How to Diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Video Transcript

"My name is Christine Marquette and I am a registered dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic and I am going to talk to you about how to diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Right now there is not any one diagnostic test that is used to diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Typically what is done if you are presenting with symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, cramping, possibly constipation or any of these things cycling, your doctor will do a variety of tests to rule out diseases. He will do stool samples, a battery of blood tests. He may be put through a colonoscopy and a siguenoscopy and if all of those tests are negative meaning everything comes out normal then the doctor will do an extensive health history and ask you about your symptoms and there is something called the Rome criteria that is used meaning you have to have two out of three particular symptoms related to diarrhea and you also have to have symptoms related to your actual stool frequency, if it has changed, if your stool has changed, if it is different colors, that type of thing. Also when you do have pain in your abdominal area is it relieved by having a bowel movement. There is a long list of questions that your doctor will go through with you and again if you are meeting two of the three in each of the major categories of this Rome criteria and you have been ruled out for any other disease such as ulcerative colitis or cancer or Krohn's or anything like that, it is at that point that your doctor will diagnose you as having Irritable Bowel Syndrome."