I think I have IBS

If you think that you have IBS it's important to be sure of what's causing your symptoms. You might be tempted to begin randomly eliminating foods or experimenting with expensive treatments to get some relief. At best these will be a waste of time and money. At worst you may make it harder to diagnose the true cause of your symptoms and be prolonging essential treatment. The only way to know if IBS is causing your symptoms is to rule out other possible causes. This will involve a trip to the doctor and possibly some further testing to confirm your diagnosis.

Diseases such as coeliacs disease, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer can be responsible for ongoing gut issues and changes to your bowel movements. It's always best to be fully informed about your current state of health.

Although it may feel a bit embarrassing to discuss these issues with your doctor it's important to have these conversations. Your doctor will soon put you at ease and you can begin to move forward in an informed way.

How does my doctor decide if I have IBS?

There is currently no test for IBS. The diagnosis for IBS is reached through a combination of ruling out other medical conditions and establishing an overall picture of your gut health and symptoms.

Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms, bowel habits and any changes you have experienced. They will need to know how long you have had your symptoms and how they affect you day to day. They may also show you the Bristol Stool Chart and ask you to describe your bowel motions. To do this you simply identify which number on the chart most closely resembles your day to day stools. 

Based on your answers they may ask you more specific questions based on the Rome IV criteria [12]. These are similarities that the majority of IBS sufferers have in common. The Rome IV criteria are agreed upon by medical professionals as a way of identifying and diagnosing IBS patients.

I've heard IBS isn't a real diagnosis anyway

This is partly true. As there is no official test for IBS the diagnosis is made by exclusion. This means that by testing negative for the other possible causes of your symptoms, you are left with a diagnosis of IBS. This can be frustrating for patients as it can feel as though the diagnosis is made by default. Because there's no definitive cause of IBS and we each experience it differently, it can feel like a lonely road.

Even so, the priority should still be to know what you're working with. Ruling out what you don't have can help to give you peace of mind and focus your treatment options.

Do you suspect you may have IBS? Could you do with some support as you navigate your tests, doctors appointments and diagnosis? We break it all down into easy to manage steps in these posts.

Have you had an official IBS diagnosis yet?