The Reason Behind the Book
The goal of this book is to increase your basic knowledge about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and potential treatments of this common problem. In this book, I have tried to elaborate on several aspects of this disorder and to answer frequently asked questions. The format of the book is "question and answer" or "Q and A". These are real questions and answers that have been asked by my patients. The format is very similar to what occurs during a typical visit to your physician's office. The language of the book is straightforward to enable individuals with a non-medical background to understand the basic concepts of IBS,
As you may know, there are currently numerous publications that address Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Many of them are good resources for patients with IBS and most of them are quite comprehensive. The advantage of my book over other publications is in the simplicity of the content and emphasis on subtle but important issues that you confront in your daily life. My aim is to create in your mind a realistic impression of the disorder. This knowledge will not only improve your understanding of the disorder, but also, it will provide you with new insights into treatment options. I believe this simple but broad view of the disorder will reduce most of your fears and anxiety about IBS and offer you increased confidence and control over your illness.
The idea of and inspiration for this book occurred to me while I was answering questions that my patients raised during their office visits. Initially, I thought that by putting these questions and answers in a small booklet, I would alleviate many common concerns of my patients. I never intended to publish this book on a large scale basis. However, within a short time, 10,000 copies of the first edition were sold and the second edition was published shortly thereafter. The book was very successful and received extremely positive feedback.
In this 3rd edition, I present the most up-to-date information on IBS and recent advances in the field. I also recruited several other practitioners to further enhance this new edition. As a result, I believe this book will present to you cutting-edge information about IBS in simple terms and will help you to understand the problem. This knowledge will not only increase your ability to cope with IBS, it will help you to be an effective part of a management team. Throughout the book, I have provided simple explanations of medical terminology and jargon that you may have already encountered in your medical visits to further your understanding.
The creation of this book has been a wonderful project and was accomplished because of the contributions of many individuals. In particular, I want to thank all of the patients who shared their stories with me “ they were a real inspiration for this project. Also, I am very grateful to my consultants who shared their wisdom and knowledge.
I welcome any of your comments and feedback about the book.
Sincerely,
Ashkan Farhadi, MD, MS, FACG