The Oaks Hospital · Colchester, Essex
IBS Assessment & Treatment in Colchester
Irritable bowel syndrome affects around one in ten people and can be genuinely disabling. Dr Thines Karunakaran offers a thorough assessment at The Oaks Hospital in Colchester — confirming the diagnosis, excluding anything more serious and building a treatment plan that works for you.
Dr Thines Karunakaran
Consultant Gastroenterologist
Symptoms commonly assessed
Patients seen for suspected IBS or a functional gut disorder often describe:
- Recurrent abdominal pain or cramping
- Bloating and visible abdominal distension
- Diarrhoea, constipation or an alternating pattern
- Urgency or a feeling of incomplete emptying
- Excessive wind and gurgling
- Symptoms triggered by specific foods
- Symptoms flaring with stress or poor sleep
- Fatigue alongside gut symptoms
Getting the diagnosis right
IBS should be a positive diagnosis, not a label of last resort. Blood tests, coeliac screening and faecal calprotectin are used to exclude coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease, with endoscopy where red-flag features are present.
Diet and the low FODMAP approach
Diet is often the single most effective lever in IBS. A structured, dietitian-supported low FODMAP elimination and reintroduction programme identifies your specific triggers without unnecessary long-term restriction.
Medication and gut–brain therapies
Antispasmodics, laxatives, bile acid binders, low-dose neuromodulators and gut-directed behavioural therapies each help different symptom patterns. Treatment is matched to your predominant symptoms and reviewed at follow-up.
IBS FAQs
What is irritable bowel syndrome?+
IBS is a common disorder of gut–brain interaction causing abdominal pain, bloating and altered bowel habit without structural damage to the bowel. It is a genuine, treatable condition — not something you have to live with unaided.
How is IBS diagnosed?+
Diagnosis is based on your symptom pattern together with tests to exclude other conditions — typically blood tests including coeliac screening, a stool calprotectin test, and, where indicated, a colonoscopy. Dr Karunakaran tailors the tests to your age, symptoms and family history.
What is the difference between IBS and IBD?+
IBS does not inflame or damage the bowel, while inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) causes visible inflammation and can lead to bleeding, weight loss and complications. Simple tests such as faecal calprotectin help distinguish them.
How is IBS treated?+
Treatment combines dietary change (often a structured low FODMAP approach with a dietitian), targeted medication for pain, diarrhoea or constipation, and gut–brain therapies such as neuromodulators or gut-directed hypnotherapy where appropriate.
When should I worry about my symptoms?+
Rectal bleeding, unexplained weight loss, waking at night with symptoms, a persistent change in bowel habit over the age of 50, anaemia, or a family history of bowel cancer all warrant prompt specialist assessment rather than being assumed to be IBS.
Can I see a consultant for IBS privately in Colchester?+
Yes. Dr Karunakaran sees private patients at The Oaks Hospital, usually within days. Self-pay patients can self-refer; most insurers ask for a GP referral letter first.
See a consultant for IBS in Colchester
GP referrals and self-referrals welcome. Rapid appointments at The Oaks Hospital, Colchester.