“Ah, estas embarazada!”
These disorders present in women twice as often as men.
(TikTok’s official declaration is that allhot girls have stomach issues.)
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And since FGIDs disproportionately affect women, some might even call it a feminist act to post about poop.
However, people with IBS still tend to be people with anxiety.
“That’s classic IBS,” Dr. Pimentel assures me when I tell him this.
Then, testing can begin.
IBS is usually diagnosed by ruling out other conditions because there are no biomarkers of the disease.
Immediate answers just aren’t realistic for this disorder.
I was relatively lucky.
At 25, I finally mentioned my stomach symptoms during an annual physical.
Angela Trakoshis, a commerce editor atAllurewho has IBS-D, had her first colonoscopy when she was just 26.
According to him, “It’s pretty clear that about 60 percent of IBS is SIBO.”
Getting up to pee was a struggle that involved dramatically crawling across the kitchen floor to the bathroom.
Frequently, even a successful round of antibiotics offers only temporary relief.
Dr. Sanghavi estimates about 40 percent of her patients have their SIBO return after three to six months.
Many more see it recur after a year.
One of those patients isLisa Hanawalt, a writer and illustrator who created the animated seriesTuca & Bertie.
Two of the slides read, “Damn, feels good to know I’m not just insane.
This isn’t all in my head, or all my fault.”
Her fear is not entirely rational.
But it’s not entirely unfounded either.
There remains a sort of public weirdness around IBS.
“[IBS is] still sometimes made fun of in movies and TV.
You don’t see people making fun of Crohn’s disease,” says Dr. Pimentel.
“You dont see people making fun of ulcerative colitis, but IBS, they do.”
And I get it.
“IBS is not life-threatening,” says Dr. Pimentel.
“It’s not cancer or heart disease.”
A Brighter Future for People With IBS
But perhaps we’re entering a new era.
As Dr. Sanghavi puts it, “You’re never really sure what you’re getting.”
“I deeply regret this decision,” she says now.
“Why suffer if there are treatments?
I think this is a time of empowerment for IBS.”
“If you have IBS, there are treatments now,” Dr. Pimentel says.
Were you one of those people told to to kindly buzz off with your stomachaches 10 years ago?
“We understand IBS a lot better,” he says.
“Why suffer if there are some treatments available?
I think this is a time of empowerment for IBS.”
Widespread access to this test would eliminate the need to rule out other conditions using more invasive methods first.
I Wish It Were More Accessible.
Now, spend the day with Jordan Chiles:
