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I spent years suffering from the following IBS symptoms: chronic bloating, sudden waves of extreme abdominal pain (often accompanied by symptoms of mild shock such as dizziness, loss of feeling in extremities and loss of peripheral vision), and ~30 minute bouts of severe diarrhea (which were contemporaneous with the abdominal pain). I finally discovered that these problems were largely attributable to my ingesting any part of the cilantro plant: the leaves (cilantro, Chinese parsley), the seeds (coriander), or the root. According to one of my cookbooks, cilantro/coriander is the most commonly used spice in the world featuring prominently in Thai, Indian, Mexican and Indonesian cuisines. By eliminating it from my diet, I have remained well for 1.5 years and counting. I have no idea how common this “allergy” to the cilantro plant is – it may or may not have a similar effect on others. However, if this post helps even one other person overcome IBS, I’ll be very pleased.-W

 

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Marilyn,IBS is a “syndrome” not a “disease,” and syndromes are “groups of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality” (source: MedlinePlus medical dictionary). So having IBS symptoms is having IBS. However, I take your point that similar sets of symptoms do not always imply a similar cause. In fact, I suspect that IBS does not have a single cause, which makes it challenging to treat.-WP.S. Thanks for the welcome Joolie!

 

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The following link is to a BBC article on IBS discussing new findings out of St. George’s Hospital, London.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4678309.stmI hope it’s helpful.-W