A symptom diary can be a helpful tool when dealing with any type of digestive disorder, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Keeping track of your symptoms not only provides valuable information to your doctor, but has the potential to offer you insight as to what factors may contribute to your distress. In fact, in one study in which some IBS patients showed rapid symptom improvement in response to a trial of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the researchers theorized that symptom monitoring played a significant role.
Keeping a symptom diary is a fairly simple process. All it requires is that you keep track of the times when your symptoms are prominent. Including information about situations, foods eaten, and emotional states will help you to gain a better understanding of what factors appear to exacerbate your discomfort. A sample diary is offered below:
| Symptom Diary | ||||
| Date/Time | Situation | Foods Eaten | Emotions | Symptoms |
