If the answer to that question is “Yes”, then I would strongly urge you to check out my newest book review, a new review on a classic book: “Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: Living with Invisible Chronic Illness”. This is the book I am most likely to recommend that my patients read as it does a wonderful job of addressing the unique challenges inherent in living with an ongoing health condition, and in particular, one that is difficult for others to understand. After reading “Sick and Tired…” hand it over to your loved ones so that they will have a better idea of what it is like to walk in your shoes.

My review: “Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired”

For other IBS book reviews, click here.

If you didn’t already know, I am a huge fan of the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD). One of the things I love the most about membership is receiving their quarterly newsletter, Digestive Health Matters. The current issue, Winter 2008, has an extremely interesting article regarding the problems inherent in diagnosing IBS. The article, “Diagnostic Testing in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Theory vs. Reality”, discusses the tendency of physicians to order diagnostic procedures rather than simply relying on the Rome III criteria. The author makes the claim that if a patient meets the Rome III criteria that there is a 98% chance that they have IBS and not some other disease.

As this 98% number seemed so high, I dug a little deeper. The author of the IFFGD article based this on a study published in 2002 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Sure enough, that study found that the risk of finding inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer or infectious diarrhea in patients who met symptom-based criteria to be less than 1%. The one disease that these patients were at higher risk for having was celiac disease.

What does all of this mean for you? It means that if you have no alarm symptoms, meet the criteria for IBS, and have been tested and do not have celiac disease, than the odds are very much in favor that you have IBS and not something else. That 98% figure should give you some reassurance even when your symptoms are at their most nightmarish. And letting go of the anxiety that your doctors have missed the “real problem” can only have a beneficial effect on your troubled digestive system.

_Sources:

Cash, B., Schoenfeld, P., & Chey, W. “The utility of diagnostic tests in irritable bowel syndrome patients: a systematic review” The American Journal of Gastroenterology 2002 97: 2812–2819.

Spiegel, B. “Diagnostic Testing in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Theory vs. Reality” IFFGD Digestive Health Matters 17:14-16.

Last May, I wrote a blog about a single study that looked at the relationship between fructose intolerance and IBS. The results were surprising and prompted me to explore the subject further. You can see what I found out by reading “Fructose Intolerance and IBS”.

Coincidentally, the original blog received a reader comment just last week. Poke L writes the following about avoiding fructose:

"Wish more people knew about this…
It's made a HUGE impact in my life and four other people I've told.
One only needs to watch ingredients for a short while to re-learn what one can eat... then the diarrhea, cramping and feeling like crud are easily traced to single food items.
If you're not seeing improvement... then DOUBLE-CHECK... corn syrup is in everything from bread to candy and almost EVERY sauce."

So, there you have it, from someone who has been there. Maybe fructose intolerance is something you should check out.

• Fructose Intolerance and IBS

Pain seems to be my theme for the week. I have just published a review of the book “Free Yourself from Pain” written by Dr David E. Bresler. This excellent self-help book will make you look at pain in a completely different way. Most of us view pain as something that happens to us due to some sort of direct injury or disease process. However, research into the pain experience indicates that pain is rarely that simple. Dr. Bresler does a great job describing the science of pain in a way that is easily understandable, while also giving you direct tools for managing your own pain experience. Although not written specifically for IBS, the information in this book should prove extremely helpful to you if chronic pain is a large part of your symptom picture.

• Book Review: Free Yourself from Pain