What to Tell Your Doctor About IBS

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is a diagnosis of exclusion — your doctor needs to rule out other conditions first. That means a gastroenterology appointment involves a lot of symptom mapping. The more precise your symptom description, the faster and more accurate the diagnostic process will be. "My stomach hurts sometimes" is very different from "I have cramping pain in my lower left abdomen that relieves after a bowel movement, alternating constipation and diarrhoea, and symptoms are consistently worse after eating wheat and dairy." This guide helps you build that picture.