Your IBS Tool Kit

it ain't for the light of heart

Okay today’s article is a bit more on the “TMI” side - but an important topic nonetheless

cause I have SO many women come into my practice with IBS

And almost all of them have:

• A loooonnnngggg history with their gut that started with bloating in their teens and spiraled into unpredictable digestive chaos

• The dreaded bloat (like, “I can’t button my pants, and I look 6 months pregnant” kind of bloat)

• Irregular bathroom habits—constipation, diarrhea, or the wonderful combo of both in a single week

• A lifetime of chasing a diagnosis only to be handed “IBS” with no roadmap or real support

• And… a sense of frustration, isolation, and hopelessness because gut issues aren’t just about digestion—they’re about your quality of life

Because anyone living with IBS knows:

• It’s the anxiety of leaving the house, wondering, “Will there be a bathroom nearby?”

• It’s the struggle of eating out with friends, ordering a “safe” dish, and still feeling awful afterward

• It’s waking up bloated for no reason at all and feeling discouraged every time you get dressed

not to mention that I find most gals with IBS also have:

brain fog

fatigue

and some sort of digestive woes

And if this sounds like you, then you also def know that IBS isn’t something that magically resolves with a generic diagnosis, a cup of peppermint tea, or an RX to just “stress less.”

Which is exactly why I wanted to dedicate this blog to all my gut-sensitive girlies.

Gut health is at the heart of hormone health and nervous system work. It in many ways, is like the bridge between the two
So today, we’re going to dive deep into IBS, covering:

1. What actually is IBS?

2. How it’s diagnosed

3. What causes it

4. Signs and symptoms

5. Steps forward that you can start today (and I mean literally today)

Let’s get into it

OKAY SO WHAT IS IBS?

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is so much more than an “uncomfortable stomach.” It’s a functional gastrointestinal disorder that represents a complex interplay between:

• The gut-brain axis (aka the superhighway connecting your gut and nervous system).

• Motility issues (when your gut moves food too quickly or too slowly).

• Chronic, low-grade inflammation that disrupts digestion and gut lining integrity.

• Altered microbiome (the delicate balance of bacteria in your gut).

It’s also the most common functional GI disorder—and disproportionately affecting women.

But here’s the tricky part too: there’s no specific test for IBS

It’s a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning doctors typically diagnose IBS after ruling out other conditions like Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, and celiac disease.

To fit the IBS profile, you’ll often experience:

• Abnormal stool frequency (going less than 3x per week or more than 3x per day).

• Abnormal stool form (think hard, lumpy stools or loose, watery stools).

• Abnormal stool passage (urgency, straining, or the sensation that you didn’t quite finish).

• Bloating, gas, or abdominal discomfort that’s often relieved after a bowel movement.

In other words, IBS is less of a “disease” and more of a syndrome—a collection of symptoms tied to poor gut function

HOW IS IBS DIAGNOSED?

Most diagnoses are based on the Rome IV criteria, which include:

• Abdominal pain at least 1 day per week over the last 3 months or about 12+ weeks of discomfort in the previous 12 months

• Symptoms that are associated with defecation (relief or worsening with bowel movements).

• Changes in stool frequency and/or form

Pst: here are some flags that it is prob not IBS: if you have blood in your stool, fevers, weight loss, chronic or severe diarrhea, you’ll prob want to get a new doc or get it checked out again

With that, I often see clients diagnosed off of bloat alone. Either way, the next steps given tend to be:

• take laxatives if you’re constipated (hello miralax)

• stress less (oh, never thought of that)

• chew food well (mind blown )

In case you didn’t catch on that was sarcasm above 🤣

In other words, we recognize how frustrating even getting the diagnosis can be

So we do things a bit differently around here

we don’t just accept the IBS label and stop there. Instead, we dig deeper to figure out why your gut is misbehaving.

Because IBS isn’t the root cause—it’s the result of other imbalances in the body, which leads us to…

WHAT CAUSES IBS?

So first off, lets be clear: IBS isn’t a one-size-fits-all diagnosis.

and it’s mechanisms are still really poorly understood

What we do know is that it’s a symptom of deeper dysfunction in your gut, nervous system, or even hormones. And there are multiple different subtypes of it, making it complex to get to the root of.

Nevertheless, here are the key players that might be driving your IBS 👇🏼