At HelpforIBS.com our global mission is to offer education, support, and help that allows people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome to successfully manage their symptoms through simple, safe and effective lifestyle changes.

HelpForIBS.com is the patient support site of Heather's Tummy Care. We focus on providing extensive information, products and services for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

We offer comprehensive IBS education and resources, including:

* A twice-monthly free IBS Newsletter
* Certified organic medical foods
* Best-selling IBS books
* Seminars and classes for IBS
* The IBS Glossary
* Dietary brochures for patient distribution by health care professionals
* Heather Cooks!, a healthy cooking show on Seattle television and DVD.

Much of our help is based on the work of company founder and best-selling author Heather Van Vorous. Heather's development of the first and only comprehensive IBS dietary guidelines and recipes is an achievement which has earned her numerous industry awards and accolades.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome can be diagnosed based on at least 12 weeks (which need not be consecutive) in the preceding 12 months, of abdominal discomfort or pain that has two out of three of these features:

1. Relieved with defecation; and/or
2. Onset associated with a change in frequency of stool; and/or
3. Onset associated with a change in form (appearance) of stool.

Symptoms that Cumulatively Support the Diagnosis of IBS:
1. Abnormal stool frequency (may be defined as greater than 3 bowel movements per day and less than 3 bowel movements per week);
2. Abnormal stool form (lumpy/hard or loose/watery stool);
3. Abnormal stool passage (straining, urgency, or feeling of incomplete evacuation);
4. Passage of mucus;
5. Bloating or feeling of abdominal distension.

Supportive Symptoms of IBS:
1. Fewer than three bowel movements a week
2. More than three bowel movements a day
3. Hard or lumpy stools
4. Loose (mushy) or watery stools
5. Straining during a bowel movement
6. Urgency (having to rush to have a bowel movement)
7. Feeling of incomplete bowel movement
8. Passing mucus (white material) during a bowel movement
9. Abdominal fullness, bloating, or swelling

Red Flag symptoms which are NOT typical of IBS:
Pain that often awakens/interferes with sleep
Diarrhea that often awakens/interferes with sleep
Blood in your stool (visible or occult)
Weight loss
Fever
Abnormal physical examination

As a rule, all possible physical, structural, and infectious abnormalities of the GI tract need to be unquestionably eliminated before you agree to an IBS diagnosis. This requires a physical examination, preferably by a board-certified gastroenterologist, and may include the following studies:

Complete blood count, sedimentation rate, and chemistries
Stool for ova, parasites, and blood
Urinalysis
Liver function tests
Rectal exam
Abdominal x-rays
Colonoscopy
For women, a gynecological exam including CA-125 blood test for ovarian cancer

Once you have a firm IBS diagnosis, take heart. While there is no cure yet, there are many ways to successfully manage - and prevent - all IBS symptoms. You can control your IBS, not vice versa.