Symptoms Not Disapearing- Ibs?

[alex*iustaspira]

I haven't been able to find any other threads about IBS on here, so I'm sorry if there's already another post on this! But I've had celiac for about 6 months, was diagnosed just before my 20th birthday, and I've be extremely careful about cutting out gluten. I'm also lactose intolerant and I make sure to take the pills for it. The thing is I'm still getting the symptoms, so I think I have IBS. I mentioned it to my doctor and they seem to just focus on the whole celiac thing so I have no clue if I have IBS or not. I've heard that people feel better soon after they cut out gluten, however, I haven't really felt much better at all. I'm just wondering if anyone else's symptoms have taken as long to disapear? I'm praying that I don't have IBS so if anyone has any advice that would be great!

[sa1937]

IBS is a symptom, not a diagnosis, in spite of what some doctors try to tell us. You might want to ditch the dairy for now as many of us are lactose intolerant until we have healed (and some can never digest dairy products).

Lactaid tablets never did anything for me. I am able to use Lactaid milk and probably didn't start eating cheese until I was gluten-free for about 9 months and then it was hard cheeses like cheddar. One of these days I'm going to test dairy good but I want a couple of days when I know I'm going to be home.

[IrishHeart]

Irritable bowel is " a collection of symptoms"--and it is a diagnosis based on symptoms of the LARGE intestine, not the small intestine. I'm with Sylvia--ditch the dairy for a while.

Lactose intolerance--secondary to celiac--is transient in the majority of celiacs. (I hope for me too--I miss cheese! )

Lactase, which is the enzyme that breaks down the sugar lactose, is produced in the tip of the villi.

When the villi get blunted in celiac disease, sometimes the ability to digest lactose is decreased and you can become lactose intolerant.

This may cause bloating, stomach cramps, diarrhea, etc.

(does this sound like the "IBS" you think you have?? )

After you go gluten-free, the villi will heal and most people are able to tolerate dairy foods again.

Unfortunately, most of us learn there is no timetable on gut recovery. Give up the dairy and hang in there! See if your symptoms lessen.

[Marilyn R]

I agree with Sylvia, try eliminating dairy for awhile. If that doesn't work, try eliminating soy and then corn and all derivitives. Good luck, it's a journey. Hope you feel better soon!

[Kim69]

I hope giving up dairy works for you. I tried using lactate milk and felt no better. I then switched to rice milk and felt no better. Now I am back to cow milk and feel no worse.

I agree that you probably have food sensitivity issues. For me, removing fructose foods was the best improvement after removing gluten.

My new gastroenterologist says that I may have IBS and fibromyalgia (we are working towards a diagnosis). Both of which are difficult to diagnose and dont have treatments anyway. I am just over 1 yr post Coeliac diagnosis.

[sb2178]

Yeah, IBS isn't really one particular problem. Whenever they test a group of people with "IBS" for a particular problem like celiac disease, or fructose intolerance, SIBO, or casein/lactose intolerance, they always get a % of people who are positive for that particular problem.

A strict elimination diet might be worth the effort. You start off with a few plain foods (rice, lamb, yellow squash) and then add one or two new foods per week. Keep a diary and see if you notice any changes with particular foods. There are various options out there if you want to try a more comple regime. It's a pain, but it's the only really really reliable way to determine which foods are causing problems. It's very restrictive, so if you're going to be testing a lot of foods, it might be helpful to find an RD/MD who can guide you through it while still eating enough nutrients.

[dilettantesteph]

You may be a super sensitive celiac, reacting to processed foods. Try eating just produce and meat for a couple of weeks and see if that works. You can try adding a few processed things later.

[alex*iustaspira]

Thank you for all your replies, even though I haven't even seen them until just now! Its been about a year and nothing has changed; I'm on the FODMAP diet now and yes I've been cutting out dairy most of the time for the past year. My doctor told me that I probably do have IBS, or IBS symptoms I guess, so I feel like I'm on my own now since my gastroenterologist discharged me. I've started to develop stomach pains now so I'm really lost.. has anyone else with IBS managed to control your symptoms? I feel like its never going to happen!