6 Ways to Beat an Irritable Bowel Syndrome Flare-Up
Flare-ups suck, but I don’t have to tell you that. You are a warrior, and you probably already have your own strategies for managing a flare-up that have taken time, trial, and error. I fully believe you are the expert of your own body, because everybody and every body is unique and experience gut issues differently.
Unfortunately, even when we try our hardest to manage our gut condition, we will inevitably end up with a flare. When I work together with my clients to create a symptom-free plan, we prevent a lot of flare-ups. But, it is normal to have a few slip in. This may be because of a busy season in life, like during the holidays. It might be due to a cold or flue, hormones, or menstruation that can exacerbate it. Gut symptoms can also act differently during different stages of life.
I want to arm you with a few of my favourite tools for managing an Irritable Bowel Syndrome flare-up, because they happen. This is not a time to be hard on yourself, it is the time to give yourself grace. During your FODMAP reintroduction journey, symptoms are nearly unavoidable. In order to find your individual symptom triggers, and symptom thresholds, there will be some discomfort.
6 Ways to Beat an Irritable Bowel Syndrome Flare-Up
Here are six strategies for calming the tummy trauma and getting back to being you as quickly as possible:
- Revert to a strict low-FODMAP diet
- Rest & hot water bottle
- Peppermint oil capsules/peppermint tea
- Breathing exercises & mindfulness
- Iberogast herbal remedy
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy
Revert to a Strict Low-FODMAP Diet
It can be helpful to go back to the basics of a strict low-FODMAP diet to give your digestive system a rest. If the flare-up happens during reintroduction, we want to wait 3 symptom-free days before reintroducing a new FODMAP group. If the flare-up happens when we are beyond the 3 phases of the low-FODMAP diet, this may also mean reducing other gut irritants, like caffeine, alcohol, and spicy foods consumed during this time.
Rest & Hot Water Bottle
Make time to give your body the rest it needs. You may feel more comfortable with topical therapies, like a padded hot water bottle on your abdomen. Ensure the hot water bottle is not directly on the skin but has a barrier in between, like a towel or clothing, to prevent burning. You may also benefit from a warm bath, candles, essential oils in a roller-ball or diffuser, or calming music. Anything that you find comforting and restorative.
Peppermint Oil Capsules/Peppermint Tea
Peppermint leaves contain oil extracts that may relieve IBS symptoms by decreasing smooth muscle spasms in the intestinal tract. Encapsulated peppermint oil, like Ibgard, has been proven to to relieve IBS symptoms of abdominal pain, bloating, distension, and bowel urgency. Moderate evidence shows that peppermint oil in capsules provides a significant improvement in overall IBS symptoms compared to the placebo when used as a short-term therapy. The recommended dosage is 2 capsules taken three times daily with 1 cup of water, 30 to 60 minutes before meals. Peppermint tea may offer similar comfort and symptom improvement to a lesser degree.
Breathing Exercises & Mindfulness
Now is a great time to practice mindfulness, meditation, or deep breathing techniques. Stress and anxiety contribute to gut symptoms, and by taking time to be present and consciously slow down, we can feel the body shift from the fight, flight, or freeze response to rest and digest.
A meditation app like Calm or Headspace can definitely help if this is new to you, but you don’t need an app to practice mindfulness. Sit in a space that is comfortable and quiet, you may want to put on soothing music or noise-cancelling earbuds. My two favourite deep breathing techniques are square breathing and the high 5 method. You can set a timer for a few minutes at a time to begin with and work your way up to a longer practice.
Square Breathing
To practice square breathing, count to 4 slowly while you take a deep belly inhale, hold for the count of 4, count to 4 during the exhale while fully emptying the lungs, and hold for 4 counts at the bottom and repeat.
High 5 Method
For the high 5 method you will trace your hand, inhaling while tracing your finger upwards, pausing at the tip of your finger, and exhaling as you trace your finger downwards. Repeat until you have traced each finger. The best part about this method is that you can do it anywhere, at any time.
Journaling
Journaling as little as one sentence is beneficial for practicing gratitude. Our brains are wired to focus and ruminate on the negative. Remembering where a pretty flower grows did not increase our ancestors chance of survival. But, remembering the location and details of poisonous berries definitely did. We can train our brains to actively look for the positive. An easy, but powerful, daily activity is to write once sentence, or 3 separate things, that you are grateful for at the end of each day. You will notice moments of gratitude stand out to you during the day, and recalling instances of gratitude will come more easily as well.
To process stuck emotions, try a timed “brain-dump,” where you set a timer for 5 minutes and write down anything and everything that comes to mind. Once the timer goes off, you have two options. You can either go through what you have written and circle phrases or ideas that are important for you to explore deeper through writing, or create an action item for you to work on later. The other option is to not go back and read what you have written. Just writing to get thoughts and feelings out of your head and onto a page is effective.
Iberogast Herbal Remedy
Iberogast is a natural health product made up of 9 herbal extracts. It has been proven to significantly relieve symptoms of an IBS flare-up in as little as 15-30 minutes, including: flatulence, changes in bowel movements (constipation, diarrhea, or alternating), incomplete evacuation of bowel movements, early fullness, and abdominal pain. Dosing for 12 years and older is for 20 drops, taken up to 3 times daily, before or during mealtimes.
Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a very holistic condition. Since the gut-brain connection is affected, gut-directed hypnotherapy has been shown to improve gut symptoms equivalent to the low-FODMAP diet. This is a way to work with your subconscious mind to control physical discomfort and pain. The Nerva App is a good option for this. I am currently getting certified in gut-hypnotherapy to be able to provide this service to clients in the future!
Hopefully, you have added some tools to your toolbox that will help you to prevent and manage an IBS flare-up! If you have a new diagnosis, you may want to check out the blog post on food, mood, and symptom journaling to help you find symptom patterns and discover potential triggers.
Citations
Abdel-Aziz, Heba, Olaf Kelber, Gerhard Lorkowski, and Martin Storr. “Evaluating the multitarget effects of combinations through multistep clustering of pharmacological data: the example of the commercial preparation iberogast.” Planta medica 83, no. 14-15 (2017): 1130.
Allescher, Hans-Dieter, Rebecca Burgell, Peter Malfertheiner, and Fermin Mearin. “Multi-target Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome with STW 5: Pharmacological Modes of Action.” Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases: JGLD 29, no. 2 (2020): 227-233.
Larussa, Tiziana, Marianna Rossi, Evelina Suraci, Raffaella Marasco, Maria Imeneo, Ludovico Abenavoli, and Francesco Luzza. “Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with irritable bowel syndrome according to the Roma IV criteria: A single-center Italian survey.” Medicina 55, no. 2 (2019): 46.
Madisch A, Holtmann G, Plein K, Hotz J: “Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with herbal preparations: results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-centre trial.” Aliment Pharmacol Ther, (2004): 19: 271–279.
Peters, S.L., et al., “Randomised clinical trial: the efficacy of gut-directed hypnotherapy is similar to that of the low FODMAP diet for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.” Aliment Pharmacol Ther, (2016): 44(5): p. 447-59.
Yoon, Saunjoo L., Oliver Grundmann, Laura Koepp, and Lana Farrell. “Management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults: conventional and complementary/alternative approaches.” Alternative Medicine Review 16, no. 2 (2011): 134.
This webpage contains affiliate links to certified low-FODMAP products that I have tried and recommend. The Food Fix Nutrition Consulting receives commission from qualifying purchases.
Keep on Reading!
- When It’s NOT Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Non-FODMAP Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Triggers
- Mindful Eating for Managing IBS
- 6 Ways to Beat an Irritable Bowel Syndrome Flare-Up
- Food, Mood & Symptom Journal
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