Ibs Or Celiac?

[tmk]

Hello -- new to the boards!

I have been suffering w/ chronic diarrhea since I was 14 years old (am going to be 32). I had a lower barium GI done at 14 which didn't show anything and I was diagnosed w/ irritable bowel syndrome. I was never tested for celiac disease. I have been reading up a lot on celiac and am wondering if this may be my problem b/c I have a lot of the symptoms -- chronic diarrhea (every day -- especially after I eat), abdominal swelling/gas, anemia, chronic fatigue, muscle/joint aches, oily poo etc etc.

I decided to go and ask my doctor about it. She said she doesn't think I have Celiac disease b/c I do not have abdominal pain and that all her patients w/ Celiac have severe abdominal pain. Just asking those out there diagnosed w/ Celiac if you have to have this particular symptom. She still thinks I just have IBS. My doctor has ordered a blood test and has recommended I go see a GI doctor. Should I wait for the results of the blood test before going to the GI b/c I have read so much about negative biopsies.

Thanks for any info you can give me!

[SUZ42]

Hello -- new to the boards!

I have been suffering w/ chronic diarrhea since I was 14 years old (am going to be 32). I had a lower barium GI done at 14 which didn't show anything and I was diagnosed w/ irritable bowel syndrome. I was never tested for celiac disease. I have been reading up a lot on celiac and am wondering if this may be my problem b/c I have a lot of the symptoms -- chronic diarrhea (every day -- especially after I eat), abdominal swelling/gas, anemia, chronic fatigue, muscle/joint aches, oily poo etc etc.

I decided to go and ask my doctor about it. She said she doesn't think I have Celiac disease b/c I do not have abdominal pain and that all her patients w/ Celiac have severe abdominal pain. Just asking those out there diagnosed w/ Celiac if you have to have this particular symptom. She still thinks I just have IBS. My doctor has ordered a blood test and has recommended I go see a GI doctor. Should I wait for the results of the blood test before going to the GI b/c I have read so much about negative biopsies.

Thanks for any info you can give me!

I had all of the above except diarrhea - mine is constipation, plus some other problems. But I did not have severe abdominal pain. You can have Celiac disease without presenting any symptoms. Some haven't had any GI probs but have depression. In otherwords, no two people with Celiac have the very same symptoms. Personally I would forgo the biopsy and just do the gluten free diet to see if it works. Unless you "need" an official diagnosis. Some here have said that being officially diagnosed with Celiac causes problems with insurance down the road.

[Kaycee]

Tmk, welcome to the boards.

Before diagnosis I did not have much in the way of stomach pains, but I did have diarhoea and all that horrible poo thing, but not severe stomach pain, except for occassionally. That would'be been about 10 times in 10 years.

Now that I am gluten free, I feel the stomach pain more when I have been glutened, but it is not severe.

Hope you find your answers soon, but it does sound like a gluten problem.

It might pay to wait till you get your blood test results back before seeing the GI as something might show up in them.

Cathy

[tmk]

Thanks Suzanne and Cathy for the replies!

I know this probably sounds crazy, but I am really hoping that the results come back positive. It would be nice to finally have a reason for the last 18 years of suffering and to be able to control it!

Thanks again and I will post my results when I get them.

[BRUMI1968]

Doctors rely heavily on the Diagnostic Code book that has more to do with insurance companies than with human beings. Everyone has different symptoms; some folks have no symptoms; some folks have NO DIGESTIVE SYMPTOMS at all ... so the books that docs look at (or computer programs or whatever) that help them bill your insurance -- and their medical school training -- influence them to put symptoms in boxes and then label them. Our health does not work this way.

I had intense abdominal pain, from pent up gas and inflammation from having severe constipation for about 36 years (I'm 38). But up until recently, it was not suspected that I would have celiac because 80% of those presenting with GI symptoms have D instead of C. Also, it used to be thought you had to be thin to have Celiac, which is now no longer believed.

I asked for my test, and thankfully my doc complied and gave me the right one. I came back positive. They called and said "you are slightly celiac". That's like being slightly pregnant.

Anyway, good luck to you. I hope this is where you end up because frankly, having a disease that is cured through diet and lifestyle is AWESOME. There are lots of folks who are not so lucky -- either out there living with serious disease, or out there eating/drinking/living themselves into one.

[Felidae]

I'm about the same age as you and I have been sick for the same length of time. If you need a diagnosis, then keep eating gluten until you get the blood tests and biopsy done. My blood tests came back negative, so I never had a biopsy. I went gluten-free because I was sick of being sick. One month after being gluten-free, I had great improvements in my health. I saw my doctor at this point and she said don't bother with the biopsy because it may come back negative anyways. The gluten-free diet was working for me so she said to stick with it. And I haven't looked back. So, even if your resluts are negative, give the gluten-free diet a try. It changed my life in so many unexpected ways. I had no idea that this is what normal people felt like on a daily basis.

[tmk]

thanks so much for all the support! I figure if the test do come back negative, that I will go ahead and give the gluten free diet a try anyways to see if it helps -- it certainly can't hurt anything!