Coelic test before FODMAP for IBS?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi everyone,
I am hoping I can get a bit of advice here, I am a 25 year old female who for about the last five years, has been experiencing a range of symptoms including: fatigue (sometimes I might as well have not gone to bed), low blood pressure and light-headedness feeling like a space cadette, feeling cold all the time (though my body never shivers), joint pain (mostly hips and thumbs) and a ridiculously overactive bladder both during the day and at night. Sometimes I cannot think clearly, I forget what I a m doing and have a hard time concentrating during these spells as well as being rather irritable. Lastly I also suffer from bloating after eating to the point where sometimes it looks like I am hiding a small child in there, as well as flatulence as well as bowel movements ranging from diarrhoea which is more frequent, and constipation.
These symptoms seem to come in waves, I might be seemingly fine for months and then they will flare up. I noticed a couple of years ago, dairy was a culprit for making things worse, so cut it out, but this was not before the doctor had said my problems were purely down to depression and anxiety and gave me some medication...I know that this is not the cause of my problems! I have had blood tests done at this time, they showed a Vitamin D deficiency but nothing else including a negative coeliac test...though I do not know which test or tests were performed. Apparently as a baby I was extremely constipated and growing up, I frequently remember having to lie down both at home and even restaurants after meals. I have been diagnosed with asthma, and have always had dry skin and eczema , the latter more so as a child.
Now the reason I am asking is because after going back to the doctor this weekend after my last visit re this 2.5 years ago, they have suggested IBS and that should do the low FODMAP diet, was told to look it up, use the diet and come back in a month to see how I was doing. However, upon reading up about it, there seems to be a lot of advice saying that coeliac testing should be done before diagnosing IBS and suggesting low FODMAP (which should also be done with a dietician!). As I mentioned I have been tested but this was over two years ago... would people suggest it is worth me brining up this with a doctor before I start making any changes as I know that if I find wheat, barley and rye trigger symptoms and a doctor or dietician suggests it may be due to coeliac, this could cause problems if I have been cutting it out!
I apologise for the long post but would be grateful for any advice. I just want to make sure I am making the most sensible decisions, and would just be grateful to get closer to feeling like my body is slowly breaking down, to be able to go outside in the summer without needing to take a jacket, or go shopping without feeling the need to take a nap after half an hour! Or just eat a meal without feeling it might explode out of my stomach.
Many thanks in advance!
0 likes, 4 replies
sam18386 lauren9497
Posted
hi Lauren, i was misdiagnosed with so called IBS over 12 years ago. i remember at the time a change in bowel habits, i got chronically constipated my stomach and bowel were sore, i found certain foods really difficult to handle. cut a long story short, i had a camera test which came back as inconclusive, i suffered for years and years with my stomach and bowel bloated up often, my sides hurt, i could only eat certain things etc. roll on until last year and after being in and out of hospital, being in pain, with food causing masses the lot, i thought i had a vitamin deficiency but it came back as ok on a test. however, i had a camera down my throat and the results came back as coeliac disease. they tell because of mouth ulcers, reactions to bread, cakes, biscuits, sickness, nausea, constipation, lose stools, blood in your stools etc. if you have a POSITIVE blood test at the doctor's which shows signs of coeliac antibodies and your bowel movements are different they will send you for a camera in hospital, if the camera and biopsies you have particularly show the villi in your bowel are flat (the finger type things). you have not mentioned many of these symptoms, it sounds feasible you are vitamin deficient but coeliac disease can leave you vitamin deficient. if you are not happy with your doctor's response speak to another doctor. i really wish you luck, you may get the answer you want.
mary3364 lauren9497
Posted
get checked for pots syndome! i have that along with those symptoms, dairy and gluten free reduces my symptoms a lot. hope you find the cause and get relief soon! x
sam18386 mary3364
Posted
what is pots syndrome?
lauren9497
Posted
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for taking the time to reply and sorry for the delay. I was away and then was waiting until I had spoken to my doctor about the below before replying.
sam18386, thank you for the additional information! I do indeed have bowel problems, some days super loose stools a lot more frequently than anyone would like, and then barely anything for 3 days. Feeling nautious is a pretty standard feeling at the moment. I go through periods where mouth ulcers a right pain, and especially cracks in the corners of both sides of my mouth at the same time (not cold sores).
And mary3364, that is also useful too my blood pressure is always low (last time was about 84/56 when it was checked), and am just told you are young and fit every time, even though when they first take the reading the doctor or nurse always raises their eyebrows in shock at the numbers!
So the doctor that suggested I tried the FODMAP diet in my below post was not my normal doctor, I spoke to my normal one today regarding advice on the question I posted. He said that as I had tests done three years ago, as my coeliac results (I think it was just the standard test) were not a strong positive , and the only things that had showed up were a slight vitamin D deficiency and a slightly abnormal lymphocyte count (this test was repeated and lymphocytes then came back normal) I did not need to be tested again as he said it would not be coeliac. This was the doctor, my regular one, was the one that last time a couple of years ago, prescribed me some anti-spasmodics for potential IBS and asked if they helped with my symptoms after I had been on them for a month. I said no, to which he replied, well it is not food related then so it is caused by anxiety and depression, take them and everything will sort itself out...and then prescribed me the anti-depressants telling me they would solve the problems I was having.
So in short he is saying to go ahead with the advice of the other doctor and follow FODMAP (still without any guidance on nutrition), so I am going to go ahead, do my best and go back to see him like he asked in about a month's time.
Thanks again and if I do get any more news I will sure to be update, but hopefully I can get to the bottom of this, maybe, this time around!