Hi ds,

Welcome to the site. Yes, having both IBD and IBS can be confusing and frustrating. I, too, have been diagnosed with both. Over time - I was diagnosed 12+ years ago - I have learned to differentiate between IBD symptoms and IBS symptoms, for me.

IBS for me is triggered by stress, with frequent bowel movements that can be either mushy or diarrhea.

As for an IBD flare-up, I can't tell what triggers them, but the symptoms of a UC flare-up are much different - diarrhea with or without blood and/or mucus (10-20 BM's per day is not uncommon for me with a UC flare), extreme fatigue, joint pain, low-grade fever, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

It will take time and a lot of paying attention to your body to figure out what is IBD and what is IBS. An IBD flare-up is almost always more sudden in symptom onset, while IBS symptoms may just linger here and there.

For me, if there is no blood or mucus in the stool, no fatigue, no weight or appetite loss, then it's not a UC flare.

The good news is that some of the things that are used to treat UC can help with IBS. I've pasted a link below to one of my Shareposts that might be helpful to you. There are many more Shareposts I've written about diet, stress reduction, and how else to live with IBD and IBS. 

http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/66985/ibd-ibs-thing

Best of luck to you,

Elizabeth