To treat IBS symptoms, apps can help reset the brain-gut connection ... - NPR

[Health Reporter]

To treat IBS symptoms, apps can help reset the brain-gut connection ...  NPR

If you have unexplained episodes of diarrhea, constipation or gastrointestinal distress you could be one of the more than 25 million people in the U.S. with irritable bowel syndrome. 

For relief, your doctor may steer you toward a new kind of treatment that integrates diet change with tools to work through the stress that often triggers symptoms. 

Rather than relying only on medications that mask symptoms, doctors are prescribing a combination of diet counseling with therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and even hypnotherapy. (They will first run tests to rule out conditions such as colitis, Crohn's or celiac disease.)

"There has been a real sea change in terms of managing patients," says William Chey, a gastroenterologist at the University of Michigan who has documented the benefits of integrative care. "The doctor has become an educator, somebody to help the patient to understand how he or she can help themselves."

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