Overview
Introduction
IBS therapy is matched to the patient's dominant stool pattern and symptom burden, not to an imagined structural lesion.
IBS therapy is matched to the patient's dominant stool pattern and symptom burden, not to an imagined structural lesion. Recurrent pain with loose stools requires a different risk-benefit discussion from recurrent pain with hard stools; treating the wrong pattern can intensify symptoms. Establish a Rome IV-compatible pattern, screen for alarm features, classify stool form, and then combine targeted non-pharmacologic care with a defined medication trial. In Canada, confirm the current Health Canada product monograph, provincial formulary, and applicable nurse-practitioner prescribing requirements before selecting an agent. A US indication or prescribing program is not automatically a Canadian option.