Your not a doctor though.You have also consistently posted inaccurate information on IBS on this bb or you leave out VERY IMPORTANT IBS research.You left out IBS is a GI disorder of function for one, one of some thirty functional disorders."Once a person has the symptoms it is necessary to do additional testing to identify the cause of those symptoms "This is not always true and to much testing is not always a good thing, nor does it usally find more then IBS if the criteria are applied right and by a knowledgable doctor."what you might call an actual diagnosis. Once you have an actual diagnosis"IBS IS AN ACTUAL DIAGNOSES!!! You don't seem to get that or want too. They don't know the exact cause of IBS, which is why they use the Rome criteria to diagnose it, however state of the art generated research understands IBS as,From Dr Drossman, the Chairman of the Rome Commitee on Gi disorders of function on IBS and and Co-director of the Center and Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at UNC-CH. He established a program of research in functional gastrointestinal disorders at UNC more than 15 years ago and has published more than 250 books, articles, and abstracts relating to epidemiology, psychosocial and quality of life assessment, design of treatment trials, and outcomes research in gastrointestinal disorders.among many other thing postions and titles."The cause of IBS is yet to be determined. However, modern research understands IBS as a disorder of increased reactivity of the bowel, visceral hypersensitivity and dysfunction of the brain-gut axis. There are subgroups being defined as well, including post-infectious IBS which can lead to IBS symptoms. Other work using brain imaging shows that the pain regulation center of the brain (cingulate cortex) can be impaired, as well as good evidence for there being abnormalities in motility which can at least in part explain the diarrhea and constipation. So finding a specific "cause" of IBS has grown out of general interest in place of understanding physiological subgroups that may become amenable to more specific treatments. Hope that helps.Doug "http://www.ibshealth.com/ibs_foods_2.htm"The third misconception is that there is a single treatment for IBS."While there is no single as of yet cause for IBS, there are treatments shown to work for IBS patients statisitcally and from research. Some help 25% some 50 % some 80% of IBS patients.It is important to know that IBS is treatable in the majority of Patients and that there is mild, moderate and severe IBS and IBS effects more women then men."Lastly, but perhaps the most common misconception is that IBS is caused by stress."The vast majority if not all of the researchers know IBS is not caused by stress. However its more important to know how stress and anxiety and even negative emotions can trigger the underlying disorder and stress reduction in IBS is effective in moderate to severe IBS and for pain connections in IBS. If you want to know more about that.This thread will help and the accompying one also talks about actual physical findings in IBS and how they are related to stress and the communication between the gut and the brain and back.Stress and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Unraveling the CodeBy: Yvette Taché, Ph.D., Center for Neurovisceral Sciences and Women Health, Digestive Diseases Center, Department of Medicine, Digestive Diseases Division, University of California at Los Angeles and VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, CaliforniaDr. Taché was the recipient of the IFFGD 2005 Research Award to Senior Investigator, Basic Science. Her early publications put the "brain-gut axis" on the map. Since then, she has been one of the pioneers in this field. In many ways, it has been her energy and enthusiasm that has ensured the continued vibrancy of the field. Her identification of the role of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling pathways in stress-related alterations of gut motor function and visceral pain are of major and lasting importance.http://www.giresearch.org/Tache.htmlhttp://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...261/m/906107392This is on Diagnosing IBS from expert doctors.http://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...02372#289102372History of Functional Disorders"PRESENT PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONSDespite differences among the functional gastrointestinal disorders, in location and symptomfeatures, common characteristics are shared with regard to motor and sensory physiology,o central nervous system relationships,o approach to patient care.What follows are the general observations and guidelines.MOTILITYIn healthy subjects, stress can increase motility in the esophagus, stomach, small and largeintestine and colon. Abnormal motility can generate a variety of GI symptoms includingvomiting, diarrhea, constipation, acute abdominal pain, and fecal incontinence. Functional GIpatients have even greater increased motility in response to stressors in comparison to normalsubjects. While abnormal motility plays a vital role in understanding many of the functional GIdisorders and their symptoms, it is not sufficient to explain reports of chronic or recurrentabdominal pain.VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITYVisceral hypersensitivity helps to account for disorders associated with chronic or recurrent pain,which are not well correlated with changes in gastrointestinal motility, and in some cases, wheremotility disturbances do not exist. Patients suffering from visceral hypersensitivity have a lowerpain threshold with balloon distension of the bowel or have increased sensitivity to even normalintestinal function. Additionally, there may be an increased or unusual area of somatic referral ofvisceral pain. Recently it has been concluded that visceral hypersensitivity may be induced inresponse to rectal or colonic distension in normal subjects, and to a greater degree, in personswith IBS. Therefore, it is possible that the pain of functional GI disorders may relate tosensitization resulting from chronic abnormal motor hyperactivity, GI infection, or trauma/injuryto the viscera.5BRAIN-GUT AXISThe concept of brain-gut interactions brings together observations relating to motility andvisceral hypersensitivity and their modulation by psychosocial factors. By integrating intestinaland CNS central nervous system activity, the brain-gut axis explains the symptoms relating tofunctional GI disorders. In other words, senses such as vision and smell, as well as enteroceptiveinformation (i.e. emotion and thought) have the capability to affect gastrointestinal sensation,motility, secretion, and inflammation. Conversely, viscerotopic effects reciprocally affect centralpain perception, mood, and behavior. For example, spontaneously induced contractions of thecolon in rats leads to activation of the locus coeruleus in the pons, an area closely connected topain and emotional centers in the brain. Jointly, the increased arousal or anxiety is associatedwith a decrease in the frequency of MMC activity of the small bowel possibly mediated by stresshormones in the brain. Based on these observations, it is no longer rational to try to discriminatewhether physiological or psychological factors produce pain or other bowel symptoms. Instead,the Functional GI disorders are understood in terms of dysregulation of brain-gut function, andthe task is to determine to what degree each is remediable. Therefore, a treatment approachconsistent with the concept of brain-gut dysfunction may focus on the neuropeptides andreceptors that are present in both enteric and central nervous systems.THE ROLE FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORSAlthough psychological factors do not define these disorders and are not required for diagnosis,they are important modulators of the patient's experience and ultimately, the clinical outcome.Research on the psychosocial aspects of patients with functional GI disorders yields three generalobservations Psychological stress exacerbates gastrointestinal symptoms in patients withfunctional GI disorders and can even produce symptoms in healthy patients (but toa lesser degree).o Psychological disturbances modify the experience of illness and illness behaviorssuch as health care seeking. For example, a history of major psychological trauma(e.g. sexual or physical abuse) is more common among patients seen in referralcenters than in primary care and is associated with a more severe disorder and apoorer clinical outcome. Additionally, psychological trauma may increase painreportingtendency.o Having a functional GI disorder has psychological consequences in terms of one'sgeneral well-being, daily functional status, concerns relating to control oversymptoms, and future implications of the illness (e.g. functioning at work andhome)."http://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f...710974#19710974