Reged: 02/15/05
Posts: 1999
Loc: Northern Illinois, USA
I think mine is hereditary at its root. My dad has always had stomach issues, and I think his younger sister has too. I think I've heard them mention their mom did, too. My older sister also has IBS.
However, mine flared particularly bad in late 2004 after a particularly stressful year and (according to the GI doc) probably an infection. While I'm stable now, I haven't been the same since the Thursday before US Thanksgiving 2004. I'm thinking it was the combination of stress and infection that made the end of 2004 and most of 2005 such "fun."