Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Cop... Video Transcript

Participants

, Lin Chang MD, Brian E. Lacy MD, PhD, Susan Lucak MD

Summary

Pain and bowel irregularities caused by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can make a marked impact on day-to-day living. Abdominal discomfort, bloating, diarrhea, constipation or alternating diarrhea and constipation, can be debilitating. Learn what IBS experts say are the many treatments that can make all the difference in the quality of life of the 40 million people living with this very common intestinal disorder.

Webcast Transcript

SUSAN LUCAK, MD: IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, is the most common gastrointestinal disorder in the United States.

BRIAN LACY, MD: Irritable bowel syndrome affects approximately one in five adult Americans. Nearly 20% of adult Americans have symptoms consistent with irritable bowel syndrome.

SUSAN LUCAK, MD: It is a disorder that's characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort, associated with bowel irregularities such as diarrhea or constipation or alternating constipation with diarrhea in the same patient. Other patients may also have associated bloating and other symptoms.

ANNOUNCER: Irritable bowel syndrome generally affects women more often than men, and it tends to strike when people in their 20s and 30s. Symptoms of IBS tend to come and go, and many people suffer without seeing a doctor. BRIAN LACY, MD: What we have come to understand is that only about 25% of those with symptoms actually ever see a doctor to be diagnosed or to be treated for the problem.

ANNOUNCER: Because IBS affects patients in such a basic way, its symptoms can impact normal everyday activities. In some cases, the symptoms can be severe and overwhelming.

BRIAN LACY, MD: These are patients who pass up promotions, because they can't travel. They pass up social events. They miss their kids' soccer games and things.

These are the patients who, on the way to my office, they know every single bathroom between New Jersey and Baltimore. Or every single bathroom between Virginia and Baltimore, because they have to stop.

ANNOUNCER: Irritable bowel syndrome tends to affect patients during their most productive years of life, so there are economic as well as personal costs.

SUSAN LUCAK, MD: Irritable bowel syndrome is the second most common cause for absenteeism from work, after common cold.

BRIAN LACY, MD: If you have IBS, you are three to four times more likely than somebody who does not to miss school or work.

SUSAN LUCAK, MD: Even if people do make it to work, oftentimes they will not be as productive.

ANNOUNCER: Because IBS frequently goes undiagnosed, it consumes considerable medical resources.

SUSAN LUCAK, MD: Irritable bowel syndrome is a costly disorder. Patients see doctors more frequently.

BRIAN LACY, MD: They may be admitted because of severe diarrhea, they may have diagnostic studies, such as blood work; those are direct costs. In the United States, it's estimated that's nearly $2 billion per year.

There are also something we call indirect costs, in those patients who miss work or miss school; they can't contribute. It is estimated to cost the United States in terms of economic dollars, about $18 billion per year.

So when we think about the costs of IBS, whether they're direct costs or indirect costs, it may amount to nearly $20 billion a year.

ANNOUNCER: IBS is a disease where not seeking treatment comes at a high cost, both in terms of the patient's quality of life and the pocketbook.

SUSAN LUCAK, MD: It frustrates me that there are many patients who don't seek a physician's help, because I feel that they are suffering needlessly. And if they were diagnosed, then they would be helped and they would have better lives.

ANNOUNCER: The message from the experts is clear, for the 30 million Americans who suffer needlessly from IBS, there is an answer:

BRIAN LACY, MD: See a doctor

SUSAN LUCAK, MD: They should come back and speak to their doctors about the new treatments.

Related Videos

When Are Bowel Symptoms A Sign Of IBS?
How to Manage Vague Bowel Irregularities of IBS
Bowel Symptoms and Bloating: Could it Be IBS?