Symptom tracking
How to keep a food and symptom diary you will actually stick with, the Bristol stool chart, and what the data can and cannot tell you.
Symptom trackingBristol Stool Type 7: What Watery Stool Means
Type 7 is entirely liquid stool with no solid pieces. What it means, how many days is worth a call, dehydration, stool tests, and the causes worth ruling out.
35 min read
Symptom trackingCan a Symptom Tracker Predict a Flare?
Not for one person, not yet. Calprotectin and wearable studies show signals that shift weeks before IBD flares on average, but none forecasts your next one.
29 min read
Symptom trackingHow to Find Trigger Foods Without Logging It All
To find trigger foods without logging every bite, score symptoms daily, log food only on bad days plus matched ordinary days, and test one suspect at a time.
36 min read
Symptom trackingHow to Track IBS Symptoms Without an App
You can track IBS well on paper, a spreadsheet or a free form. The medium barely changes your answers; when you write them down does. Here is how to set it up.
33 min read
Symptom trackingHow to Track Symptoms During a Flare
During a flare, log less, not more: tally stools as they happen, then score once at night. The fields your IBD team triages on, and what to skip.
35 min read
Symptom trackingLoud Stomach Noises With IBS: Why and What Helps
Loud gurgling with IBS is gas and fluid being pushed through your gut, loudest when empty and after meals. What the research shows, and what helps.
35 min read
Symptom trackingMucus in Stool With IBS: Normal or a Warning?
Mucus in stool is common with IBS and is not a sign of damage on its own. Why it happens, how to tell mucus from oil, and which changes mean see a doctor.
28 min read
Symptom trackingWhat to Track in an IBD Symptom Diary
An IBD diary needs three layers: a daily symptom log, a dated event log for doses and steroids, and a treatment record that follows you. What goes in each.
34 min read
Symptom trackingWhy Your Food Diary Shows No Pattern
A food diary with no pattern usually means the log could not see a trigger, not that none exists, or that food is not what drives your bad days. How to tell which.
33 min read
Symptom trackingWhy Is My Poop Different Every Day? Is It Normal?
Poop that is different every day is normal: only about 6 in 10 healthy stools are middle types. What drives the swings, and which stool changes need a doctor.
32 min read
Symptom trackingHow Many Times a Day Do You Poop With IBS?
There is no average for IBS, but there are measured numbers. What studies actually recorded, why counting is harder than it looks, and what the count is worth.
31 min read
Symptom trackingHow Do I Know if My IBS Is Flaring Up?
There is no blood test for an IBS flare, so the answer is a comparison with your own baseline. How to define one, measure it, and tell it from something else.
29 min read
Symptom trackingHow Long Does an IBS Flare Up Last? Honest Answer
No study has measured how long an IBS flare lasts, because nobody agreed a definition. What the evidence does show, and what actually decides your duration.
28 min read
Symptom trackingIBS Food Diary: How to Keep One That Works
An IBS food diary works best kept for two to four weeks, filled in at the time, with Bristol stool type, pain, sleep and stress logged beside every meal.
27 min read
Symptom trackingBristol Stool Type 6: What It Actually Means
Type 6 is mushy stool with ragged edges, meaning your colon passed it along before it finished reabsorbing water. What that does and does not tell you.
29 min read
Symptom trackingWhy Does My IBS Come and Go? What Drives the Waves
IBS naturally comes and goes: symptoms cluster into episodes and shift over months. Why flares follow good stretches, and how to spot a pattern that is real.
26 min read