IBS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is defined as recurrent abdominal pain occuring at least once a week in the prior three months with two or more of the following features: related to defecation, change in frequency of bowel movements, or changes in the form or appearance of your stool.

It can be associated with diarrhea or constipation symptoms.

Most people experience vague cramping and bloating abdominal pains that can be sharp and even severe at times.

Even when extensive medical evaluation doesn't reveal any dangerous or worrisome findings, the symptoms of IBS can still really bother people causing discomfort and interfering with normal activities of living, even

It can be confused with other more serious problems that warrant immediate medical evaluation. Do not take a wait and see approach to symptoms associated with abdominal pain like rectal bleeding, dark black or bright red stools, unexpected weight loss, unexpected anemia found on lab work, or waking up from sleep with due to abdominal pain; tell your doctor about these immediately.

Talk with you about symptoms, potential causes and further evaluation.

Perform a physical exam (pressing on and listening to your abdomen)

Order blood work +/- endoscopy procedures

Establish the diagnosis vs. other causes

Advise you on lifestyle factors to improve symptoms

Prescribe medications

Advise when you need to see a GI specialist

Try to limit stress by prioritizing sleep and exercise.

Trigger avoidance: Start tracking what you eat in a food journal to identify triggers like food or stressful events. Many people who do this successfully use a calendar and make note of what they ate, any big life events, and any abdominal pain symptoms. At the end of each week and each month, you look back over the observations to look for correlations between foods, life events, and symptoms. certain foods and symptoms). Keep a food journal to see if you can identify certain trigger foods to avoid. Weight reduction (For obese people, blood pressure comes down naturally with weight loss, as much as 5 to 20 on the top number for every 20 lbs of weight loss)

Diet: the "FODMAP" diet is commonly recommended to reduce foods that cause bloating and other GI symptoms. See links to additional resources below.

Medications:

• • "anti spasm" medications can help diminish symptoms. Common ones are levsin (hyoscyamine) and bentyl (dicyclomine). These are prescription only, and taken prior to meals. They help reduce the cramping and spasming symptoms that are often triggered by eating during periods of IBS flare ups.

  • For constipation predominant symptoms, miralax (OTC) +/- prescription medications like linzess can help

  • For diarrhea predominant symptoms, Imodium (OTC) +/- prescription medications like viberzi can help

  • There are a lot of factors to take into account with prescription medications for abdominal pain, including desirable vs. undesirable side effects, possible interactions with other medications, and contraindications associated with certain other medical problems. So it is important to talk to your own doctor to see what options are right for you before you ever take a prescription medication for abdominal pain (do not borrow from a friend).

Link to Mayo Clinic website on FODMAP Diet