I was formally diagnosed with IBS 2 years ago, but neither my GP nor GI administered any types of tests, just a history. I'm in my late 20's, female, in good health, and to my knowledge I have no family history of colon cancer or polyps. Despite this, I often hear that there are tests that need to be done to rule out other things and am on the fence about insisting these at my next physical. Has anyone else not been tested for anything and still been given a diagnosis of IBS?
im still waiting for a formal diagnosis. but i was given full blood work to check for ibd and celiac. they tend to just rule out the major stuff before putting it down to ibs. its basically a cop out diagnosis tbh.
i was diagnosed with ibs after a colononoscopy. All my blood tests were normal. However there was very small inflammation in the colon, …however this was not IBD. The mayo clinic told me that some people with ibs will also have non ibd inflammation. The only treatment is foods and trying to eliminate .stress
Since your doctor did no tests, this means he or she was confident in diagnosing you with IBS. Doctors only do tests if they don’t know the answer. It depends on your doctor; some only take a medical history to diagnose you; this is perfectly normal. I would trust your doctor, accept your diagnosis and leave it at that.Only ask for tests if you are extremely worried, develop alarm symptoms or you start to feel significantly worse.
IBS is not a cop out diagnosis; unfortunately it is very real although it cannot be seen on scans. which can make it very difficult to accept. Doctors do not diagnose IBS lightly.
Treatments also include antispasmodic medication along with diet and stress management.
very true. it just seems like something, idk, should be wrong or worse, than just IBS… when i have a flare up i always get that small voice that says something was missed cause it couldn’t possibly be something like IBS.
im not saying the condition is a cop out. i too suffer from it. some doctors just tend to label it too often without investigating. well that has been my experience anyway! when a doctor finally decided to run tests for me, he said that they diagnose it once everything else is ruled out.
This is a very common feeling with IBS sufferers; it is brought on by anxiety. Before my diagnosis, I thought I couldn’t possibly have something as simple as IBS and was convinced it was something else. Negative tests didn’t help me either because it caused me to think something had been missed. Tests don’t often reassure you. Keep telling yourself you have been formally diagnosed.
Most doctors don’t just label you with IBS without investigating other things. If this has been your experience, then this is unusual. If they don’t do tests, it is because they are confident in their diagnosis of IBS. Most doctors are very thorough.
Hi ryn9103,
(This might piss off a few people…) I’m not by any means saying that what happened to me is the same for everyone else, but my diagnosis of IBS was the same as yours ryn9103, where I went to the doctors about nine years ago and they put me on several different medications (one after the other when the previous one did nothing or gave me very bad side effects), but after a while of that, said I had IBS but didn’t suggest/do any tests. I went back to them a couple of years later for the same issue and they then said I had acid reflux, so in this scenario, them saying I had IBS was just them not being able to diagnose what it really was.
You may still have IBS and acid reflux. Both conditions can exist together.