Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) frequently go together — however no one really knows why. We do know, however that both conditions can include imbalances of serotonin (in fibromyalgia it’s an imbalance in the brain, while with IBS it’s in the gut).

Like fibromyalgia, IBS by itself can be debilitating and can impose a lot of restrictions on your diet and lifestyle. This can cause pain and stress on your body, and can unfortunately exacerbate FMS symptoms.

So why do these go together? Well, the truth is — nobody knows. However, at this stage, based on research, an emerging thought process is that they are both central sensitivity syndromes.

What can be frustrating is, similar to FM, IBS is difficult to diagnose, and a diagnosis has to be made based on symptoms rather than tests before any meaningful treatment can begin.

The good news is that IBS treatments don’t generally conflict with FMS treatments, and the focus on a healthy diet can prove beneficial to your overall health in a multitude of ways.