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New Approaches to Treating Chronic Constipation When Are Bowel Symptoms A Sign Of IBS? Bowel Symptoms and Bloating: Could it Be IBS?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

A Personal Look at Bowel Problems

Summary & Participants

When you are an avid runner, constipation, bloating and abdominal pain can cramp your pace. Listen to one person describe how she fought off embarrassment and finally went to see a doctor.

Medically Reviewed On: June 19, 2008

Webcast Transcript

SHANNON: Well, I think the first time that I really struggled with constipation was around, a year and a half ago, and I really just started to get a lot of bloating, a lot of tightness in my belly, not being able to go to the bathroom.

ANNOUNCER: Shannon, who is 29, is a dedicated, recreational runner, who likes to compete in marathons.

SHANNON: It's always nice, when you go out for a run, to be able to go at the pace that you normally go, to be able to race a race in top form. And being bloated and backed up, it becomes very difficult to do that. You feel really lethargic, really slow, you can't go as fast, or do as many things as quickly.

ANNOUNCER: Shannon's constipation and bloating also interfered with social activities, and with work and travel.

SHANNON: It would get so bad that, for example, on a business trip I could not go to the bathroom for six days, which, for people haven't experienced, they might not understand what that's like. It's so painful. It's like you feel like you're about six months pregnant. Your stomach is way out. You're completely bloated, very lethargic, but you're unable to go to the bathroom. You're unable to pass gas. And so you are completely backed up to the point where you are just absolutely miserable.

ANNOUNCER: Finally, it got so bad, Shannon couldn't keep her problem to herself any longer.

SHANNON: I didn't really talk much about it to people at first, because I thought it was a little bit embarrassing. But soon I just decided, "You know what? This is miserable."

ANNOUNCER: Shannon made an appointment with Dr. Gerard Guillory, an internist whose practice includes many patients with bowel problems. He quickly suspected irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.

GERARD GUILLORY, MD: Simply stated, IBS is abdominal pain or discomfort. That's the cardinal feature of IBS. The abdominal pain or discomfort is associated with altered defecation, either diarrhea on the one hand or constipation on the other hand. Some patients alternate between diarrhea and constipation. Shannon fell into the IBS-C, or IBS with constipation category.

ANNOUNCER: Shannon was particularly anxious to avoid some of the techniques that are sometimes used to diagnose intestinal disorders.

SHANNON: I was concerned that Dr. Guillory would want to do an invasive technique, a colonoscopy or something of that nature. And because of the sensitive subject matter, I really didn't feel comfortable with that. I went in there with the expectation and let him know that I really wanted to see if there was something we could do that could help me without going the route of invasive procedures.

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