There is a whole constellation of symptoms which fall into the realm of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome or nervous stomach. This frequently has been called Spastic Colitis. This is not a disease but rather a group of symptoms which may be attributed to stress, tension and anxiety. The symptoms may be diarrhea, diarrhea alternating with constipation, constipation, mucus in the stools and abdominal pain. Often the diagnosis is made after a reasonable medical evaluation is performed to rule out other causes of the symptoms. There will soon be an explosion of medications that allow us to treat nervous stomach or irritable syndrome much more effectively.

It's now very clear that Irritable Bowel Syndrome has several different manifestations.  It can be constipation predominant, diarrhea predominate, or alternating diarrhea and constipation.  Currently there are medications that target these different types of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Now there seems to be evidence that there may be some genetic component to your will bowel syndrome.  Much research is being done and should dramatically change the way we treat it over the next several years.