Irritable Bowel, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia - Caused by Bacteria?

I just came across a post from August 2004 in the Brain Attack blog, discussing an article in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assn). David Brosnahan, the Brain Attack blogger, presents a lengthy description and analysis of the JAMA article. Here's a brief summary of his writing:

A clinical review in JAMA discusses a new theory into the misunderstood diseases of Irritable Bowel [IBS], Chronic Fatigue [CFS], and Fibromyalgia. It also suggests how these three disorders may be connected. Irritable bowel disease can present with many different symptoms. However, bloating after eating a meal is the most common symptom. Researchers discovered that the increased gas had less to do with an intolerance to any particular kind of food and more to do with bacterial overgrown in the small intestine.

If you - or someone you know - suffers from one of these conditions, you will benefit from reading David's entire post (the JAMA article is available by subscription only).