Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms
A Comprehensive List of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms
Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms are a constant, daily reminder for people who suffer from IBS. In this article, I will cover some of the more common symptoms.
The main symptoms of IBS are abdominal discomfort, bloating and pain. But the symptoms are different for each person affected by IBS. Abdominal pain is generally only considered one of the irritable bowel syndrome symptoms if you have had the pain for at least twelve weeks in the past twelve months. The twelve weeks may or may not be consecutive.
In addition, the pain must have two of these features:
When it begins, your frequency of bowel movements changes.
When it begins, your stool looks different, or is looser or more compact.
The pain is relieved when you have a bowel movement.
Other symptoms need to be present for the symptoms to be considered irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. These include:
Bloating, mucus in your stool, difficulty in passing stool, strong urges that tell you a bowel movement is imminent, or a change in your bowel movements' appearance or frequency.
Severe pain, weight loss, fever and bleeding are not irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, but they may be signs of inflammation, or, in unusual cases, cancer.
Some people experience constipation, which is described as having hard-to-pass bowel movements, or bowel movements that are not as frequent as they used to be. These people often experience cramping and straining but not being able to pass any stool, or only a small amount of stool. Some report finding mucus in their stool; this is a fluid that helps to protect the digestive system.
Other sufferers of IBS have the opposite problem, diarrhea, which exhibits as watery, loose, frequent stools. They may feel sudden urges to have a bowel movement, and they may be nearly uncontrollable.
Some IBS patients even alternate between diarrhea and constipation. Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms may disappear for a couple of months, and then return again. Most people report that their symptoms just get steadily worse.
If you suffer from IBS, the normal movement or motility may be missing in your colon. The colon may experience spasms, or it may cease working, but only temporarily. The spasms affect the person as strong and sudden contractions of the muscle that come and go.
The colon's lining may exhibit its own irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Normally its lining regulates the flow of liquids into the colon and then out. In people with IBS, the colon seems to lose its ability to regulate how quickly or slowly the fluids pass through. This leads to too much liquid in the stool. In others affected, the colon's movement becomes too slow, and they develop constipation.
These irritable bowel syndrome symptoms vary from individual to individual, but all are signs that should be reported to your physician.