Symptoms

Because IBS affects the whole of the bowel it can create a range of symptoms. The severity of symptoms for an individual usually vary over time. Symptoms may include:

• bloating, or feeling like the stomach is inflated
• abdominal pain which may be worse after eating and relieved after having a bowel movement
• excess gas
• erratic bowel movements, with either diarrhoea, constipation, or a mix of both
• mucus in stools
• a sense of urgency and having to rush to the toilet
• a feeling that the bowel is not empty after passing a motion
• anxiety, frustration or depression
• nausea
• headache
• fatigue
• chest pain
• heartburn.

Many people have a mild form of the condition and are never seen by a doctor.

IBS does not cause weight loss, anaemia or bleeding from the back passage. Chronic, painless diarrhoea, abdominal bloating which does not get better overnight and indigestion-type pain which wakes you at night could be caused by other intestinal disorders and if you have these symptoms you should contact your doctor. If there are other symptoms not listed here then you should seek further advice.