Is IBS painful?

Is IBS painful?

Lin Chang (UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases) gives expert video advice on: Can IBS cause weight gain or weight loss?; Is IBS painful?; Can IBS damage the colon or other parts of the digestive system? and more...

IBS isn't thought to cause any damage. There might be some underlying microscopic damage, meaning that you can't see it to the naked eye. For example, if you had a colonoscopy you usually don't see anything abnormal, but under the microscope, if you had a piece of tissue, it might look abnormal. That's one of the areas of research right now. Not everybody has that, but this condition is not thought to cause damage to the bowel. The bowel's already damaged or not working properly, and that's why you have the symptoms. Can it worsen with time? Probably, in some patients.