I am 29 years old and have had IBS for about 8 years. I have gone the full circle of coping mechanisms, from excessively drinking (alcohol) which for me took away the chance of a IBS incident (unexpected diareah)by calming my stress levels and I am now trying to cope with it as naturally as possible and find that working out for at least 45 minutes a day, 4 days a week helps my bowel movements be more predicatble, allows me less constipation and there for less diareah. Just wondering if anyone else has tried exercise and found this correlation?
Exercise and IBS?
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My mother and I have totally different IBS's. She works out very strenuously at the gym every day, and if she doesn't, she can't go to the bathroom and she feels very sick. She even finds that exercising helps the nausea go away.I find that if i walk up a flight of stairs i get nausea. I have had to give up competitive sports and extreme sports, and well any real sport at all.On a positive side, i'd like to put in a huge plug here for IYENGAR YOGA. This type of yoga is slow and emphasizes body alignment. Many of us with IBS stick out our tummies and this causes a curved lower back; mine was very pronounced though i'm working on it, and with my organs in better allignment i swear i digest better. Some positions are particularly indicated for gastric disorders. Furthermore you gain a very good understanding of your body (and not just an awareness of everything going on in your stomach!) It was the only good recommendation my gastro ever gave me.A good, trained and certified teacher should be informed of your condition and generally is willing to research it to help you. If you are "up to" a regular class you can follow along, though good teachers also can help you off to the side, or give you an assistant. Large training centers (led by a senior yogi) often offer "special" classes for people with health problems. I attended this in Chicago alongside people with aids and cancer, and it made me feel very thankful to "only" have ibs.You can find an iyengar teacher worldwide on this website: http://www.iyengaryoga.orgIn chicago i recommend Gabriel Halpern at Yoga circle; in Urbana IL, Lois Steinberg. In Florence Italy, Gabriella Giubillaro of "centro iyengar yoga firenze".In london england the iyengar yoga institute at maida ValeIn toronto ON Canada the Yoga centre toronto (www.yogacentretoronto.ca) with Marlene.I take yoga when i travel, i do it at home, i take lessons. It keeps me (mostly) sane. If anyone wants to talk yoga I'm it's biggest fan, send me a message.
I'm (not officially diagnosed), but I'm pretty sure I had IBS when I was younger - sometimes D, sometimes C. Which led to straining, 'roids, fissures, and lots of fun.A change in diet switched me to occaisional C. I find that exercise is a huge help, in keeping things moving, helping me deal with any pain, and improving my mental outlook.I generally ride my bike for a couple hours 3 times a week, though it's hard to get that much in during the winter.
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When IBS was at it's worst, exercise was out of the question. (An hour walk with the dog was tops. Even then, I would often hobble home, "running" with my knees pressed together.) Vigorous workouts would bring on at least gas and often the "surprise farts."Eliminating the D allowed me to exercise, again. I still have to fight off farting; but there are no other surprises attached.Mark
Okay, I'm kind of dumb and I can't figure out how to send a message. I've been mildly interested in yoga off and on the past couple years, but with IBS now I'm trying to get in the regular habit of it...plus I just love how stretched out and relaxed I feel!Do you have any recommendations for workout tapes/DVDs? I find I like it much better in my own home rather than in a class, plus I like to do it right before bed when there aren't any classes available! I ask because you say that the yoga you enjoy is slow and focuses on body alignment, which is what I like. I've tried those power yoga dvds, but my main goal isn't cardio or weight loss, so they aren't really ideal for me.Any suggestions? I have one VHS from the early 90's that I love, but using one tape over and over is getting old...
I have been excercising for the past 3 months now I am on a 5 day program. 2 muscles groups a day and three sessions of 20 minute intense cardio workouts and 2 60 minutes cardio work outs at about 60-65% max HR. I do boxing to fill in some of the longer cardio work outs. I just love taking my frustrations out in the bag and theres an instructor there to help you along.Since I have been at gym I have been really regular. Twice a day and thats it and it's healthy too. I still have problems though going places for me I think my IBS is more of an anxiety issue then a food issue.Like other people have been saying and I have read also that during excercise your digestive system relaxes and after excercising for awhile this relaxed state can last past the work out.I also let the odd gas loose while I am excercising but I think it's important to remember even people without IBS get gas while excercising. Especially during cardio work outs and doing ab work outs. You don't know how many farts I heard when I was taking kung fu and we were all doing sit ups!
Dbowman, I have to say its good to hear that people fart a lot. I've never been much of a gym rat, and the only organized exercise I've ever done is my ballroom dancing (which I need to start up again, now that I think about it! I quit over the holidays...) I've always been afraid to take a yoga or pilates class because I fart a lot!Also, before exercise did you have a problem with D, C, or both? Just wondering...
Too answer your question lynnie. It's mostly D I deal with but, I don't know how to put this right. I don't deal with D everyday it's not even close. Lately it's been pretty much next to none. Now my only attacks usually happen after a night of drinking and I am not at home. For some reason when I am at home nothing happens. When I first developed the symptoms it was really bad though. It was mostly D conditions. After I started taking effexor it kinda pettered off to more of a frequent BM rather then D but it still felt like I really needed to go. Other weeks I would be regular. Every since I have started at the gym I have been regular with no problems well except the day after new years but I was an hour from home and I have drank a ton of champagne and wine which I have never done before. I think thats what caused that episode. I still get the anxiety though when I am out until I relax a bit and relize nothing is going to happen. I think those 3 months were pretty traumatic and I am thinking that maybe now I am fine but I still can't forget about those few months.I have recently started taking baby steps into eating in public. My first attempt was eating subway just sitting down and having a sub and that went off without a hitch even though I was anxcious. I take public transit a lot thats my mode of transportation so I have started eating on the bus. Even today I was eating some trail mix and nothing happened.My thing seems to be out in public I don't neccesairly have a food trigger. I can eat anything I want at home and have no problems at all. I think thats because I am relaxed and not worried about it. I hope I am getting to the point here I find it difficult to explain my symptoms.
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All I know about that is that exercise releases the "happy hormones" that make you feel better. The more exercise you do, the more intense the "high" you get from exercising is. Hence the phrase "runners high". Personally though, whenever I exercise, I feel like sh*t. I don't know why, but exercising causes me to get a stomach ache. My main problem with IBS is pain that is accompanied by gas. Thus, in my case (and for those who have symptoms like mine) I would guess that perhaps, since exercise causes you to breathe more heavily than usual, that in turn causes excesses of gas in the body to be created? I remember reading something about this on mebmd, although the article I'm referring to (http://www.webmd.com/content/article/79/96312.htm) doesn't mention exercise as a way that excesses of air get into the stomach. Still, exercise isn't exactly comfortable anyways, and when it activates IBS symptoms on top of that...
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