I went through my own bout with IBS some years ago. It was really frustrating. I spent a lot of time and money trying to fix it, and nothing worked.
Dealing with IBS was especially frustrating because of the unhelpful advice from doctors, family, and friends. Doctors would tell me it was all in my head. My family thought I had Crohn's. My friends just would get weirded out by the things I refused to eat, and try to nag me into trying just one muffin/beer/hot wing.
A few years ago, my IBS disappeared as suddenly as it came. Now, I'm mostly ok. But I still remember how frustrating and life-impairing IBS was.
One of the things I really wished I had when I got IBS was an actually helpful guide. When I would Google IBS, I'd get a bunch of blog posts from "reputable" sources that all said the same thing. It was so unhelpful. "Oh, Mayo Clinic, should I avoid foods that trigger my IBS and also try to exercise once a day? Really? Wow, thanks, I'm cured!"
This book is different. It's an actually helpful guide: a scientific way to think about, diagnose, and treat your IBS. Here's how it's laid out:
The organization of the bookThe book is laid out first with a table to make sure you actually have IBS, and not a similar GI condition. Then it has a table of scientific evaluations of IBS treatments.
If you have a simpler form of IBS, these two tables might be enough. If you have a more complex form, or a more complex condition, you will need a doctor's help. That's why the next section is how to deal with your doctors, who will likely be your GP and your gastro.
When you're dealing with your doctors (or figuring things out yourself), you should have an idea of how your digestive system actually works. That's why I've put another section here on how your digestive system works, and how it breaks down in the various IBS-related conditions. I've also included a brief scientific explanation of how the various IBS treatments work.
At the end of the book, I list all my sources (and there are a lot!), what I took from them, and how I evaluated them.
