Tiredness in IBS

Tiredness is a very common symptom. It can be disabling and very difficult to treat. What causes the lethargy? The fact is that it is probably multifactorial. On this webpage we will look at what causes tiredness, what can be done to help with excessive symptoms and how this might relate to your underlying condition.

So, what are the causes? These can be listed and we will look at each one individually.

1) Wrong diagnosis!

2) Lack of sleep

3) Stress

4) Depression

5) Constipation

6) Brain - gut pathway failure

7) Multifactorial

So here we go!

Wrong diagnosis

It maybe that your diagnosis isn't correct. There are many medical conditions that can cause this and also those that can cause bowel upset. These include an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) which can cause constipation, fatigue and tiredness. This can easily be checked by doing a blood test called the TSH or Thyroid stimulating hormone test. Levels are raised in this condition which is normally easily treated with hormone replacement.

Anaemia is a very common cause for these symptoms. It isn't, however, related in anyway to ibs, so if found it requires further investigation as there are many other bowel conditions that can cause this.

Other bowel conditions such as Crohns disease and Ulcerative colitis can cause fatigue through both the inflammatory activity and also due to anaemia.

Sleep apnoea, where pattern of sleep is disturbed due to transient apnoeic attacks (stopping breathing) can be a cause and is typically characterised by snoring as a major feature.

There are many other conditions that can cause these symptoms, too numerous to mention here, but hopefully this will give you a flavour from which you can research further.

Lack of sleep

Yes it's true, pure lack of sleep will cause fatigue! This maybe because of staying up late, disturbed sleep e.g awareness of noise around you, stress related etc

Depression

A common feature of depression is fatigue and this condition is not uncommon in ibs patients. If you are feeling depressed, which can be 'reactive' from you condition then please seek the advice of your GP as there are plenty of treatment options available and not all of them are drug related.

Constipation

Constipation can cause fatigue. The mechanism for this is unclear and likely to be multifactorial. It has been postulated to be as a result of bacterial changes in the bowel, increased toxins as a result of poor clearance and brain chemical messenger handling changes. Treatment of constipation can often improve the situation so read more about this in the constipation section.

Brain-Gut pathway

The gut is controlled by many different factors, but there is a relationship with nerve pathways between the brain and gut. This might be implicated in tiredness due to a change in the neurtransmitters (chemicals that activate nerve pathways) or the way they are handled.

Multifactorial reasons

This is by far the most likely cause combining some of the above plus probably other mechanisms yet undiscovered

How can I manage my tiredness?

There are many things that you can do to help with your symptoms. Some of these you can try yourself, others will need the assistance of your doctor. Simple lifestyle measures that you can do to reduce tiredness are to maintain a good level of exercise, ensure a good diet with you 5 a day fruit and vegetables, maintain a good fluid intake and allowing plenty of time to sleep. Some people go to bed and can't sleep. This is very common as you get older due to a reduction in the amount you need to sleep. This can sometimes be helped by increasing your level of activity in the hour preceeding sleep and going to be later than you normally would. This can help reduce broken sleep, a common cause for tiredness.

Most people believe a hot drink before bedtime is a good idea. This may not be the case and certainly caffeine containing drinks such as tea and coffee may be harmful in this situation. Also, too much fluid near sleeptime (including alcohol) may disturb sleep due to the need to urinate in the night.

There are many alternative remedies that can be tried, including homeopathic rememdies such as valarian tincture, herbal remedies such as chamomile tea and aromatherapy. Relaxation techniques can be explored and there are many books, tapes and DVD's/CD's available on this.

Drug therapy should be reserved for the few, not the majority. There are various sleep inducing medications (hypnotics) that you could consider with your doctor, although these should only be used for limited periods due to dependence issues. To take this further, please discuss this with your physician/doctor.

As outlined, there are many causes of tiredness in ibs and I hope the above information has provided some help in this matter.

Start A Discussion OnTiredness!

Do you suffer from tiredness? How does it affect you? What have you tried to improve your symptoms? Has your doctor been understanding? What coping strategies have you got? Start discussing it with other sufferers now!