Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic relapsing gastrointestinal disorder that is often a lifelong problem. Symptoms can be wide ranging with abdominal discomfort, pain, bloating and changeable bowel habit. Non-abdominal symptoms such as fatigue, nausea and psychological symptoms may also be an issue.
IBS can significantly impact on quality of life in all aspects of day to day functioning including diet, self-image, travel and work, due to the nature of the symptoms. Considerable time and money may be spent on health care services, dietary modification, or over the counter products in an attempt to alleviate symptoms.
However, if the underlying mechanism can be addressed then most patients can minimise their symptoms and have an excellent quality of life.
In this webinar, Dr John Perry aims to provide you with practical tools to manage this wide-ranging disorder. A framework is presented to identify underlying mechanisms and target the treatment accordingly. Selected investigation, red flags and differentials, alongside current and newer treatment approaches will be discussed.
Case studies will illustrate how we can enable our patients to take control of their IBS narrative.
Resources
- Irritable bowel syndrome patient resources, inc FODMAPs Health Navigator NZ
Presenter
Dr John Perry
Dr John Perry is a graduate of the Auckland Medical School and completed specialist training in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine in Auckland and the UK. He did fellowships in liver disease at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and in inflammatory bowel disease at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK.
John is interested in both gastrointestinal and liver disease. He developed expertise in managing patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and functional gut disorders during his specialist training at Oxford. His other interests include Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Chronic Diarrhoea, Gastro-oesophageal reflux, Bowel Cancer Screening, and Liver Disease.
John is an endoscopist and performs both gastroscopy and colonoscopy to a very high standard. He was involved in the Waitemata Bowel Screening Pilot and is a firm believer in ongoing audit to maintain professional standards in colonoscopy. He works at Waitemata DHB, and in private practice at Waitemata Gastroenterology and Waitemata Endoscopy.
