I use to have what was diagnosed as IBS. I would go to the bathroom with loose stool or diarrhea at least 3 to 4 times a day. No matter what I changed in my diet it was there all the time. I hated leaving my house and I never ate when away from the house. I eventually got tired of living this way so I decided to talk to a new doctor and he changed my life. He said that he had given out Protonix to 100's of patients that had IBS and it seemed to work wonders. I was willing to try anything so I said count me in. Within a week I was getting better and after a month I was using the bathroom no more than 1 time a day (normal stool). I know that it is the Protonix because I was forced to change because my insurance wanted me to switch to Prilosac because it was cheaper, when I switched I was back to the loose stool and 3-4 times a day. I went right back on Protonix. It has been 5 yrs now and I am on a bathroom schedule of 1 a day :-) I posted this hoping that it might help someone else as I know IBS can really suck the life out of you.....