The primary symptoms noticed by people who suffer from IBS are abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort, although these can differ from one person to another. Other IBS patients sometimes suffer from constipation which is characterized by hard, dry, and irregular bowel movements. When attempting to move their bowels, persons who are constipated often strain hard and experience cramping, but the end result is that they are only able to release a small amount of stool, if any at all. If they are able to have a bowel movement, there may be mucus in it, which is a fluid that moistens and protect passages in the digestive system.

Conversely, people who suffer with IBS may also get diarrhea, where the person is prone to loose, watery stools, and too-frequent bowel movements, as opposed to constipation. People with diarrhea frequently feel an urgent and uncontrollable need to have a bowel movement. In some cases, patients with IBS find themselves going back and forth between constipation and diarrhea. Sometimes people find that their symptoms subside for a few months and then return, while others report a constant worsening of symptoms over time.

IBS is mainly a health issue associated with the colon, where the colon eliminates the water from unprocessed food waste. Because of this, people with IBS may experience constipation or diarrhea. Constipation occurs when waste matter remains in a person’s colon for too long so that too much water is absorbed, making the stool unusually hard and difficult to pass. In contrast, diarrhea occurs when the waste matter, aided by the colon muscles, moves along the colon too fast so that only very little of the fluid content is removed.

Unlike other illnesses where patients may only experience some symptoms for a time which then simply go away, IBS Symptoms are recurring, which simply means that people suffering from it will be constantly bothered by the symptoms. IBS patients have also reported an increase in symptoms with certain triggers. For many, they notice this after consuming large amounts of food, while for others, constant pressure or stress leads to the more severe attacks. Some women notice that they get symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome around the time of their monthly periods.

Abdominal pain or discomfort is the primary symptom of IBS. This is not to say however, that if you experience stomach aches or bloating occasionally, you are already experiencing irritable bowel syndrome. In general, persons diagnosed with IBS exhibit two or more of the symptoms in the list below:

• Pain or discomfort that is relieved when a person goes to the bathroom and has a bowel movement

• Abdominal pain or discomfort that usually comes when a person unconsciously changes bowel movement routines

• Abdominal ache or discomfort that comes with changes in a person’s stool appearance.

For those who are constipated, stools become dry and harder to pass, while those experiencing diarrhea have loose, watery stool. Somebody who has only one of these symptoms in all probability does not suffer with IBS.

The following are not normally symptoms or characteristics of irritable bowel syndrome:

• Blood in stools or urine

• Vomiting

• Pain or diarrhea that interrupts sleep

• Fever

• Weight loss

Symptoms Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a post from: eHealth-Nut