Hormones and IBS: Is There a Link?
Hormones and IBS: Is There a Link?
This cycle, which spans roughly 28 days, has four stages:
IBS worsens as hormone levels fall. During the late luteal phase, you’re more likely to get bloated and maybe get constipated or have diarrhea. As hormone levels fall to the lowest point during menstruation, symptoms -- like stomach pain, discomfort, and constipation or diarrhea-- become more common and intense.
To make matters worse, IBS patients with painful periods, a condition called dysmenorrhea, are twice as likely to have this increase in symptoms.
Hormone levels rise when you’re expecting, so your IBS symptoms may improve. Some research shows that you’re able to handle more pain during pregnancy. This could mean you have fewer cramps and less discomfort. But moms-to-be also tend get constipated more often.
Your sex hormone levels also drop with "the change." But it’s unclear how this affects IBS. In some women IBS improves after menopause, when these hormonal changes stop. On the other hand, more than a third of menopausal women in one recent study reported IBS-type symptoms, like gas and heartburn. Experts say that more research is needed on the topic.
How do birth control pills, which give you a steady dose of estrogen and progestin (the man-made form of progesterone), affect your IBS symptoms? So far, research suggests they don't. Scientists have found no difference in symptoms between women with IBS who are on the pill and those who aren’t. Both groups saw a drop in the sex hormones before their periods started.
Some experts think that continuous birth control -- where hormone levels don’t change and you skip periods altogether -- may ease IBS symptoms. We’ll need more research to know for sure.
Do Your Hormones Affect IBS?
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Menstrual Cycle continued...
This cycle, which spans roughly 28 days, has four stages:
- Menses (days 1-5): If you’re not pregnant, you shed the lining of your uterus during menstruation. At this stage, estrogen and progesterone levels are at their lowest.
- Follicular (days 6-14): Estrogen rises, causing the uterine wall to thicken.
- Ovulation (day 14): The egg is released.
- Luteal (days 15-28): Progesterone rises to prepare the uterus for pregnancy. If that doesn’t happen, your estrogen and progesterone levels drop quickly during the late luteal phase, around days 24 to 28.
IBS worsens as hormone levels fall. During the late luteal phase, you’re more likely to get bloated and maybe get constipated or have diarrhea. As hormone levels fall to the lowest point during menstruation, symptoms -- like stomach pain, discomfort, and constipation or diarrhea-- become more common and intense.
To make matters worse, IBS patients with painful periods, a condition called dysmenorrhea, are twice as likely to have this increase in symptoms.
Pregnancy
Hormone levels rise when you’re expecting, so your IBS symptoms may improve. Some research shows that you’re able to handle more pain during pregnancy. This could mean you have fewer cramps and less discomfort. But moms-to-be also tend get constipated more often.
Menopause
Your sex hormone levels also drop with "the change." But it’s unclear how this affects IBS. In some women IBS improves after menopause, when these hormonal changes stop. On the other hand, more than a third of menopausal women in one recent study reported IBS-type symptoms, like gas and heartburn. Experts say that more research is needed on the topic.
The Pill
How do birth control pills, which give you a steady dose of estrogen and progestin (the man-made form of progesterone), affect your IBS symptoms? So far, research suggests they don't. Scientists have found no difference in symptoms between women with IBS who are on the pill and those who aren’t. Both groups saw a drop in the sex hormones before their periods started.
Some experts think that continuous birth control -- where hormone levels don’t change and you skip periods altogether -- may ease IBS symptoms. We’ll need more research to know for sure.
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