Ibs And Celiac?

[Alex33]

anyone diagnosed with both? do you have a hard time telling the symptoms apart? how do you manage them?

[kayo]

I am. My opinion is that IBS isn't really an illness, just a label doctors hand out to describe a set of symptoms when they're too lazy to find out the real cause. I believe my IBS is celiac, that they are one in the same.

[AlysounRI]

IBS stands for "I'm basically stumped" ...

It's a nothing diagnosis.

If you present with symptoms of IBS you should get checked for celiac disease.

If you are not diagnosed with celiac disease, then you have non-celiac gluten intolerance.

Either way, I, too, believe that cutting out the gluten in your diet will take care of your IBS.

[hypersof]

I am. My opinion is that IBS isn't really an illness, just a label doctors hand out to describe a set of symptoms when they're too lazy to find out the real cause. I believe my IBS is celiac, that they are one in the same.

Yep, I agree. I think a lot of us have been diagnosed w/ IBS before discovering the celiac thing...

I am "only" gluten intolerant/ sensitive/ whatever, but I have to point out that before going gluten-free, absolutely NOTHING I tried -for several years- to relieve the IBS symptoms worked (be it water/ fiber intake, eating a very balanced diet, not too much fat/ spicy food, always eating small amounts and slowly, exercising, relaxing...really, I was trying hard!) but it just kept getting worse.

Then, removing gluten from my diet reversed the process and I am now getting better.

Not all 100% perfect, but it is definitely going the right way so I have hope (I have been gluten-free for 10 weeks now)

So, my two cents are, either IBS is really celiac and it is going to get better on a gluten-free diet; or if the symptoms persist, maybe they are caused by something else?

[skigirlchar]

my dr doesnt even diagnosis IBS because he feels it's really a "catchall" diagnosis when there is something else wrong but the insurance company doesn't want to pay for more expensive tests.

by following the gluten-free/cf/sf diet, my "ibs" symptoms have all but disappeared

[eastvangal]

Yup, me too with the IBS diagnoses. I also tried everything- ibs drugs, macrobiotic diet, yeast-free diet, 17 years of antidepressants, colonics, a naturopath, psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, fiber, laxatives, transcendental meditation...

I too think is IBS is Celiac Disease.

[WheatChef]

See sig. It literally just means that something is wrong in your bowels.

[Skylark]

My "IBS" went away when I stopped eating gluten. Mom's "IBS" went away when she stopped eating fructose. I have a friend with "IBS" who is intolerant of soy and nightshades. It seems to me that IBS is a symptom of a lot of different food intolerances.

[zergcoffeebean]

I was given the IBS diagnosis when I had my colonoscopy and gastroscopy they didn't see anything indicative of anything else. So there, I got IBS. That was when I was 16. So, 9 Years ago. The only medication that ever seemed to help was buscopan. Nothing else seemed to do anything. I tried diets and food elimination. (Not going gluten free though, I hadn't ever heard of that, the concept didn't exist in the reality I was walking in.) Only recently when my last doctor asked me if I had ever been tested for Celiac disease did the idea ever come up. Going gluten free eliminated my symptoms, completely. Now, I just get "IBS" when I've been glutened some how, and usually only after the next day.

[starrytrekchic]

Add me to the group initially diagnosed with IBS...but didn't really have that.

My doctor didn't even test for anything! He just listened to my tummy, listened to my description, and told me I had IBS. I was a freshman in college and clueless--no idea I should have pursued it further. 11 often miserable years later and finally everything has resolved due to being gluten free.

I'm also skeptical that IBS actually exists as a separate illness. Seems like it's more of a symptom of an illness, rather than an illness itself.

[Alex33]

Thank you for your replies everyone.

So, a few years ago I was officially diagnosed with IBS by my doctor, with minimal testing I'll admit. I now do not have insurance so I cannot go back for a celiac test, or other tests for that matter. I have tried to go gluten-free to test myself (I was very diligent and careful about it) and also cut out dairy at that time too. I think I went gluten-free for roughly a month or so and did not see much, if any change. I know a month isn't THAT long, but from what I've read, I should have seen some improvement?

[Skylark]

I felt better after two weeks of a really strict lamb/rice/veggies elimination diet. When I tried to reintroduce wheat, my symptoms came right back.

[K8ling]

I am gluten-free and I still am classified as "IBS" because I get symptoms around my period. Hormones can cause IBS.

[Nor-TX]

Along with being gluten intolerant, I have Colitis, Dairy intolerance, IBS and Gastro Paresis. Being on this diet along with dairy free, fresh veggie and fruit free, has helped alot. I still have issues with some foods and still trying to work out all the kinks, but feeling much better than I did. The biggest issue is that food is on my mind every minute... what to eat, what to buy, when to eat, how much to eat.... *sigh*

[DownWithGluten]

I am. My opinion is that IBS isn't really an illness, just a label doctors hand out to describe a set of symptoms when they're too lazy to find out the real cause. I believe my IBS is celiac, that they are one in the same.

I agree. Probably everyone diagnosed with 'IBS' has some more specific condition. Such as Chron's, celiac, other food intolerance, maybe even conditions we haven't discovered yet.

I was diagnosed with IBS "C-D." I used to post on an IBS board, and was struck with how varying everyone's symptoms/triggers were. That's when I got a little suspicious...