In reply to ow arm:
> Interestingly with IBS although certain foods can aggrevate it, its mostly a psychological syndrome
> "To date, no physiologic mechanism unique to IBS has been identified. Rather, it is currently viewed as a biopsychosocial disorder resulting from an interaction among a number of factors: visceral hyperalgesia, genetic and environmental factors, infection, inflammation, gut motility, and psychological factors, Dietary factors, GI dysmotility dysfunction, and the role of gut flora are evolving mechanisms."
Many years ago I was diagnosed with IBS. When I asked the doctor what that meant he told me "we don't know, but we don't consider it life threatening". I've since discovered that anxiety is a major trigger for me. For example if I'm going travelling I will be terrible on the way to the airport, but fine once I've caught the flight. The same can happen when running in a race, though not when setting off for a run on my own. I think that the root cause is something in my head that worries where I'm going to go to the toilet should the need arise, so I'd better go right now. I deal with it by predicting when it will strike and taking Imodium accordingly.