Irritable Bowel Syndrome

ILoveHenryJames

wigginsmum wrote:

I'm never eating Chinese again.

I say things like that all the time; I just hope that your willpower is stronger than mine

ps. Hope you are feeling better now.

wigginsmum

I'm okay now thanks ... if only I could avoid wheat completely. I'm putting off having a test for coeliac disease simply because I know if it's positive, I'd have to avoid gluten completely.

livinginhope

Westywoodpecker wrote:

Irritable bowel disease can involve either or both of the ileum and colon. It refers to two chronic diseases that causes inflammation of the intestines, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Not sure where you got this info from,but I have to add that Crohn's disease and Colitis are TOTALLY separate from IBS,These two DISEASES are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases,although the symptons can sometimes be confused,the conditions are VERY different from IBS and should NEVER be linked together.
Regarding the bathroom problem,I would recommend Codeine,this slows the bowel and stops the urgency,it is much cheaoer than buying all the brand name IBS reliefs,don't take too much as that can cause blockages and hospital treatment may then be needed.As a very badly affected Crohn's sufferer I take about 200mg a day and this keeps my tummy in check,wouldn't recommend anywhere near this amount for IBS,I have a friend who takes 16mg a day and she finds that amount OK,she also swears by Aloe Vera juice.

SparkyG

Originally Posted by Westywoodpecker
Irritable bowel disease can involve either or both of the ileum and colon. It refers to two chronic diseases that causes inflammation of the intestines, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.


"Not sure where you got this info from,but I have to add that Crohn's disease and Colitis are TOTALLY separate from IBS,These two DISEASES are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases,although the symptons can sometimes be confused,the conditions are VERY different from IBS and should NEVER be linked together."

Livinginhope, I think the post from Westywoodpecker just contained a typo, and she/he meant Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) not 'Irritable bowel disease' . The poster is a stoma nurse, so I'm sure knows the difference;)

I suffer from UC, and am also a great fan of codeine! Find that 30mg taken at night when I'm in flare-up stops the early morning 'permanent residence' in the toilet:mad:

HTH

SparkyG

soolin

wigginsmum wrote:

I'm okay now thanks ... if only I could avoid wheat completely. I'm putting off having a test for coeliac disease simply because I know if it's positive, I'd have to avoid gluten completely.

I've been a diagnosed coeliac for about 10 years now and it is getting easier all the time as more and more gf products are launched. I even get 'fresh' bread that is quite edible on prescription and I think it tastes like real bread, it's been so long since i had real bread that I've kind of forgotten.

It can be difficult though, and even now in some shops I stand in the aisles and could cry because I can't find anything that I can take home and cook for a quick dinner (Iceland is the pits for that), but since the alternative is a very increased risk of several cancers I suppose I'll have to put up with it.

Coeliac is also linked to several other diseases so quite a few people after diagnosis found that other complaints cleared up for example muscle problems, tiredness, headaches minor flu type problems.

Soo

Raffles_3

Mr Hutchinson
Let's get serious here.
I have a family member with IBS-type symptoms. I have an alternative therapist telling us that in nearly every case these symptoms are caused by an intolerance to gluten.
What's your take on this?

Ted_Hutchinson

Raffles wrote:

I have a family member with IBS-type symptoms. I have an alternative therapist telling us that in nearly every case these symptoms are caused by an intolerance to gluten.
What's your take on this?

Bear in mind I'm not a health professional and nothing I write should ever be regarded as MEDICAL ADVICE.
For your INFORMATION you may be interested in Celiac disease serology in irritable bowel syndrome and dyspepsia: a population-based case-control study. this concluded celiac disease did not explain the presence of either IBS or dyspepsia. you will see from About Celiac Disease that Celiac Disease is gluten intolerance.
If you compare the two you will see Celiac Disease has these major symptoms

• abdominal cramping, intestinal gas, distention and bloating

• chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both)
• steatorrhea -- fatty stools
• anemia - unexplained, due to folate, B12, B6, or iron deficiency (or all)
• weight loss with large appetite, or weight gain

and these other possible symptoms

• dental enamel defects
• osteopenia, osteoporosis
• bone or Joint pain
• fatigue, weakness and lack of energy
• infertility - male/female
• depression
• aphthous ulcers

And the IBS symptoms are
Abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort are the main symptoms of IBS. However, symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people have constipation, which means hard, difficult-to-pass, or infrequent bowel movements. Often these people report straining and cramping when trying to have a bowel movement but cannot eliminate any stool, or they are able to eliminate only a small amount. If they are able to have a bowel movement, there may be mucus in it, which is a fluid that moistens and protect passages in the digestive system. Some people with IBS experience diarrhea, which is frequent, loose, watery, stools. People with diarrhea frequently feel an urgent and uncontrollable need to have a bowel movement. Other people with IBS alternate between constipation and diarrhea. Sometimes people find that their symptoms subside for a few months and then return, while others report a constant worsening of symptoms over time.

You will see that there is an overlap between the two conditions so it's reasonable to suppose that misdiagnosis will occur and many people with IBS actually have undiagnosed celiac disease. This paper on Diagnosing Celiac Disease indicates that 17% of patients with CD fulfilled the Rome II criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) So some people with CD also have IBS, and that many 37%(in this case) were initially diagnosed as having IBS.

The tests for Celiac Disease should confirm the diagnosis in most cases though it's clear sometimes things may not be straightforward. While it's likely there is a lot of undiagnosed CD I doubt your Alternative Therapist is correct in assuming that all IBS is undiagnosed CD. Looking at the symptoms of both conditions I could as easily tell you that vitamin d deficiency symptoms appear a common denominator and as vitamin d researchers are continually moving higher the threshold at which it's possible to detect ill effects arising from low vitamin d status I could argue that all IBS/CD stems from too little sunlight either currently or at some point since conception.

I don't see why your relative should not ask their NHS doctor for further tests to rule out CD.

aimee21j

Ive had IBS for 18 months and now have it under control with immodium and spasmonal tablets from the doctors.
I tried Buscopan and they made the pain worse.

I think a lot of my IBS is stress related.

Raffles_3

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

Bear in mind I'm not a health professional and nothing I write should ever be regarded as MEDICAL ADVICE.

Don't worry, Ted. If anybody knew anything about this on this forum, you would.

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

I don't see why your relative should not ask their NHS doctor for further tests to rule out CD.

Yes, that's happening now. CD seems to have been ruled out. But I have a feeling that this is a situation where orthodox medicine is to be found wanting.

Thanks Ted. I appreciate that.

Arthur22_2

Hi - I've only just spotted this thread, glad to see something on IBS here! I've suffered for, ooh, about 16 years, so I know exactly what it's like...

I just wanted to address something that Ted said:

"As I have made clear placebo, hypnotherapy and CBT are also known to work well. It is quite clear with IBS that brainwashing/therapy will alter the course of this condition. "

I'm not sure why you believe that the pacebo effect is any more pronounced in IBS than in other conditions Ted - do you have references to support that? But the main point I wanted to make was that hypnotherapy has nothing to do with brainwashing, nor does it have anything to do with addressing emotional/mental health issues.

There is a lot still to be discovered about IBS. However, the many of the leading experts, such as the doctors who have just produced the Rome III critera (the new version of the Rome II criteria which were previously used to diagnose IBS) agree that IBS is characterised in many cases as a 'brain-gut dysfunction', which would go some way to explaining why hypno and the like work so well.

There have also been interesting discoveries about things the like role of serotonin in the gut (with diarrhoea-predominant IBSers having different levels to constipation-predominant sufferers) which would explain the success of drugs such as Lotronex (which, unfortunately, we can't get in the UK...)

In regards to my IBS I've tried a whole heap of stuff and still sometimes feel like death, so as I said I really sympathise with anyone who has this thing...

(Just to say as well that I run several of the main IBS websites and write articles for the IBS Network - not to boast just to state my credentials if you like!)