5.How does Western medicine treat irritable bowel syndrome? - Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is not a condition that can be cured by standard medical practices, primarily because there is no single condition and there is therefore no single causative ‘root’ that can be attacked.

Instead, for anyone who suffers from IBS, it is all about managing their condition so that they can live a life that is as normal as possible.
Every individual irritable bowel syndrome sufferer is different. Thus, the factors that might cause one IBS sufferer to suffer diarrhea or constipation might have no effect whatsoever on others who have nevertheless been diagnosed with exactly the same condition.

For this reason, managing irritable bowel syndrome can involve one of many different changes or factors, with the changes or factors that are most appropriate to you depending upon the primary cause of your condition.

We will look at many of these potential changes later but before doing so, let us consider some of the medicinal solutions that your doctor might recommend to help you manage your irritable bowel syndrome problem.

Once again, the medicines that your doctor might prescribe or recommend will to a large extent depend upon the prevalence of symptoms that you as an individual display.

For example, if your primary problem is diarrhea, then the medicines that your doctor prescribes will target this particular aspect of your suffering.

If on the other hand you suffer regular bouts of constipation, then prescribing a medicine to deal with diarrhea is going to be a very bad idea indeed! Obviously, your doctor would prescribe or recommend something more appropriate to your own personal situation and circumstances.

Of course, if you suspect irritable bowel syndrome and visit your doctor for a diagnosis (which is to be recommended), you already know what your primary symptoms are. After all, you have been living with them for several months, so who knows better than you?

Hence, from your own personal knowledge, you should be able to form some idea of the kind of medicines your doctor most needs to prescribe if you visit their office because you suspect that you have irritable bowel syndrome.