Medications

Currently there are no approved pharmaceuticals that have been shown to relieve all IBS symptoms in all people. Rather, most drugs target just one specific problem or one specific type of IBS (either IBS-D or IBS-C), and they often come with side effects. With the advent of new testing modalities, however, this may change in the near future. In the meantime, certain medications can play a valuable role in treating or alleviating particularly troublesome IBS symptoms, including abdominal cramps and pain, diarrhea, constipation, sleep disturbances, anxiety and stress, and depression.