IBS Symptoms

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) has symptoms as individual as the person who suffers from it. The cause of IBS, with its stomach pains of varying intensity and alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation, is often thought to be caused by some sort of emotional stress, but the truth is that no one really knows.

Why is IBS Hard to Diagnose?
IBS is so difficult to pin down that the best diagnosis is made by exclusion. This is not only because the symptoms vary from person to person, but also because there are so many other conditions with similar symptoms. This complex disease affects nearly twenty percent of Americans, and the drain it has on the health care industry as well as workplace productivity is incalculable.

Do You Have IBS?
One underlying criteria must be met before you can check the rest of your symptoms to see if you may have IBS, and that is related to time. If you have been experiencing abdominal cramps for at least 6 months and the pain has been evident for not less than 3 days monthly over the last three months, then you are a candidate for a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

If, in addition to the foregoing, you can relate your level of discomfort to bowel movements (in other words, you feel better or worse before or after a bowel movement), then it is very likely that you are indeed suffering from IBS.

Intestinal Symptoms of IBS
IBS can cause diarrhea and it can also cause constipation. Other distressing symptoms include gas and bloating. All of these symptoms are accompanied by stomach pain that ranges from mild to severe.

Other Symptoms of IBS
There are many other symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. These don't necessarily affect the intestines, but can be just as debilitating and include depression, exhaustion, migraines and backaches.

IBS Symptoms Can Change Daily
The symptoms you experience with Irritable Bowel Syndrome can change frequently. Any variation in your eating habits or daily routine can cause new IBS symptoms to appear. If you're experiencing a stressful time in your life (even so-called good stress like vacation travel or getting a new job), you may experience more frequent symptoms or they may be more severe.

Women and IBS
IBS is more common in women than men (by a 2:1 ratio), and the usual onset age is twenty. In fact, if you're over 35, your chance of developing IBS just dropped by half. Studies show that women who have IBS tend to experience more symptoms during menstruation, which may suggest a link between reproductive hormones and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

I Have IBS. Now What?
Although there is no cure for IBS (also known as spastic colon, spastic bowel, colitis, or mucous colitis), the symptoms can be managed to a certain degree through lifestyle and dietary changes as well as by some medications.

It should be noted that although IBS can in some cases become so severe as to be disabling, it actually does not harm the intestines physically nor does it lead to cancer or any other life-threatening illness and is completely unrelated to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.