Doris Brundza says that battling irritable bowel syndrome for over two decades completely zapped away her energy. “It impacted my energy level because with irritable bowel sometimes you feel like your bowels are inflamed and when you have diarrhea that is exhausting,” says Doris.

Severe abdominal pain, bloating and altered bowel habits are all a part of living with irritable bowel syndrome. There is no known cure for it, however, promising new research may have just unlocked some of the mystery of this disease. The missing link…a bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine.

“In irritable bowel syndrome there is an altered motility that can lead to certain parts of the intestine getting sluggish, and the bacteria that are normally present in our intestine can overgrow and that is called bacterial overgrowth and the symptoms of bacteria overgrowth in the intestine are very similar to I.B.S., bloating, gas pains, cramping, so the idea was can we give an antibiotic to get rid of some of these symptoms in I.B.S. patients,” says Dr. Christine Frissora of New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center.

According to data recently presented at the American College of Gastroenterology, patients treated with a 10 day course of the antibiotic Rifaximin showed twice the improvement of symptoms than those on placebo. Additionally, positive effects of the drug were shown to continue throughout most of the 10 week study.

“The benefit of Rifaximin over other antibiotics is that it is non-systemic, it stays in the intestine and kills bacteria in the intestine so it is targeted, it does not cause yeast infections,” explains Dr. Frissora.

Traditional treatment for I.B.S. includes changes in diet, exercise, and stress management, as well as medication. Some doctors also recommend behavioral therapies such as relaxation, biofeedback, or hypnosis.

Doris has been taking Rifaximin since January. She calls it the wonder drug that’s given her, her life back. “I do all my own food shopping and cooking, I walk everywhere. I had this condition for many years and I felt so much better in just five days, that is the miracle.”

Dr. Frissora says that when a patient has abdominal discomfort and bloating, there are a few things you’ll want to exclude. These symptoms can also be a sign of ovarian cancer or colon cancer. Both physicians and patients need to be on the alert when these symptoms arise.

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