# JAMA: A 54-Year-Old Woman With Constipation-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome



## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

CLINICIANâ€™S CORNER CLINICAL CROSSROADSCONFERENCES WITH PATIENTS AND DOCTORS926 JAMA, February 22, 2006â€"Vol 295, No. 8A 54-Year-Old WomanWith Constipation-PredominantIrritable Bowel SyndromeAnthony J. Lembo, MD, DiscussantDR REYNOLDS: Mrs G is a 54-year-old woman with abdominalpain and discomfort associated with constipation. Herbowel difficulties began in early childhood when she did notfeel comfortable moving her bowels in public restrooms. Hersymptoms diminished during her teenage years but beganagain in her 20s; over the past several years her constipationhas become more problematic.She has experienced bloating, generalized abdominal discomfort,and an inability to eat large meals. She experiencesmild lower abdominal cramps while moving her bowels;she does not have any diarrhea. Mrs G has used manydifferent over-the-counter laxatives including osmotic andstimulant laxatives; those products have typically improvedher bowel regularity for a short time, but with prolongeduse have stopped working. After she was diagnosedwith osteoporosis several years ago, Mrs G, who had alwaysbeen very small, began trying to gain weight as onemeasure to improve her bone strength. She was not able togain weight because she felt bloated with small amounts offood. She tried to eat frequently, but continued to have abdominalsymptoms.After seeing an advertisement on television, Mrs G requestedprescription medication for her symptoms. Her primarycare physician referred her to a local gastroenterologistwho agreed that Mrs G had constipation and irritablebowel syndrome (C-IBS), and she began a trial of tegaserod.She has had significant improvement in her symptomsand now moves her bowels daily. Mrs G would prefernot to take medication regularly. However, her attempt tostop the medication met with a complete return of her previoussymptoms.The complete article may be downloaded from JAMA.Â© American Medical Association. All rights reserved.


----------



## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

Sounds almost identical to my story.


----------



## Smiler (Oct 30, 2006)

And mine. Except I don't have osteoporosis that I am aware of.


----------

