Sorry for being a pest. You ask such interesting questions.
In most instances the cause of IBS is unknown. It can appear any time during your life and it occurs more frequently in women than men. Some times IBS appears after a GI infections (post infection IBS or PI-IBS). In 60% of the cases it disappears within 5 years in the rest it doesn't. There is good evidence there may be a genetic component to some individual's IBS. You didn't cause it. An unknown factor including such things as GI infections, use of antibiotics and genetic predisposition caused it. Changing your diet might have exacerbated but it definitely did not cause it.
Yes - a person can have just fructose malabsorption and not IBS. However, from the series of test you have had it sounds like the discomfort you experience is from an unknown origin and you have bundled into 10-15% of the population with IBS. IBS symptoms range from mild to severe. Many people learn to live problem free with dietary and life style changes. Others have more difficulty reaching a level stability.
"How do you know if you have he right diagnosis?" is a question I am sure everyone with IBS asks themselves everyday Unfortunately, the gut is a very complicated organ about which we still know very little. Perhaps the best thing you can do is keep seeking advice and guidance from health professionals and others with IBS in hope of gaining insight into new ways to manage your symptoms and better diagnose the problem.
-------------------- STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
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Re: How do you get IBS?
Unfortunately, the gut is a very complicated organ about which we still know very little. Perhaps the best thing you can do is keep seeking advice and guidance from health professionals and others with IBS in hope of gaining insight into new ways to manage your symptoms and better diagnose the problem.
