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Irritable Bowel Syndrome Irritable Bowel Syndrome Diet Irritable Bowel Syndrome Medication |
When irritable bowel syndrome puts a cramp
in your stomach, it also can put a crimp in your lifestyle. Although
there is no cure for irritable bowel syndrome, there are many options
for IBS treatment and relief from IBS symptoms.
The first step in treating irritable bowel syndrome is proper diagnosis.
IBS can't damage your intestines or cause other diseases, like cancer,
but many illnesses present the same symptoms as irritable bowel syndrome.
Proper diagnosis frees you from worry about other conditions. Reducing
stress is, after all, one irritable bowel syndrome treatment!
IBS Diagnosis
Because it's a digestive disorder rather than a disease, irritable bowel
syndrome won't show up in a blood test, x-ray, or CT scan. However,
your doctor may use these and other tests to rule out other illnesses
before he or she begins IBS treatment.
In young adults, appropriate testing helps to exclude other illnesses
like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). If you are over 50 years old,
your doctor will generally want to rule out colon cancer.
In addition, other tests may include:
1. Endoscopic examinations of your esophagus, stomach, small intestine,
and colon.
2. Ultrasound
3. Barium studies
Once testing is complete, doctors generally treat irritable bowel syndrome
based on IBS symptoms.