i always thought of it as a catch-all. dont know what it is? call it irritable bowel - a wildly vague label ?
negative
103
u/Anonymous_Anomali
I actually don’t believe IBS is real. It’s all something else that isn’t easy to diagnose, so doctors give up.
negative
94
u/b00bieb00m
Amazing how many real pathologies have historically been labeled as IBS. Good thing the modern approach is still a fodmap diet, antacids and a gentle suggestion that it’s anxiety. Wouldn’t want all that progress to complicate things
negative
58
u/facialtwitch
To me it’s a symptom not a syndrome, there’s always a cause and the medical community need to delve deeper than simple testing
negative
47
u/Tiazza-Silver
“Oh your tests came back normal! Guess you just have IBS” shrug
neutral
22
u/Steambunny
I lovingly call IBS “I be shitting” because thats all we know. I had biopsies that came out clean but LOOK like Crohns on the scans, was in the most common spot for it and the doc even told me we were going to investigate it. But sometimes I wonder if he got a good punch of the wrong part of “cobblestone” part of it. That is the area he biopsied was normal next to an abnormal part. I also am being investigated for non radiological axial spondylarthritis which is autoimmune. It seems to go hand in hand with IBD. So idk makes sense to me but the docs dont know yet
negative
21
u/PokketMowse
I had 'IBS' all my life. While I was living in the UK, turns out they actually bother testing you for celiac disease.
Guess who can't digest gluten but never had any doctors try to figure that out for 30+ years!
negative
15
u/Wildcard982
Rubber stamped as ibs for decades. Eventually figured out that even tiny quantities of butter in bread takes a full month to heal from.
negative
13
u/bbtom78
As I've gone to more doctors, I've found that newly diagnosed Endo and ADHD are likely the causes of my IBS. With recent treatment, life has changed for the better.
ADHD linked to higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome, global study reveals https://share.google/d3rDt5sbSD6ZUmhGO
positive
13
u/lugasamom
I need to copy this into a document with checkboxes as we eliminate (pun intended) what I do NOT have, apparently.
negative
10
u/jmct16
Posted here for more details: https://www.reddit.com/r/IBSResearch/comments/1s9q90w/how_many_diseases_are_masked_by_an_ibs_diagnosis/
neutral
9
u/Miss_J1801
Thank you for this super interesting and elaborate post. As someone who got 'diagnosed' with ibs by my GP without basically any research, I feel seen.
positive
9
u/Pure_Temporary_6349
This is correct, and it's even named correctly for the scenario of not knowing the cause. I'm a pediatrician. In medicine the convention is to use "syndrome" for a collection of symptoms and signs that happen together more often than in the general population and more often than by chance but without a clear underlying cause. Many conditions now known to be due to a single gene mutation were initially labeled as various genetic syndromes before the genes were identified.
Sometimes a collection of findings labeled a syndrome turns out to be from only one common cause and sometimes it turns out to be several different causes with similar end results.
But I notice my colleagues seem to forget what "syndrome" means.
It's still useful sometimes to try treatments that help a statistically significant number of people with a given syndrome even if the cause is unknown to researchers. Causes can take much longer to figure out than treatments-- just because a treatment can help does not mean the absence of it caused the problem. So it's a concept that can help patients if applied correctly.
positive
7
u/GraciousPeacock
My father had to spend 10+ years with “IBS” before becoming hospitalized to near death to finally be investigated and finding out he has Crohn’s Disease. I am 2 years with IBS now, and I am grateful I am managing it somewhat okay because it may take a while to get diagnosed if I do have Crohn’s. I feel for anyone who struggles with this unknown illness known as IBS
negative
4
u/RedditHelloMah
This post is really helpful! I hope we see more informative posts like this instead of those “I cured my IBS… here’s how: 1) I told myself to stop, 2) I ate healthy, 3) you should too.”
positive
4
u/FixedFun1
I have BAD but for most doctors it was IBS. So I agree.
negative
3
u/magicpenny
One that was missed and falls under congenital/ anatomic would be Tortuous Colon. I have that and was diagnosed as IBS-C. Symptoms are pretty much exactly the same, for me at least. So, I definitely have a tortuous colon and may or may not have IBS-C.
negative
3
u/adorkable-lesbian
I hate the term IBS. It took me eight years to get diagnosed with something else because IBS stuck and everyone thought it was in my head. I’ve been on medication for lupus (SLE) for a year now and my symptoms are vastly better!
negative
3
u/Marshmallow920
Can I ask why you censored the word cancer? ?
negative
2
u/idontknowwhythisugh
I see mine 🙋🏼♀️ SIBO was a bitch
negative
2
u/A-Tut
Fascinating! I have LAL-D and have suffered with IBS-D all my life. My disease is so rare, I've never seen it mentioned in an article before that wasn't specifically about LAL-D as the main topic. Although I've known my diarrhea is probably from my disease, it's nice to see the article support it.
positive
2
u/BulkySquirrel1492
neutral
2
u/cccmeganccc
Mine turned out to be Small Fiber Neuropathy (SFN) with autonomic and sensory involvement. But I also suffer with chronic pain and fatigue, so my symptoms are not limited to the GI system.
negative
1
u/Last-Barracuda-6808
Wow that is an extensive list. I wish I had a good specialist who would test me for some of those.
positive
1
u/MsFuschia
I'm not reading all that because it's clearly AI, can no one write for themselves anymore? ?