Because any part of the GI track can contract in an unpredictable manner in people with IBS, the regularity of bowel movements is disrupted, resulting in diarrhea or constipation, or an unpredictable combination of the two. In addition, abdominal pain can occur due to the extra contractions, or spasms.  These spasms can occur not only in the lower part of the GI track, the bowel, but also in the upper part, the esophagus. Spasms of the esophagus can cause chest pain, which can be severe and mimic a heart attack.  Any of these symptoms can be quite mild, or very severe. In fact, some people with IBS have such severe symptoms that it can disrupt their daily lives.

How is IBS diagnosed? This can be a problem because there are other diseases that can cause the exact same symptoms. For instance, you can get a viral or bacterial infection of your bowel that causes diarrhea and abdominal cramping.When these symptoms are due to an infection, however, they usually do not last long, and generally do not recur as does IBS.

Also you can get similar symptoms with a group of diseases known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Some of the differences between IBD and IBS (besides that one letter at the end!) are:

·        IBD results in inflammation of the GI track which is thought to be due to one’s body attacking itself, the bowel in this case ; therefore, IBD is thought to be an autoimmune disease. IBS does not cause inflammation and is not autoimmune in nature.

·        IBD can lead to long term complications including bowel obstruction and cancer; IBS does not lead to either.

·        People with IBD can have recurrent episodes that may include high fever, dehydration, and loss of appetite requiring hospitalization; IBS does not include symptoms other than those of the GI tract

·        IBD may lead to surgery of the bowel; IBS does not require surgery.

As you can see, the diagnosis of IBS can be tricky, and should be done in consultation with your clinician. If your bowels become irregular for more than a couple of weeks, or if you develop abdominal pain seemingly out of nowhere that recurs or persists, don’t try to make your own diagnosis.  And never treat yourself without seeing your clinician first.

Although the symptoms of IBS can get severe, most can be controlled with medications. In addition, there are many lifestyle changes you can make that will lessen the effects IBS has on your daily life. In other words, you can definitely manage this disease.

If you haven’t, please read the section in our book on IBS to learn more. (Sorry for that shameless plug!) In that chapter, you’ll read some actual cases histories of patients with IBS, including yours truly.  Also for more information, go to: www.aboutibs.org