Celiac + Ibs?.....anyone Else?

[Sweetfudge]

So, went to the GI today, and he said he also thinks I have IBS, which is what has been causing all my reactions to other foods. He's gonna do some bloodwork and an endoscopy, but said to start eating on the IBS diet. I just wondered who else out there has been told they have both, and if there are any hints to dealing w/ both

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I'm not yet convinced that there is such a thing as "IBS." The S stands for syndrome, which means it's a collection of symptoms. Something tangible CAUSES those symptoms, and just because the doctor can't figure out what the heck it is, doesn't mean that the tangible cause doesn't exist.

If the IBS diet helps, go for it. Then add foods back in, 1 per month, and see what triggers your symptoms.

I do think that having a gluten-free diet that is as heavy in gluten-free wheat substitutes as the typical diet is heavy in wheat is likely to cause continued symptoms. I can tolerate gluten-free breads, etc. but not for every meal!

I hope you find easy answers to your questions! If you don't get answers from the tests, maybe Enterolab might be a way to go?

[ArtGirl]

IBS? Well, after going gluten-free I still had GI issues which could have been diagnosed as IBS if I had gone to a doctor for it. Continued cramping and D and gas - similar but not as severe as what gluten does to me.

At least your doctor isn't putting you on medications and seems to know that IBS symptoms are caused by diet.

I determined finally that it was CORN that was causing the IBS symptoms. Stopped eating anything with corn in it, and most of the symptoms went away. There is still a lingering problem, though. I suspect it's starches - like what's in my gluten-free breads, and also too much sugary things. I've reduced breads and dropped all refined sugars and that has helped a lot. My next step is a low-carb diet.

I think the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a very good IBS diet because it focuses on gut health - killing off the bad bacteria and reintroducing lots of good bacteria. Those who do this diet have a lot of success in healing their gut to where that they can eat foods they previously reacted to (not gluten, of course). I don't plan to stay on it forever, but at least a few months to get "balanced" again.

[ksymonds84]

  Sweetfudge said:

So, went to the GI today, and he said he also thinks I have IBS, which is what has been causing all my reactions to other foods. He's gonna do some bloodwork and an endoscopy, but said to start eating on the IBS diet. I just wondered who else out there has been told they have both, and if there are any hints to dealing w/ both

I deal with both. If you go to the IBS support board, they will strongly defend that there is such a thing as IBS (very smart people on that board too) but they do consider it a syndrome not a disease. If you have anything other than gastro symptoms such as joint pain, fever, blood in stools etc, the moderator strongly incourages the person to seek further. I was diagnosed first with IBS in my early twenties. The IBS diet then used to be a ton of fiber but during the last 10 years or so, insoluable fiber is more what is considered a safe fiber.

I think it helped me because when I had a full blown attack, I ate nothing but salads and no dairy. So my unknown gluten intolerance was healed as well. No IBS patient is the same, they all have different triggers. A common one I found when surfing their forums is wheat and dairy but some only react to dairy alone and can eat wheat, others only get it when super stressed. For me my triggers along with gluten are fried greasy foods, chocolate, too spicy, too much alcohol, milk products (can eat some cheese), more than one cup of coffee and very acidic foods. I can eat safetly and be fine for weeks, but if I give in to the weakness for bufallo wings fried in the fryer, I have the big D symptoms like I get when eating gluten.

I do believe in IBS as a syndrome that will give you gastro symptoms when you eat your trigger foods or get majorily stressed out. I always got the big D when I had a major exam, or a break up with a guy in high school and now if something really upsets me, that has nothing to do with what I am eating. I also know I am not intolerant to everything that triggers me, but when I over do it, the D comes back. My gluten intolerance had been hiding behind the IBS for many years and stopping gluten has helped me tremendously, all the non GI symptoms are gone! But I do still have problems with the triggers that I've always associated to set off my IBS all these years. Hope I am making sense, not feeling well today, went over my limit on dairy yesterday I agree not to try the prescriptions for IBS, they made me worse,(imo the pharm. companies jumped on the band wagon to make money but IBS again is a syndrome with everyone being different) I think diet alone will be all you need.

[jerseyangel]

A condition that is sometimes associated with Celiac is microscopic colitis. This can cause persistant watery D, fatigue, weight loss in some cases, and abdominal cramping.

If you have any of these, you may want to ask your doctor about it.

[ksymonds84]

The IBS diet then used to be a ton of fiber but during the last 10 years or so, insoluable fiber is more what is considered a safe fiber.

Wanted to correct myself...brain fog is terrible today soluable fiber is what helps some people who suffer with either/both diarrhea and constipation.

[Sweetfudge]

  Fiddle-Faddle said:

If the IBS diet helps, go for it. Then add foods back in, 1 per month, and see what triggers your symptoms.

Yeah, I'm not 100% convinced either. This is what I plan on trying for now.

  Fiddle-Faddle said:

If you don't get answers from the tests, maybe Enterolab might be a way to go?

Also thought about this. This isn't something you have a dr do, right? Just order a test?

  ArtGirl said:

I think the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is a very good IBS diet because it focuses on gut health - killing off the bad bacteria and reintroducing lots of good bacteria. Those who do this diet have a lot of success in healing their gut to where that they can eat foods they previously reacted to (not gluten, of course). I don't plan to stay on it forever, but at least a few months to get "balanced" again.

I've looked into this diet a lot. I might try it for awhile to balance myself out.

  ksymonds84 said:

I deal with both. If you go to the IBS support board, they will strongly defend that there is such a thing as IBS (very smart people on that board too) but they do consider it a syndrome not a disease. If you have anything other than gastro symptoms such as joint pain, fever, blood in stools etc, the moderator strongly incourages the person to seek further. I was diagnosed first with IBS in my early twenties. The IBS diet then used to be a ton of fiber but during the last 10 years or so, insoluable fiber is more what is considered a safe fiber.

I actually spent a lot of time on the help for IBS forum a few years ago, before my dx of celiac disease. It was one of the diets my dr had me try. I found some really great recipes that I still use (Will's dreamy rice pudding!!!). I'm excited to visit again, and see what's new over there.

  ksymonds84 said:

when you eat your trigger foods or get majorily stressed out. I always got the big D when I had a major exam, or a break up with a guy in high school and now if something really upsets me, that has nothing to do with what I am eating. I also know I am not intolerant to everything that triggers me, but when I over do it, the D comes back. My gluten intolerance had been hiding behind the IBS for many years and stopping gluten has helped me tremendously, all the non GI symptoms are gone! But I do still have problems with the triggers that I've always associated to set off my IBS all these years. Hope I am making sense, not feeling well today, went over my limit on dairy yesterday I agree not to try the prescriptions for IBS, they made me worse,(imo the pharm. companies jumped on the band wagon to make money but IBS again is a syndrome with everyone being different) I think diet alone will be all you need.

I think my body deals with stress in a similar way. Yeah, probably not going to do the prescriptions any time soon. Also, just found out my insurance won't cover another endoscopy, so we're proabably going to put that off until next year

  jerseyangel said:

A condition that is sometimes associated with Celiac is microscopic colitis. This can cause persistant watery D, fatigue, weight loss in some cases, and abdominal cramping.

If you have any of these, you may want to ask your doctor about it.

The only ones I notice on a regular basis are the cramping, and occasional fatigue. Thanks for mentioning it, I will definitely look into it.

  ksymonds84 said:

The IBS diet then used to be a ton of fiber but during the last 10 years or so, insoluable fiber is more what is considered a safe fiber.

Wanted to correct myself...brain fog is terrible today soluable fiber is what helps some people who suffer with either/both diarrhea and constipation.

Yeah, I figured that's what you meant

Thanks again all!