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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 8/4/2006 6:29 PM (GMT -7)
I too have IBS and after reading many posts feel kind of lucky to only have a bout once a week. It doesn't last long but I am tired all the time and as a competitive athlete that's not fun. After 15 years of this it now really wears on me especially not knowing when it might flair. In my research to learn more I happened upon Celiac Sprue AKA gluten intolerance. Like many of you I am lactose intolerant which goes hand in hand with IBS. I went to my GP the the day to ask for a Gluten or Celiac blood panel and she dismissed me faster than the last class on the last day of school. I was floored. She wants me to go to a gastro specialist-no way! Not doing a barage of tests and running up a huge medical bill so they can tell me I have IBS!! Any of you been tested?? If not see if you can be the symptoms mirror IBS. I am persuing alternative health practitioners to just get the darn blood test. What a huge relief if just cutting wheat out of my diet could put an end to this!!
Posted 8/4/2006 6:43 PM (GMT -7)
Hi there- the only real definitive test for Celiac is an endoscopy.  Yes, the blood test is a pretty sure thing- however, my father's good friend's came up negative (the blood test that is) but she was having a lot of GI problems and had a family history of Celiac too.  She finally had an endoscopy where they take a biopsy of the small bowel and that is the final say usually. So, needless to say, her biopsy came back positive and she went on the Celiac diet and got much, much better.  In case you're not aware, there are no nerve endings in that part of our body and so you do not feel anything (if you're even awake) when they take the sample.  Good luck. 

Posted 8/4/2006 7:04 PM (GMT -7)
Good to know, thanks, j
Posted 8/5/2006 4:58 PM (GMT -7)
They tested/biospied me as well for Celiac while I was under for my colonscopy. It came back negative which was good. But upon hearing that I could have that, I did some research and found that it is extremely hard to go on a wheat free diet. My GI doctor explained to me that most if not all Celiac patients can't sustain the diet because it is so limiting. If you look at ingredients on most packages, there is wheat, and wheat byproducts in almost every package. Basically you would only be able to eat vegetables and chicken or turkey or red meat if your system could handle red meat.
Posted 8/6/2006 7:34 AM (GMT -7)

happyrat said...
I too have IBS and after reading many posts feel kind of lucky to only have a bout once a week. It doesn't last long but I am tired all the time and as a competitive athlete that's not fun. After 15 years of this it now really wears on me especially not knowing when it might flair. In my research to learn more I happened upon Celiac Sprue AKA gluten intolerance. Like many of you I am lactose intolerant which goes hand in hand with IBS. I went to my GP the the day to ask for a Gluten or Celiac blood panel and she dismissed me faster than the last class on the last day of school. I was floored. She wants me to go to a gastro specialist-no way! Not doing a barage of tests and running up a huge medical bill so they can tell me I have IBS!! Any of you been tested?? If not see if you can be the symptoms mirror IBS. I am persuing alternative health practitioners to just get the darn blood test. What a huge relief if just cutting wheat out of my diet could put an end to this!!

The best way to determine if you have celiac is to go gluten free, if you're not going to have the testing done by a GI doc. Contrary to what others may believe it's not that hard of a diet, there are alot of gluten free products on the market, I tried a GF diet once in my quest to determine my problems and found some delicious products, my favorite was the gluten free pretzels..lol!  Lactose intolerance also goes hand in hand with gluten intolerance.

Celiac is when the villi of the intestines have been damaged and often the GI doc doesn't take enough samples to biopsy to even determine if that's the case.

The best bet would to do at least a couple of months of going gluten free, if you feel better you're probably on the right track, though it can take longer to heal the damage to the villi if you do have celiac.

But, a caution...if you do decide to see a GI doc and get tested for celiac, DON"T go gluten free until after the testing as the villi can begin healing and the doc would all the more likely to miss it.

Having celiac can lead to other health problems, such as malabsorbtion, which could explain your fatigue. Would your primary doc be willing to test for your ferritin, B-12 and iron levels? That could give you a clue too.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Posted 8/7/2006 7:53 AM (GMT -7)
Something to remember: Celiac's disease is really an allergy. And there is a difference between being allergic to something and just not being able to tolerate it. It is my understanding, for instance, that lactose intolerance is just that--an intolerance but not an allergic reaction. There are a few people on this board who don't have Celiac's disease but who avoid gluten nonetheless because it messes them up. So, if it's going to be a pain in the behind to get the test done, just do as Sarah suggests and avoid gluten and see if that helps you any. If it helps, then it doesn't really matter if you have Celiac's disease or not; you just can't tolerate gluten one way or the other.

And yes, packaged foods pretty much all contain gluten. That's why you have to take up cooking from scratch.
Posted 8/7/2006 10:59 AM (GMT -7)
Celiac is NOT an allergy. It does not illicit a histamine response, it is an auto immune disorder that results in an antigen response which then attacks the villi of the small intestine. There is a wheat allergy as well, I don't have it, but the immune response is completely different.

Lactose intolerance arises when the pancreas stops producing the lactase enzymes, sometimes it just happens over time other times a bout of viral gastroenteritis aka stomach flu can do enough damage to cause lactose intolerance, sometimes temporary but often permanent. This is my case but since my mother also developed it at the same time after the same virus we may have been genetically predisposed.

We eat a whole food organic vegetarian diet so cutting out wheat really isn't that big a deal except when eating out. It does mean giving up the meat substitutes in many cases they are made with gluten. They are an excellent form of protein if you are not gluten intolerant. Here in Austin we have plenty of resources for wheat free eating includng a restaurant that specializes in wheat free meals.
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