Surgical Abdominal pain or discomfort for at least 12 weeks out of the previous 12 months diarrhea-watery-diarrhea These 12 weeks do not have to be consecutive diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Abdominal pain or discomfort in association with bowel dysfunction is the main symptom diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Symptoms may vary from person to person diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Some people people have constipation (hard, difficult-to-pass, or infrequent bowel movements) ; others have diarrhea (frequent loose stools, often with an urgent need to move the bowels) ; and still others experience alternating constipation and diarrhea diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Some people experience bloating, which is gas building up in the intestines and causing the feeling feeling of pressure inside the abdomen diarrhea-watery-diarrhea adequate sleep Also, large meals can cause cramping and diarrhea, so eating smaller meals more often or eating smaller portions should help IBS symptoms diarrhea-watery-diarrhea It may also help if your meals are low in fat and high in carbohydrates, such as pasta, rice, rice, whole-grain breads and cereals (unless you have celiac disease) , fruits, and vegetables diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Bleeding, fever, weight loss, and persistent severe pain are not symptoms of IBS and may indicate other problems such as inflammation or rarely cancer diarrhea-watery-diarrhea bloating from gas in the colon Can changes in diet help help IBS? changes to the stressful situations in your life Colon motility (the contraction of the colon muscles and the movement of its contents) is controlled by nerves and hormones and by electrical activity in the colon muscle diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Contractions move the contents slowly back and forth but mainly toward the the rectum diarrhea-watery-diarrhea During this passage, water and nutrients are absorbed into the body diarrhea-watery-diarrhea What remains is stool diarrhea-watery-diarrhea A few times each day, strong muscle contractions move down the colon, pushing the stool ahead of them diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Some of these strong contractions result in a bowel movement diarrhea-watery-diarrhea The The muscles of the pelvis and anal sphincters have to relax at the right time to allow the stool to be expelled diarrhea-watery-diarrhea If the muscles of the colon, sphincters, and pelvis do not contract in a coordinated way, the contents do not move smoothly, resulting in abdominal pain, cramps, constipation constipation or diarrhea, and a sense of incomplete stool movement diarrhea-watery-diarrhea counseling and support Criteria for IBS Diagnosis Drinking six to eight glasses of plain water a day is important, especially if you have diarrhea diarrhea-watery-diarrhea But drinking carbonated beverages, such as sodas, may result in gas and cause discomfort diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Chewing gum and eating too quickly can lead to swallowing air, which again leads to gas diarrhea-watery-diarrhea drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, tea, or colas For many people, careful eating reduces IBS symptoms diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Before changing your diet, keep a journal noting the foods that seem to cause distress diarrhea-watery-diarrhea distress diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Then discuss your findings with your doctor diarrhea-watery-diarrhea You may also want to consult a registered dietitian, who can help you make changes to your diet diarrhea-watery-diarrhea For instance, if dairy products cause your symptoms to flare up, you can try eating less of those foods diarrhea-watery-diarrhea You might might be able to tolerate yogurt better than other dairy products because it contains bacteria that supply the enzyme needed to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk products diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Dairy products are an important source of calcium and other nutrients diarrhea-watery-diarrhea If you need to avoid dairy products, be sure sure to get adequate nutrients in the foods you substitute or take supplements diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Hope Through Research How does stress affect IBS? How is IBS diagnosed? IBS affects the motility or movement of stool and gas through the colon and how fluids are absorbed diarrhea-watery-diarrhea When stool remains in the colon colon for a long time, too much water is absorbed from it diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Then it becomes hard and difficult to pass diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Or spasms push the stool through the colon too fast for the fluid to be absorbed, resulting in diarrhea diarrhea-watery-diarrhea In addition, with spasms, gas may get trapped in in one area or stool may collect in one place, temporarily unable to move forward diarrhea-watery-diarrhea IBS does not harm the intestines and does not lead to cancer diarrhea-watery-diarrhea It is not related to Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis diarrhea-watery-diarrhea IBS is a common disorder found more often in women than than in men and usually begins around age 20 diarrhea-watery-diarrhea IBS is a disorder that interferes with the normal functions of the colon diarrhea-watery-diarrhea The symptoms are crampy abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea diarrhea-watery-diarrhea IBS is diagnosed by its symptoms and by the absence of other diseases diarrhea-watery-diarrhea IBS itself itself is not a disease diarrhea-watery-diarrhea As its name indicates, it is a syndrome--a combination of signs and symptoms diarrhea-watery-diarrhea But IBS has not been shown to lead to any serious, organic diseases, including cancer diarrhea-watery-diarrhea Through the years, IBS has been called by many names, among them colitis, mucous colitis, | 