IBS SYMPTOMS

People with IBS experience a symptom burden that impacts negatively on their quality of life. These symptoms can interfere with normal daily activities such as work, diet, sleep, sexual function, personal relationships and on ability to travel. Most people have had IBS for more than 10 years and often suffer in silence. Others may have visited their GP numerous times and may even have ended up in hospital due to their IBS. Often people with IBS have tried many therapies without any relief of their symptoms.

IBS can be categorised into four groups based upon types of bowel movements: diarrhoea-predominant (IBS-D), constipation-predominant (IBS-C), mixed (IBS-M), and unsubtyped (IBS-U).

 

Stool consistency (% bowel movements)
IBS subtype Hard or lumpy stools Loose, mushy, watery stools
IBS with diarrhoea (IBS-D) <25% >25%
IBS with constipation (IBS-C) >25% <25%
Mixed IBS (IBS-M) >25% >25%
Unsubtyped IBS (IBS-U) Insufficient abnormality to meet criteria for IBS-D, IBS-C or IBS-M

 

Gas, abdominal pain, sudden urges and loose stools are the most common symptoms for IBS. Approximately one third of diarrhoea sufferers also experience loss of bowel control and report an average of over 200 episodes a year1.

People with the different sub types can experience different symptoms: 

  • IBS-M patients experience more nausea2
  • IBS-D and IBS-M patients experience more urgency2
  • IBS-D patients experience on average more pain attacks3 which usually result in defecation and higher stool numbers and looser stool consistency4
  • IBS-C patients experience longer episodes5
People with the different sub types can experience different symptoms

Hard or lumpy stools and straining when having a bowel movement are the most common symptoms for IBS-C. Approximately 25% of patients with constipation also report abdominal pain, straining, bloating/gas and infrequent stools, with abdominal pain, gas and bloating reported on average over 200 times a year1.

The severity of IBS symptoms reported by patients can be differentiated into; mild severity estimated at ~40% prevalence, moderate estimated at ~35% and severe estimated at ~25%. Patients with severe symptoms are more likely to be younger women who experience frequent abdominal pain and high psychological distress4.

1. International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. IBS in the real world survey. Summary findings. August 2002. Available from http://www.iffgd.org/images/pdfs/IBSRealWorld.pdf.
2. 2. Su A, Shih W, Presson AP, et al. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014;26(1):36-45.
3. Hellström PM, Saito YA, Bytzer P, et al. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011;106(7):1299-307.
4. Weinland SR, Morris CB, Hu Y, et al. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011;106(10):1813-20.
5. Drossman DA, Chang L, Bellamy N, et al. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011;106(10):1749-59.