Getting Diagnosed

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Table of Contents
Tests for IBS
Calprotectin
Colonoscopy
Worry
Discussing IBS
Further Reading And References

Tests for IBS

IBS relates to specific symptoms for which the scientific community have not yet identified the full set of causes. However, the symptoms can relate to other illnesses, so it is important to speak to your GP in the first instance. This means that there is no test for IBS, but there are tests for the other illnesses. Your GP will need to rule these out before diagnosing IBS.

Symptoms can include a change in bowel habit (diarrhoea or constipation or a mixture of both), abdominal pain or discomfort, gas and bloating and sometimes acid reflux.

These tests might include:

check for problems like coeliac disease through blood tests
check for infections and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by testing a sample of your poo

If these tests come back clear and you have the symptoms, you would normally be diagnosed with IBS at this point and you will not usually need further tests, for example, in hospital, unless the GP is not sure what the problem is (1)

NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) details the full pathway for IBS in terms of diagnosis and management that your GP would follow here: (2).

This means that IBS is diagnosed from your symptoms and by carrying out tests to eliminate other things that may be causing your symptoms. IBS cannot be diagnosed from symptoms alone.

Calprotectin

Calprotectin is a marker, found from a stool sample, used to check the level of inflammation in the body. It is used as a diagnostic tool to identify whether a person needs to put forward for further investigation such as colonoscopy (3)

In a study only 17% of people presenting with IBS like symptoms had elevated calprotectin levels and only 6% overall went on to be diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease such as Chron’s or Colitis (4). This means that statistically a low number of people with IBS like symptoms will get an elevated calprotectin result and be referred for colonoscopy. Even if a person is referred for colonoscopy there will be a greater proportion of people who are finally diagnosed with IBS rather than anything more serious.

Having bowel symptoms can be worrying. However, it is to be remembered the risk for the average person of getting bowel (colorectal) cancer is 5%, with the majority of these cancers concentrated in the over 50s with the risk increasing with age (5)

Colonoscopy

Many people are afraid to go their doctor with gut issues since they are afraid that they will be referred for colonoscopy. The chances of this are low and even if you are referred, you will be given pain relief and a sedative. You will also be supported by a very kind nurse throughout the procedure and it will be over before you know it.

Worry

Approaching your doctor, getting tests and waiting for the results can be a very worrying time. However, being proactive, seeing your doctor and getting the tests done, that is, taking action, is far better than spending days, weeks or months in a state of worry. You need to not only remind yourself of the low possibility of having anything sinister, as mentioned above, but also take heart that if the absolute worst were to happen the sooner the diagnosis, the sooner the treatment, the better the outcome. In the mean time, it is best to distract yourself whilst waiting for results:

concentrate on day to day tasks
take one day at a time
try not to think too far ahead
avoid getting caught in a loop discussing it
avoid negative people who don’t have your interests at heart
speculating on the outcome is pointless – nothing is fact until you get your results

As with most things, the worrying can be far worse that the outcome. Think how many times that you have worried about something for it not to happen.

Discussing IBS

If you have an IBS diagnosis, some people find that those around them may not take the condition seriously or understand the impact that IBS is having on your life. One reason may be that you have gone for tests and everything looks ‘normal’. However, experiencing the symptoms of IBS is far from normal. This is because it is a syndrome that is still under research and not that nothing is wrong. An IBS support group member on Healthunlocked found an article which might be useful reading material for those around you and help them to understand what you are going through (6). Additionally, Monash University provide a good explanation of IBS here.