Pain in the abdomen – this can range from mild pain to a quite severe pain. This particular ibs symptom can often be triggered by some types of food or stress, and can sometimes be relieved when you to defecate.

A sudden change in the frequency of your bowel movements – This irritable bowel syndrome symptom could either be a decrease or increase in bowel movements.

Diarrhoea and/or constipation – You can find yourself with one or the other, or even both, as these symptoms do, with some types of ibs tend to alternate – this can be particularly hard to deal with.

Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea – people that suffer with this type of ibs will often need to hurry when they have defecate and will experience some urgency. This can be a very inconvenient symptom, especially if you are at work. A wet/loose stool (caused by excessive water content) can also be a symptom of this type of ibs. Abnormal bowel frequency will also usually be present in a person suffering from IBS, and you will have to move your bowels more than 3 times a day. A nasty side effect of this is that you can easily become dehydrated so if this is a symptom of ibs that you suffer you need to make sure you drink lots of water.

Irritable bowel syndrome with constipation – People with this type of Irritable Bowel Syndrome are likely to also be straining to defecate, and have to make a huge effort to evacuate the stool, which in some cases could cause you pain during the bowel movement. A lumpy, dry or hard stool is a common ibs symptom. This is because the digestive process itself may not include enough water to make the stool softer and easier to pass.

With the constipations IBS symptom you may not be able to defecate more than 3 times a week – this could prove to be dangerous as it can cause toxins to build up in your digestive tract.