Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the name they use for the gastrointestinal disorder is which the patient shows symptoms of abdominal pain (relieved by defecation), and either diarrhoea or constipation or an alternating between the two. The Bristol Stool Chart (see post here) is used along with the Rome IV criteria when making a diagnosis and determining which (diarrhoea (IBS-D)
Constipation is a symptom of something else happening in your body, either dietary, hormonal, or functional. Conditions such as hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s Disease, and Diabetes are associated with constipation. Constipation is a subjective condition, ie. each person will have a different idea of what constipation means to them, but does have a definition of less than 3 bowel movements per week
As a society, we do not usually talk about bowel movements, for many it may be a manners thing – especially around the dinner table! For others, it may be embarrassment, or just the plain old “ick” factor that seems to plague people’s minds when they think about it. So in this blog, I’m not holding back – fair warning