IBS is a syndrome. That means it is a complex of different things. A mix of symptoms, a mix of possible precipitating factors and a range of maintaining factors too. But when your doctor is telling you that your problem is IBS, he is also telling you that there is no physical damage to your gut. So that is good news.

Because it is a syndrome, the symptoms are very varied. You can have constipation or diahorrea or both. You can have a bloated belly or not. Your belly might be tender. Getting rid of these symptoms is a key goal.

Symptoms like these come from problems in the transportation system. When things travel slowly, we get bloating and constipations. When things whizz through too fast, we get diahorrea.

Jean Jacques Rousseau, a famous French philosopher said his secret for happiness was a good bank account, a good cook and a good digestion.
Those of us who have suffered with IBS will agree that a poor digestion is a source of misery.

While we may not be able to remember what caused IBS in the first place, we can look at things that maintain it. We might avoid fruit and veg because we think they will give us the runs. Or we might at the same time be trying to diet, so we skip meals during the day. The impact of things like this could be to keep the symptoms driving us to despair. And the despair triggers stress and anxiety, both of which are known to make IBS worse.

When you come for IBS therapy, we will look at a whole range of things that might be involved. When you are dealing with a  complex syndrome, there will not be one single solution. Complex problems require complex solutions. But they don`t have to be hard to achieve.