01-08-2026, 11:05 PM
After years of unexplained stomach issues, a new gastroenterologist mentioned the Rome IV criteria in relation to possibly diagnosing IBS. I'd never heard of it before. It seems like a checklist of symptoms, but I'm curious—how rigid are these criteria in practice? If someone's symptoms are close but don't perfectly match the timeline or frequency, does that usually rule out the diagnosis, or is there more flexibility?