Gluten/wheat Related Intolerances

[blondebombshell]

if someone has an intolerance to wheat, because of an irritable bowel, should they still altogether avoid wheat and gluten?

[RiceGuy]

I'm not sure I understand your question as you intend. Because IBS is not a cause, but a symptom. Doctors don't know what causes it, though many of us do. Therefore it seems impossible by my current understanding, that IBS would result in an intolerance. However, the intolerance certainly does often result in an irritable bowel.

I hope this helps you, but if not I'm sure others will be able to give you clearer answers.

[tom]

I second what RiceGuy said.

Pretty much anything that's called ______ _______ Syndrome, to me, indicates that there's a symptom (or a set of them) that the medical community has no cause to attribute it to.

Before x-rays, maybe some broken bones were called "painful limb syndrome".

[Rachel--24]

if someone has an intolerance to wheat, because of an irritable bowel, should they still altogether avoid wheat and gluten?

Poor digestion, enzyme deficiencies, bacteria, parasites, yeast, leaky gut....and a long list of additional factors can lead to symptoms of "irritable bowel" as well as an intolerance to gluten.

Sometimes gluten is the cause of the irritable bowel....sometimes there is more to it....either way you should avoid it until you can determine *why* you are having these symptoms.

As already stated....IBS does not cause food intolerance....nor does it cause any of the factors I just listed. These are the things which cause the bowel to become irritable in the first place. IBS doesnt cause anything....its a symptom.

[blondebombshell]

everything every mentioned makes perfect sense.

i am just confused why i have these constipation/bloating problems. when i went to a new gastro doc last week he mentioned that there are a lot of people that have problems digesting wheat and he said that he doesn't *suspect* i have celiac. he is sending me for some blood test (IGL or something?)

i would like to know why everytime i eat something i bloat up. i have cut gluten out of my diet since august and i feel like asboulte crap (tired, irritable, constipated, stomach pain, etc) when i eat wheat.

[AliB]

i would like to know why everytime i eat something i bloat up. i have cut gluten out of my diet since august and i feel like asboulte crap (tired, irritable, constipated, stomach pain, etc) when i eat wheat.

Umm......Wheat contains gluten. If you eat wheat, you are eating gluten. If you eat wheat, barley, rye or oats you are eating gluten! If you eat anything that is derived from wheat, barley, rye or oats, you are eating gluten.

If you want to test the gluten-free diet properly you have to remove ALL traces of gluten from your diet.

I had IBS for years. Going gluten-free and adopting a fairly basic diet with little in the way of carbohydrates has really sorted it out. I have been gluten-free and dairy-free for 4 months and am slowly benefitting from the diet, but it is still early days and I am still tripping up here and there.

As I get to know more and understand more about hidden gluten sources, I should be better able to avoid that. I am just so grateful not to have the constant diarrhea, awful stomach pain, gas and bloating and manic restless legs! Yes the diet is hard work at times, but it is so worth it!

[home-based-mom]

i would like to know why everytime i eat something i bloat up. i have cut gluten out of my diet since august and i feel like asboulte crap (tired, irritable, constipated, stomach pain, etc) when i eat wheat.

Are you still eating wheat? If so, you haven't cut gluten out of your diet!

EDIT - oops! AliB beat me to the submit button!

It could also be something else causing your problems that you haven't discovered yet. Bananas have always caused me problems. Good thing I never liked them anyway! I also can't eat raw carrots or rice bran. Maybe in the future but not now.

Keep a food diary so maybe you can figure out what to stop eating (besides wheat?) so you feel better.

[blondebombshell]

Umm......Wheat contains gluten. If you eat wheat, you are eating gluten. If you eat wheat, barley, rye or oats you are eating gluten! If you eat anything that is derived from wheat, barley, rye or oats, you are eating gluten.

If you want to test the gluten-free diet properly you have to remove ALL traces of gluten from your diet.

I had IBS for years. Going gluten-free and adopting a fairly basic diet with little in the way of carbohydrates has really sorted it out. I have been gluten-free and dairy-free for 4 months and am slowly benefitting from the diet, but it is still early days and I am still tripping up here and there.

As I get to know more and understand more about hidden gluten sources, I should be better able to avoid that. I am just so grateful not to have the constant diarrhea, awful stomach pain, gas and bloating and manic restless legs! Yes the diet is hard work at times, but it is so worth it!

no, no, no. i have cut all wheat/gluten out of my diet.

bc it was a new doc i was wondering if there was truth to this. he told me to use some mirilax in a drink once a day to help with constipation and didnt say anything about being allergic to wheat/gluten. just that eating it sometimes causes an irritble bowel.

[pele]

I second what RiceGuy said.

Pretty much anything that's called ______ _______ Syndrome, to me, indicates that there's a symptom (or a set of them) that the medical community has no cause to attribute it to.

Before x-rays, maybe some broken bones were called "painful limb syndrome".

Very funny! I was always mentally compare IBS to a doctor telling someone with a headache that they have painful cranium syndrome.

[Rachel--24]

Very funny! I was always mentally compare IBS to a doctor telling someone with a headache that they have painful cranium syndrome.

Thats a good one!

I actually suffer from that one....."painful cranium syndrome"....I've had it for 5 years now.

I was getting "treated" for it for awhile too. Lots and lots of pills for my "PCS".

[ravenwoodglass]

no, no, no. i have cut all wheat/gluten out of my diet.

bc it was a new doc i was wondering if there was truth to this. he told me to use some mirilax in a drink once a day to help with constipation and didnt say anything about being allergic to wheat/gluten. just that eating it sometimes causes an irritble bowel.

This doctor sounds like a real idiot. Of course gluten will cause IBS in folks that are CELIAC OR GLUTEN INTOLERANT. It sounds like this doc wants to make lots of money off of you. I noticed in your signature that you say you went gluten-free in August and then had a biopsy in December. This virtually ensured the biopsy would be 'negative'. It sounds like you really need to do a real trial of strict gluten free living for at least a few months. Your body is telling you it is poison, don't let some doctor tell you that based on a not very reliable test that you can consume gluten safely.

[blondebombshell]

This doctor sounds like a real idiot. Of course gluten will cause IBS in folks that are CELIAC OR GLUTEN INTOLERANT. It sounds like this doc wants to make lots of money off of you. I noticed in your signature that you say you went gluten-free in August and then had a biopsy in December. This virtually ensured the biopsy would be 'negative'. It sounds like you really need to do a real trial of strict gluten free living for at least a few months. Your body is telling you it is poison, don't let some doctor tell you that based on a not very reliable test that you can consume gluten safely.

ok this new doctor was a result of my past doctor telling me nothing was wrong with me. hives, bloating, etc. would not be indiciative of a gluten allergy. therefore i went to this new doc and he said that the old doc's endoscopy would not be able to tell if i truly did have celiac or not. he said they only test is 3 pieces of bread for 3 months and that ain't happening. that would make me the size of a house, LOL.

anyway, with that being said i was just trying to see if i could be intolerant to something but not allerigic.

[Tim-n-VA]

anyway, with that being said i was just trying to see if i could be intolerant to something but not allerigic.

"Intolerant" is one of those words that is used with different meanings. Some people use it in the context of an umbrella term for "something bad happens when I eat..."

On some other sites, I've seen intolerant as specifically a digestive system issue such as in lactose intolerant where the digestive system doesn't have the ability to digest lactose.

Allergies and Celiac are two different systemic responses to gluten. The bottom line to both (and a digestive wheat intolerance) is don't eat gluten.

So the answer is that you can be intolerant and not allergic but it depends what you mean by intolerant.

As a side note, the information that I've read Enterolab is that they use the term "gluten sensitivity" but some people say that Enterolab said they were "gluten intolerant". I don't know if that is people substituting what they think is an equivalent word.

Some people don't think it matters which response you are having since you treat them all the same. Other people believe that it is important to know because of the tendency of similar diseases to ocurr in clusters.