What's Lurking Under your IBS?

Dr. Erica Volk, ND

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If you've been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, or "IBS" by your general practitioner, here's a secret: there may be other underlying causes of your symptoms! What would your life be like if you could go about your day without the daily bloating, heartburn, abdominal pain, or, let's face it, embarrassingly loud and smelly bowel movements in the public washroom at work? How would that free you? How would this change your mood and overall sense of well-being and life satisfaction?

What is causing your IBS? Parasite, Food Sensitivity, SIBO, Candida, Anxiety. Treatment is available. You could feel better.

How do you know if you have IBS?

The diagnosis of "IBS" is based on meeting certain criteria, or fitting a pattern and timing of digestive symptoms. The trouble is that the pattern and timing of digestive symptoms of "IBS" is the same pattern and timing of symptoms we can see in several other digestive disorders like an intestinal parasite infection, celiac disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, intestinal candida (yeast) overgrowth, food sensitivities, and more.

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How do you properly diagnose digestive problems?

If you have chronic digestive problems, the first step is to meet with your doctor to discuss your symptoms and get some lab testing done. Your physician should then make sure you don't have any of these other potential underlying problems before diagnosing you with "IBS." Some of the reasonable and appropriate lab tests for "IBS" symptoms include:

blood testing to rule out celiac disease
a stool culture (for bacterial infection)
a stool parasite test
blood testing to rule out Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection
iron and vitamin B12 testing
thyroid testing
blood testing to assess your liver
blood testing to assess your galbladder
Imaging studies (ultrasound, CT scan, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy)

Even if all lab tests and imaging studies are normal, it's possible your nervous system or chronic anxiety are causing your digestive symptoms. Both of these problems can be treated.

Before accepting your diagnosis of IBS (or just assuming you have it), I recommend thorough lab testing. Ask your doctor which tests have been done and then ask for the specific tests you might still need. If your doctor won't or can't order tests for you, you may benefit from consulting with a different doctor. I'll say it again: if you have chronic digestive symptoms, you deserve to undergo a thorough evaluation of the potential underlying causes before being diagnosed with IBS. To get to the root cause of your digestive issues, you may need to advocate for yourself more than you are used to!

I am a digestive health expert and nothing makes me happier than to help my patients achieve normal, healthy poops, and a flat stomach that doesn't hurt! You deserve to have optimal digestion, and more than likely, it is possible! Learn more about my approach to treating digestive issues and IBS. You can learn more about working with me or if you are in BC, you can book an appointment right away for an in-person or virtual appointment.

**It can be difficult to find a doctor in BC. If you're looking for a primary care doctor in BC who is accepting new patients, I can help. Appointments are available in-person in Kelowna or virtually from anywhere in BC.