How is Irritable Bowel Syndrome diagnosed?

Because IBS is a functional disease, your doctor will probably diagnose your IBS based on the appearance of the symptoms. Unfortunately, this causes some people to think that they don’t even need to address the problem with their doctor, that they can self-diagnose and treat the problem. However, it is still important if you are experiencing Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms that you see your doctor. He or she may need to run a few medical tests that will rule out any other diseases that could be mimicking IBS symptoms. Some of the exams used for IBS are:

 

·        A physical. This routine exam can help evaluate the symptoms and possible problems.

·        Several blood tests. These will help rule out other diseases that could be causing the bowel problems.

·        A bowel x-ray. Also called a lower GI series, this often determines what is going on in the intestines.

·        An endoscopy. This insertion has a camera that will allow the doctor to see inside your body and evaluate the problem.