Ibs and bloating

Have you been tested for Coeliac Disease first? If not do read the following from the Coeliac Org UK website - you can always contact them via their Talk To Us link if you have questions you would like answered on the subject. I have pasted a few paragraphs below in case they are of help to you.

NICE Guidelines tell GPs they should always test for Coeliac disease before diagnosing anyone with IBS as many are often found later to be suffering from the Coeliac condition - they can be quite ill by then!

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"What causes coeliac disease?

Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction of the immune system to gluten – a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. When someone with coeliac disease eats gluten, their immune system reacts by damaging the lining of the small intestine.As a result they do not absorb vitamins and minerals and become deficient.

What are the symptoms of coeliac disease?

Symptoms range from mild to severe, and can include bloating, diarrhoea, nausea, wind, constipation, tiredness, headaches, mouth ulcers, sudden weight loss, hair loss, anaemia and osteoporosis.

What is the treatment for coeliac disease?

Once diagnosed, the only treatment for coeliac disease is a gluten-free diet. Gluten is found in wheat, barley and rye. Some people are also sensitive to oats. Once gluten is removed from the diet, you should start to feel much better.

Symptoms

The symptoms of coeliac disease vary from person to person and can range from very mild to severe.

Symptoms of eating gluten, or being ‘glutened’, include headaches, diarrhoea, stomach pains and lethargy. The reaction is not the same as an allergic reaction and does not cause anaphylactic shock. The symptoms may last from a few hours to a few days.

Coeliac disease is known as a 'multi system' disorder – symptoms can affect any area of the body. Symptoms differ between individuals in terms of type and severity.

Possible symptoms may include:

severe or occasional diarrhoea, excessive wind and/or constipation

persistent or unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting

recurrent stomach pain, cramping or bloating

any combination of iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency

anaemia

tiredness and/or headaches

sudden or unexpected weight loss (but not in all cases)

mouth ulcers

hair loss (alopecia)

skin rash (dermatitis herpetiformis)

tooth enamel problems

osteoporosis

depression

infertility

liver abnormalities

repeated miscarriages

joint and/or bone pain

neurological (nerve) problems such as ataxia (poor muscle coordination) and neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the hands and feet)

amenorrhoea (lack of periods in women)

epilepsy

type 1 diabetes

There are other symptoms to look out for in young children and babies.

If you suffer from any of the symptoms listed, you could have coeliac disease. The first step for diagnosis is to discuss your concerns with your GP.

NB Do not remove gluten from your diet until you are diagnosed by a healthcare professional.

Other conditions that symptoms may be confused with:

Some symptoms of coeliac disease may be mistaken as irritable bowel syndrome - IBS - or wheat intolerance. The symptoms can also be put down to stress or getting older.

In the past, people with coeliac disease were expected to be underweight. In fact, most people with the condition are a normal weight or even overweight.

It can take some time before an accurate diagnosis is made. The average is around 14 years - hence the importance of being tested before you start eliminating foods from your diet, which may cause you to get a False Negative result.

Stages of diagnosis

If you have symptoms of coeliac disease, you should first discuss your concerns with your GP.

Do not remove gluten from your diet at this stage.

Your GP will take a simple blood test to check for antibodies. These can indicate coeliac disease. However, it’s possible to have a negative test and yet still have coeliac disease.

Do not remove gluten from your diet at this stage.

Your GP will then refer you to a gut specialist – a gastroenterologist – for a gut biopsy.

Do not remove gluten from your diet until the biopsy has been done.

Irritable bowel syndrome:

NB Almost a quarter of people with coeliac disease had previously been told they had IBS or were treated for it before they were diagnosed with coeliac disease, according to recent research.

It is important that the NICE Guidelines are followed and that coeliac disease is screened for before a diagnosis of IBS is given".

As so many people are clearly not tested for Coeliac disease first - please let others know about this. It may prevent years of illhealth.

Aloe is very good and this make is good quality. Actimel on a daily basis helps as well.

Also an IBS sufferer..

I had been taking peppermint tabs for a couple of weeks now, not seeing much difference from these. I have tried other medication too which again don't have much change.

I have however started taking Total Candida Defence & started eating Gluten free foods and I can tell the difference! Already after only one!! Week! I don't look 6mths pregnant anymore from bloating and gas/wind isn't half as bad. This is after one week! I will keep up with the Gluten free and Total Candida Defence tabs and see what happens.

Comments from a recent Conference on the subject:

"Bloating means different things to different people, but most of us have, at some point, experienced it. Many of us have episodes of bloating on a regular basis, and that rises to around 90% if you’re a diagnosed Coeliac, suffer from IBS or have a gluten or dairy intolerance. (NB Coeliac disease should always be checked for first - before a diagnosis of IBS is giiven.)

At a recent London conference entitled ‘Mythbusting the Bloat,’ over 70 experts on nutrition and gastrointestinal health got together to discuss bloating, in an attempt to try to clear up some of the theories and myths surrounding this common condition.

So what is bloating, and who gets it?

The conference attendees came up with a good description of bloating – ‘an uncomfortable abdominal sensation of fullness’ - which is something I think we can all relate to. The surprising thing is that over 20% of us regularly suffer from bloating, and it’s twice as likely to happen to women as to men.

While almost anyone can experience bloating at any point in their lives, some factors do seem to increase the likelihood of an episode. These include:

Having an underlying, undiagnosed gastrointestinal condition such as Coeliac disease

Being overweight or obese

Being pre-menstrual

Not getting regular exercise

Being constipated

Having anxiety or depression, anorexia or bulimia

Having certain other conditions or diseases, such as ovarian tumours or gallstones

Other influences on our "gut feeling" can be more temporary, like food poisoning, a bacterial infection, or transient lactose intolerance, but the symptoms are the same: an uncomfortable build-up of gas in the intestinal tract that can leave us feeling downright miserable.

Is food the problem?

To a certain degree, yes; certain types of food and food ingredients have been implicated when it comes to bloating. However, no-one actually knows precisely what causes it – mainly because the triggers for it can differ greatly between people. What leads to excess gas build-up in one person may have no effect on another, which could be due to an over-sensitivity of the gut to triggers, a genetic predisposition or something else altogether.

Over the years, researchers have identified many potential food culprits, including:

Wheat (especially bread)

Gluten (which is in wheat flour, barley and rye and thus in many products-essential to check ingredient lists)

Milk (lactose)

Fibre-rich foods

Beans and pulses

Some fruits and vegetables

Onions

Garlic

However, science hasn’t found any simple answers, and no one food is the "smoking gun" that causes bloating in everyone.

For example, a recent review by the British Nutrition Foundation, looking specifically at bread, found no evidence that regular consumption of bread caused bloating, nor did the way that bread is produced have any effect (ie unless you are Coeliac whereby the gluten in the wheat flour, rye or barley is the culprit)."

Coeliacs - who have to be on a totally gluten free diet (or the gut never repairs) can still suffer from bloating. Anyone undiagnosed and attempting a gluten free diet should get information from Coeliac Org UK website first - this will help to ensure the diet is totally gluten free.

It will be helpful for anyone with IBS symptoms as well.

Ginger is an age old, well known help in order to move on gasses which cause bloating....I find even a Gluten free ginger biscuit helps!

A GP writing a magazine also said he suffers from bloating - he recommended peppermints and also drinking a lot of water - then sitting up straight...lean forward slightly...and this helps you burp...(I guess this is before he has got past the stomach region!) That was all he came up with

I have been tested for Coeliac (Negative) was told IBS after a colonoscopy.. I have tried lots of medications but for me the Candida tabs are helping and the gluten free too! When ever I ate bread it would bloat me out and I would get terrible stomach pains. I've not had bread for a week and can tell the difference. Not saying It's just bread but for me it is certainly is a culprit.

Keep a food diary of everything you eat for 6 weeks and monitor what causes you most problems - it may help if you take it with you to your GP.

Bread has a high gluten content....as do most foods which contain carbs. and sugar.....there is more than one test for coeliac disease these days - many people are given a Negative result initially (often because they have already been trying to eliminate gluten from their diet and so do not get the antibodies in their blood test which would prove it). This is the unfortunate result of being diagnosed with IBS before having the test...as naturally IBS sufferers are left to try out all sorts of different things in order to feel better. I spent two years trying out all the things mentioned - probiotics, aloe vera etc....I felt as if I was fermenting inside....and all the while my gut was being damaged by the gluten. I became more and more anaemic, had pains in joints and bones....until I finally found a clued up GP who sent me to a Gastroenterologist I was diagnosed the same day with 95% certainty and then had the endoscopy biopsy (via the mouth end) which proved it. My gut was smooth and damaged by gluten. Once on the diet I gradually got better...but it took 18 months and iron injections to feel really well again...along with calcium and vit D for the low bone density it also caused...and Vit B complex....I had not been absorbing vitamins and minerals for a long time ...so a downward spiral...fatigue etc.

Just keep going back to your GP if nothing makes you better ...there has to be an underlying cause.

Read the Coeliac Org UK website as well as it has up to date information for sufferers of Coeliac and IBS...and makes you more aware of symptoms and diagnosis...and what it actually does to your gut. they have a Talk To Us link for any questions. Good Luck.