Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Constipation Ibs

Question:
Do the symptoms of IBS include constipation?

Answer:
There are basically two forms of IBS.  One form produces diarrhea and the other constipation (IBS-D = diarrheal form, IBS-C = constipation form in layman's terms).  Sometimes a person can swing back and forth from diarrhea to constipation..  I'm only familiar with the diarrheal form because that is what I have.  The diarrheal form symptoms might include any or all of the following:  changes in bowel consistency, increased urgency, increased frequency, presence of mucus on occasion. Some people have had a lot of abdominal discomfort and gas or flatulence.   A lot of us find that eating might stimulate the bowel to action before we even finish a meal.  In my experience with this diarrheal form, this stuff resembles having diarrhea caused by a virus or bacteria except you don't have a fever, aren't tired out, and things like that.  In some women, flare-ups may occur near or during menstrual cycles.  I think the Rome criteria or modifications of that are still used to assist in diagnosis.  The Rome criteria basically is a list of symptoms. A person is not given a diagnosis of IBS until other causes have been ruled out.  Some people and even doctors jump the gun and say a person has IBS before going through testing to see if there is another cause, and believe me, there are plenty of reasons for a person to have diarrhea other than IBS.