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Constipation is normally an isolated, discrete experience of delayed bowel movement, straining during defecation, the eventual passing of hard and small stool, and a sense of incomplete evacuation. It is a very common condition (Drossman, 1994); however, for some people constipa-tion is experienced as a chronic illness characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, and poor health perception (Dubois, Johnson, Marquis, & McGrath, 1997). In the lit-erature, this is known as functional constipation, referred to synonymously as chronic constipation, idiopathic con-stipation, or constipation-predominant irritable bowel syn-drome (IBS). Although not all IBS involves constipation, the literature on IBS presented here includes constipation-predominant IBS. Medicine has made creditable strides in prolonging lif