Those readers of this blog might be shocked by the title of this posting. "In your head?" Isn't that the traditional put-down of IBS sufferers? Doesn't that imply that everyone with IBS is neurotic and exaggerating their complaints? Don't you write about how integrated the mind and body are? What's up with that?
Well now that I have your attention its important to note that IBS IS in your head. But it is also in your body, your entire gastrointestinal tract, your guts.
Various types of brain scans, PET scans, functional MRIs of the brain do reveal abnormal patterns in patients suffering from IBS.
But they also exhibit abnormal motility patterns in the intestines as well as documented hypersensitivity known as visceral hyperalgesia.
So is IBS in your head? Yes, but that's not the whole story.