistent conditions for which there are many triggers for setting it into motion. The best way to keep tabs on its ever changing nature is to keep a diary of food intake, noting any adverse reactions that occur. In doing so, you’ll be able to quickly find and remove foods from your diet that are causing the problem and work out another approach that can remove suspect food from your diet.

One of the many downsides about diagnosing conditions such as IBS is that sometimes conditions are frequently misdiagnosed or even wrongly diagnosed for that matter, and as a result, proper diagnosis may take many years to complete it successfully. Patients therefore find themselves trying out treatment after treatment and often suffer from their efforts in trying to discover relief from their symptoms. What are these symptoms and can Domperidone (Motilium) provide relief?

Getting to know IBS better

IBS is known by many names that include spastic colon, irritable colon, mucous colitis and spastic colitis.

Essentially, it’s a separate condition from inflammatory bowel disease and is not related to any other bowel located conditions.

It comprises a group of intestinal symptoms that take place together but that the symptoms differ in duration and intensity in each individual.

They do however, last for at least three months occurring for at least three days per month.

In some cases, IBS can do damage to your intestines but this is very unusual thing to happen.

There is no substance in the claim that IBS can increase the risk of getting gastrointestinal cancers, but it can still have a very significant impact on your life.

You can learn more about how IBS can affect your bowelby clicking this link.

What causes IBS?

It’s true that there are many ways for treating IBS, but it’s also true to say that what causes IBS remains in the dark because it hasn’t been possible to pinpoint the cause or causes.

It can be caused by an unusually sensitive colon or some flaw in the immune system.

It may be caused by a bacterial infection suffered in the gastrointestinal tract sometime in the past.

The variety of possible causes is the main reason why it has proven very difficult to prevent the occurrence and treatment of IBS.

What triggers IBS?

Many people believe that the most effective way to manage the signs and symptoms of IBS is to avoid things that trigger its occurrence.

Because IBS is a condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract it’s no surprise that for many people, certain foods can act as triggers for IBS symptoms as well as stress and anxiety.

For many people with IBS, certain food types can act as triggers but some of these foods may exert greater effect on you than on other people.

Due to this uncertainty, it may be of help to keep a food diary for a period of time so you’ll know which types of food are IBS triggers in your case.

Pre-empting situations that can increase your stress and anxiety levels can help you in avoiding such situations or develop safeguards that will minimize your levels of stress and anxiety.

There are many other tips that can help in avoiding and managing IBS triggers.

The signs and symptoms of IBS

There are a variety of signs and symptoms for IBS but their common factor is that they are usually present for a long time in a person. The most common signs and symptoms can include:

• Pain in the lower abdomen, cramping or bloating due to passing of substance in the bowel.
• Alterations in the appearance of bowel movements
• Changes in the frequency of your bowel movements

Other often related symptoms include bloating, rise in the presence of gas and mucus in the stool.

You should quickly see a doctor if you have a consistent change in your bowel habits or other IBS related signs and symptoms.

These persistent changes may indicate that you may have a more serious condition, such as colon cancer. However, there can be more serious signs and symptoms such as:

• Stubborn pain that refuses to be relieved by passing gas or bowel movement
• Weight loss
• Diarrhea at nighttime
• Difficulty swallowing
• Rectal bleeding
• Unexplained vomiting
• Anemia caused from iron deficiency

Even though it’s difficult to know precisely what causes IBS, there are certain factors that appear to play a role which include:

• Contraction of intestinal muscles. The intestinal walls are covered with muscle layers that automatically expand and contract while they push food through your digestive track. The stronger and longer lasting contractions usually cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. The weaker contractions of your intestines usually move food at a slower pace resulting in hard, dry stools that usually result in constipation.
• Disorders in the nervous system. Sometimes, irregular functioning of the nerves in your digestive system may cause you to experience greater discomfort than you normally do. The reason is due to the stretching of your abdomen from gas pressure or stool movements. This sometimes causes the poor coordination of signals between the brain and your intestines that can cause overreaction to the changes in the digestive process which results in pain, diarrhea and constipation.
• Chronic infections. It’s usually the case that IBS may develop following a severe attack of diarrhea (gastroenteritis) from a secondary attack by bacteria or a virus. IBS may also be triggered by an excess presence of bacteria in your intestines also known as bacterial overgrowth.
• Childhood stress. Some people who find themselves exposed to stressful experiences especially during their childhood have the propensity to get more IBS symptoms.
• Microbe changes in your gut.  These can involve changes in bacteria the population of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that normally live in the intestines and play key health roles. Research has indicated that the microbes in people with IBS may be very different from those found in healthy people.

So how can Domperidone help?

This generic medication, that contains active ingredient domperidone, is also known by its brand name Motilium is also used for the treatment of people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

If you are one of those suffering from IBS, domperidone may be the fight medication treatment for you.

This active ingredient has the propensity to block the dopamine receptors in the upper part of your gastrointestinal tract.

This interference can lead to an increased flurry of contractions of the stomach and bowel and by increasing these contractions domperodine (Motilium) assists food to move more smoothly through the stomach.

At the same time, domperidone can act to relieve nausea and vomiting usually associated with impaired digestion.

Another benefit of Motilium (domperidone) is its anti-emetic drug that acts as a prokinetic agent that accelerates the digestive process thereby preventing a nauseous feeling.

Conclusion

To be overwhelmed with a discomforting and sometimes debilitating condition such as an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a situation that you need to avoid at all cost. Your gastrointestinal tract is of such paramount importance to your general health that safeguarding and ensuring its proper function and treating it when it gets into strife should be of paramount importance to you. But you have an array of effective treatments including domperidone that you can use.

Diagnosis is the most common starting point performed by doctors to determine the medical health of a person and it usually consists of a variety of preliminary tests to identify an underlying cause of a specific condition. Unfortunately there’s no standard test that can be used to definitely diagnose IBS so your doctor has to begin from the very start that involves a medical history, physical exam and tests so that other conditions can be ruled out.

Preliminary treatment procedures

Once your doctor has eliminated all other conditions and identified the main underlying condition that’s causing you irritable bowel syndrome, your doctor will use one of these diagnostic criteria:

• Rome criteria – These involve abdominal pain and discomfort that lasts for at least one day weekly over the last three months.  They are usually associated with pain and discomfort during defecation and the frequency of defecation is changed or consistency of defecation is altered.
• Types of IBS – IBS is divided into three man types made up of
  • constipation-predominant
  • diarrhea-predominant
  • mixed

 Your doctor’s focus may also include an assessment of whether you may have more signs or symptoms that might betray the existence of another more serious underlying condition. These signs and symptoms can include:

• start of signs and symptoms beyond age 50
• weight loss
• rectal bleeding
• fever
• nausea or recurring of vomiting
• nightly abdominal pain not related to bowel movement
• persistent diarrhea that awakens you at night
• anemia caused mainly from low iron in your body

If these signs and symptoms are found in your tract system and the initial treatment hasn’t worked, additional tests may need to be carried out on you.

More tests

In order to further test the signs and symptoms your doctor can include:

• stool studies in order to determine the level of infection or issues for the ability of your intestines to extract nutrients from ingested food (malabsorption)
• other tests to eliminate other symptomatic causes

Diagnostic procedures

These usually include:

• colonoscopy – this involves the use of a small, flexible tube by your doctor for examining the entire length of the colon.
• X-ray or CT scan – images of your abdomen and pelvis are provided for viewing to allow your doctor to eliminate other symptomatic causes especially if you suffer from abdominal pain. Your doctor may fill your large intestine with barium liquid to enhance the visibility of your issues on X-ray or CT scan.
• Upper endoscopy – this involves the insertion of a long, flexible tube down the throat into the esophagus with a camera attached to the end. It allows the doctor to navigate and inspect the upper part of the digestive tract and take a sample of tissue (biopsy) and fluid from your small intestine to ascertain the extent of bacterial growth.

Laboratory tests connected with diagnostic procedure are:

• Lactose tests – the enzyme lactase digests sugar in dairy products but if your system doesn’t produce lactose then problems akin to those caused by IBS such as abdominal pain, gas and diarrhea will result. A breadth test may be called by your  doctor or direct you to abstain from milk products especially milk.
• Breath test – this test can determine whether or not you have bacterial overgrowth in your small intestine. This usually affects people who’ve had bowel surgery, have diabetes or other diseases than slows digestion.
• Stool tests – stools may be tested for bacteria and parasites or for bile acid which is usually present during chronic diarrhea.

Treatments for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Relieving the pain that usually accompanies IBS is the main focus of the given treatment, the goal being that despite IBS, you will be able to live a normal life.

It’s usually not difficult to control mild signs and symptoms so long as you are able to manage stress which is usually the underlying condition that triggers IBS.

In managing stress, you should try to:

• Get sufficient sleep
• Do regular exercising
• Drink lots of fluid
• Avoid foods that activate your symptoms
• Consume plenty of fibrous foods

In order to help in your dietary habits for controlling IBS, your doctor may suggest that you abstain from:

• Gas producing foods – these food types usually produce bloating from gas accumulation in your system. If you suffer from this condition you should avoid carbonated and alcoholic beverages and foods that may increase the presence of gas.
• Gluten – past research has shown that some people who suffer from IBS reported a big improvement in their symptoms of diarrhea when they stopped enjoying gluten foods such as wheat, barley and rye.
• FODMAPs – these are foods that contain carbohydrates such as lactose, fructans and fructose and others that include fermentable carbohydrates such oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, are notable present in grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

If you wish to change your diet, you are advised to approach a dietitian to help you change your dietary habits.

It may also be likely for your doctor to recommend the use of counseling if your IBS issues are moderate to severe especially if stress and depression might set in and exacerbate your symptoms.

In addition to these dietary alterations, you doctor may suggest that you take the following medications:

• Laxatives – if consuming fiber fails to ease constipation, you doctor is likely to recommend OTC laxatives such as oral magnesium hydroxide or polyethylene glycol (Miralax)
• Fiber supplements – constipation may be eased if a supplement such as psyllium is taken with  fluids.
• Pain medications – these include taking gabapentin or Pregabalin medications to ease severe pain or bloating.
• SSRI antidepressants – these selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant treatments are effective for easing pain, depression, and constipation.
• Tricyclic antidepressants – this medication helps to relieve depression and can also interfere with the activities of neurons inside the intestines to reduce pain. If only diarrhea and abdominal pain are present without depression, you doctor may recommend a lower dose of imipramine (Tofranil), desipramine (Norpramin), or nortiptyline (Pamelor).
• Anticholinergic medications – included in this group is dicyclomine (Bentyl) which helps relive painful bowel spasms. They are usually prescribed for patients suffering from bouts of diarrhea. Essentially, they are safe medications to use but are known to cause constipation, blurred vision and dry mouth.
• Anti-diarrheal medications – these are OTC medications that can help to control your diarrhea, or a bile acid binder such as cholestyramine (Prevalite), colesgtipol (Colestid) or colesevelam (Welchol).  You should note though that bile acid binders can also cause bloating.

Conclusion

The intestinal tract is a truly an awesome piece of creative marvel that serves the body well by allowing food to flow smoothly through its entire length and exit as waste material. Another function the intestine possesses is the ability of the intestines to absorb nutrients from the food and drink ingested which is subsequently converted to carbohydrates and energy. This is why IBS poses a threat but there are plenty of medications to treat it.

It’s a very difficult process to diagnose a serious condition such as irritable bowel syndrome (IDS) and your doctor would most likely follow the practice of many doctors who start their diagnosis by conducting an account of a patient’s medical history, a physical examination and a variety of tests to rule out the presence of other conditions. After that, the treatment should begin.

What is Domperidone?

Even before we think about starting the treatment, we should familiarize ourselves with the treatment itself, which in this particular case, is the drug medication domperidone.

Simply put, domperidone is an anti-sickness medication which is also known as a dopamine antagonist.  Domperidone is he generic version of the medication with the brand name Motilitium.

It’s readily available in tablet form and also as an oral suspension liquid form and in the UK, all forms of this drug medication are available only on prescription.

Important information to know about domperidone

You should take heed of the following information when you are taking domperidone:

• If you suspect that your dose of domperidone is not addressing the symptoms you are having, you should tell your doctor about it. It’s essential that the amount you take is not more than the prescribed dose.
• When you are taking the medication and you find that you feel faint, your heart starts to beat very fast or beat at an irregular rate, it’s very important that you immediately inform you doctor about it.
• The taking of domperidone should be done with caution when given to children, people over 60 years old and people suffering from kidney disorder.

What’s it used for?

The main use for domperidone is  for the relief of nausea and vomiting which can result from a variety of causes that include the use of general anesthetics, chemotherapy, and migraine.

It can also be taken to for the prevention of nausea and vomiting that may be the result of using medication for Parkinson’s disease such as levodopa, apomorphine, and pramipexole.

How domperidone works

Essentially, this drug medication works by blocking the passage of dopamine receptors which are located at the upper part of the digestive tract. As a result, muscles become tight as substance enter the stomach.

Muscle relaxation subsequently takes place when substance exits the stomach while at the same time, there’s a general tightening of muscles in the stomach itself.

All these activities serve to accelerate the passage of food through the stomach into the intestine, which actually assists in preventing the occurrence of vomiting, reduces sickness feelings, bloating and fullness.

Domperidone also prevents the food in the stomach from flowing the wrong way from the stomach and therefore stops reflux or the regurgitation of stomach contents back up the esophagus.

Dopamine receptors are also found in the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) of the brain. When an irritant finds its way into the stomach, the CTZ is activated by nerve signals from the stomach.

Other agents such as chemotherapy medications circulating in the bloodstream also directly activate the CTZ.

When activated CTZ sends messages to a different part of the brain known as the vomiting center which subsequently sends signals to the gut that leads to a vomiting reflex action.

When the dopamine receptors in the CTZ are blocked, nausea signals are prevented from being sent out to the vomiting center which decreases the nausea sensation thereby preventing the vomiting that should follow.

Doses for Domperidone

The following are the doses for domperidone:

• The prescribed dose is dependent on the symptoms that are being treated and they vary from person to person.  You should always follow the instructions your doctor gives you.
• For adults and children over 12 years of age the normal dose is 10 mg to be taken three times a day.
• The maximum dose is 30 mg daily. For children under the age of 12, the dosage should be calculated according to the weight of the user.
• When taken, domperidone tablets should be swallowed with a glass of water. Ideally, the tablets should be taken before meals, because they may take longer to be absorbed into the bloodstream and start working when taken after meals.
• Should you happen to inadvertently miss a dose simply disregard the missed dose and continue with your next dose when due. You should never double up to make up for a missed dose.

Is domperidone suitable for everyone?

Given below is information concerning those who shouldn’t take domperidone:

• People suffering from heart disease that include heart failure, or with a very slow and irregular heartbeat.
• Those with an abnormal heartbeat rhythm seen on a heart monitoring trade (ECG) as a “prolonged QT interval” and also people taking other medications that causes this issue.
• People with pronounced irregularities in electrolytes levels (salts such as potassium and magnesium in their blood.
• Those suffering from cancer of the pituitary gland which has been caused by the over-production of the hormone prolactin (prolactinoma).
• People suffering from conditions where movements through the stomach may prove harmful, such as bleeding, blockage of stomach intestines, the presence of an abnormal hole (perforation).
• Those suffering from moderate to severe liver function disorders.

Possible domperidone side effects

All drug medications can cause side effects and domperidone can cause the following side effects:

Uncommon side effects (affects 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000

• Sleepiness.
• Breast milk production.
• Headache.
• Breast pain or tenderness.
• Anxiety.
• Itching.
• Feeling weak.
• Rash.
• Loss of sex urge.
• Diarrhea.

Side effects of unknown frequency

• Abnormal liver function.
• Nervous disposition.
• Irregular heartbeat.
• Erratic movements of hands, legs, face, eyes, neck or tongue, such as tremors, twitching or stiffness (extrapyramidal effects). Contact you doctor promptly if you notice these symptoms.
• Abnormal heartbeat or ‘prolonged QT interval’ on a heart monitoring trace (ECG).
• Rise in prolactin level (milk producing hormone) in the blood (hyperprolactinaemia). This can sometimes lead to symptoms such as enlarged breasts in men (gynaecomastia) or preventing menstrual periods in women
• Problems in urinating.
• Convulsions

Conclusion

Irritable bowel syndrome is a very serious condition that should be given top priority in preventing, managing and treating with the most efficacious medication, one of which is that of taking domperidone. One very important aspect of effective treatment of IBS is to ensure that you know the other medications that can interact with domperidone and interfere with its proper functioning in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

When you are reading, writing or actually doing medical practice many issues related to the physical wellbeing of people seem to always filter their way into what you read write and do. They never stop invading your privacy and sometimes you have to work long hours dealing with them. One of them of course is side effects that accompany treatments along with other issues that need to be minimized, prevented or eliminated. Read on for more info on how domperidone works.

If you do have problems with your gastrointestinal tract, it seems that the most effective treatment is domperidone but it may be that you know very little about this drug medication. Well, now that you know the treatment the next thing is to know as much as you can about domperidone especially about how it works so that you can become more confident about using the medication. Read on to gain more facts about it.

Like most drug treatments such as domperidone, there’s always the specter of side effects, their potency on the body and how best to avoid or try to eliminate or minimize their influence as much as possible so that people can feel at ease when treated without worrying about the likely side effects that may appear.

Whenever the fate of your skin is at stake, the best kind of medication for fixing it quickly comes to mind . Right now there’s nothing simpler to use than generic and topical tretinoin. It’s one of the best and most effective acne prevention treatments anywhere to be found. It’s simply the quickest, simplest and most convenient process there is for getting rid of acne and reclaiming your rejuvenated skin back again.

Tretinoin oral or gel/cream treatment?

Choosing tretinoin gel or cream for treating your acne does give you an advantage over your condition. it’s so fast and simple to use that your pimples wouldn’t know what hit them next.

Sure acne breakouts can be really pop up fast when they start appearing, but tretinoin is faster to the task. All you have to do is to get a gel or cream of tretinoin, open it and apply it immediately.

You don’t have to worry about getting that glass of water, opening a bottle, getting a capsule out, putting it in your mouth, water in your mouth and swallowing. With gel or cream you simply apply!

Of course, both medications are super but tretinoin gel or cream is faster and just as effective.

However, if your doctor chooses a retinoin oral dosage regimen for you, you should accept and follow it to get best results from your treatment.

Using tretinoin gel or cream treatment

You need to know that before you use tretinoin gel or cream on your skin, you should make sure you skin is thoroughly clean for best results for your chosen treatment.

You should wash your face with warm water that contains a facial cleaner or a mild cleansing soap to keep skin abrasion to an absolute minimum.

You should then pat your facial skin softly with a clean towel to ensure your facial skin is completely clean and dry.

You should avoid scrubbing your face before applying the tretinoin gel or cream. A normal and gently wash is quite sufficient for removing dirt and bacteria from your facial skin area.

After you’ve dried you skin by patting with a clean towel, you should leave it in that condition for about 20 to 30 minutes to make sure it’s completely dry and ready for the tretinoin treatment.

Once your skin is thoroughly dry, you can proceed to apply a small amount of tretinoin cream to all the areas that have been invaded by acne.

There’s no need to use too much of the tretinoin cream because you only need to cover all the areas affected by acne with a light covering of the tretinoin cream treatment. 

If you know the size of a green pea, then that’s more or less the size of tretinoin cream you’ll need to use on your acne. The amount is more than enough for treating you acne.

Using the pea sized amount for your gel or cream treatment, rub it into your skin, especially on the areas that have been severely affected by acne.

It may be the case that you have been given a liquid solution of tretinoin to use by your physician or pharmacist.

If so, use a cotton swab or gauze bandage to apply the ointment to your face using a conservative amount as used when applying gel or cream to your acne. You don’t have to use a large amount.

After you’ve applied the medication to areas invaded by acne, you should dispose of all the cotton swabs or gauze pads.

After doing so, you should wash your hands thoroughly to remove any trace of tretinoin cream, gel or solution on your body.

Potency (Strength) of topical tretinoin

As with all other drug medications, the potency of tretinoin gel, cream or solution are offered in a variety of strengths.

These can range from a minimum of .01% up to a maximum of .10% for most countries.

In the United States, the .05% strong tretinoin concentration is the most commonly used potency found in gel or cream medications.

Because tretinoin is usually a prescribed drug, it’s essential that you consult with your doctor if you are intending to purchase the treatment.

Lower strength types of tretinoin gel, cream and solution can be purchased over the counter in some countries. In other countries a prescription is a must for purchasing all strengths of tretinoin.

Precautions and warnings for tretinoin

Generally speaking, tretinoin can be regarded as a safe and effective drug medicine for treating acne which every adult can use to revitalize their skin and minimize the development of blackheads, whiteheads as well as cystic acne.

Nevertheless you’d be prudent to take note of several instances where you should abstain from using tretinoin.

To make it easier for you to identify these instances, you should talk to your doctor concerning the dangers of side effects before you start using the drug medication. However, you should automatically avoid using tretinoin even without consulting your doctor if:

• you are already suffering from a skin condition that include atopic dermatitis (eczema), seborrheic dermatitis or rosacea
• you are taking other prescribed medical treatment
• you suffered from skin cancer in the past or that your family also suffered from skin cancer as well as other serious skin diseases in addition to cancer.
• In the past, you had experienced negative response to other prescribed treatment that included retinoids for treating your acne and other skin conditions related to acne.
• you are pregnant, breastfeeding or will soon become pregnant.

If you happen to be using other skin products, it’s also necessary to consult with your doctor before you actually use tretinoin, especially if the skincare products you are using contain alcohol.

It’s very likely that your doctor will be able to give you more data on which of the products will be safe to use together with tretinoin and which ones you should avoid using during your tretinoin treatment.

Bottom Line

When you have a treatment that’s totally effective in curing your acne breakouts, that’s very simple to use and has no or very mild side effects when used as a treatment for acne, everything seem to be panning out the way you want them to. Nevertheless, because medications are bound to introduce changes as they challenge physical incursions such acne. These changes usually trigger some warnings and precautions which must be taken seriously.