IBS, Chron's and Celiac Disease ????

R

RatherBBurnin

Guest
Im not really sure what to think right now to be honest... a couple days ago i went to a specialists, after about 1year of bouncing between family and walk in clinic doctors here in ontario.. He has told me i have IBS, but thats a term that covers a bunch of diseases/conditions or something... Anyway.. long story short.. im not sure if i shoud be happy im finally getting somewhere to figuring out whats wrong with me... or should i be a bit worried because the specialist seems to think i have one of two diseases, both of which have no known cause or cure....

Celiac disease is one, and Chron's is the other....

So are there any members here whom live with either of these conditions.. maybe give me some assurance that they arent as bad as web md has me thinking??? im a 25yr old, and i cant really grasp having something for the rest of my life, like this... to be honest.. im pretty scared about these tests they have lined up for me......


Cheers
RBB
 
Hey RBB, I have ulcerative colitis, which is baisically the same. No known cause or cure, it's somthing I have to take meds for everyday, I also find that strong meds like herijuana, and Toxic Blue, help alot whenever it is bothering me the most. At one time, they wanted to take most of colon, I opted for a years worth of high doses of steroids, It's somthing you just learn to live with. Any questions feel free to ask. Peac e and stay safe!!
Peace
Blackbird
 
Thanks BB.

Im just a bit worried being only 25... kinda scared me to think of having something for life... i thought a dog was a big step, knowing it was a 15yr commitment.... did you ever have to take this test.. where you drink some weird drink..then go back to the hospital two days later for them to screen you???
 
my brother has chrons disease. and 'Barium' is the weird drink you are referring too.
 
RBB, sorry to hear you are not doing well. Sounds like your on the right path in getting diagnosed. Stick with it until you find out what they think you have. Start working on doing what they say to do to make things better. Ignorance is not bliss. Nor is denial. My friend is paying the price now more than he should because he ignored something that was seriously wrong with him for a long period of time. When he did go for help it was too late. Hope things work out for the best.

Kurious
 
I feel your pain bro! I just had a colon-resection due to the complications of Diverticular Disease. I had all of the tests done. The only thing that I refuse to have done again is the Barium Enema with scope. They do this with no medication and I passed out on the floor and got a concusion...very painful. A colonoscopy these days are nothing to worry about. You'll have an IV and won't feel or remember a thing. The upper GI, you'll have to swallow the scope, but it too is not bad. Michelle Rainey has Crohn's Disease and her own website. Maybe something to look into...Good luck!
 
I won't lie to you RBB, the barrium test( called lower GI) was very unpleasant, the colonoscopy( the night of a thousand waterfalls) isn't bad once you get to hospital, but the night before when you drink the medicine that cleans out your system is tuff, have plenty of good reading material in bathroom, and don't stray to far from bathroom. Any questions Rbb , I am here to help!!
Peace
Blackbird:rollj:
 
IBS is way different than celiac or crohn's. IBS is not generally life threatening just miserable at times. I know, I've had it for 30 years before they knew what to call it. I've had every test you can imagine and they should give you drugs if they're going to scope you. I just recently found out how much MMJ can help. No laws for it here yet but there are bills before state house and senate right now. My wife
Won't let me grow my own just yet. Been lucky occasionally to get my hands on some relief but I can't afford to buy it.

None of the drugs the doctors have prescribed do much with out really crum
Y side effects. So I go on having good days and really bad days where I just can't get far from a bathroom and it feels like I've got gang raped by porcupines.... LOL. I have to laugh about it or I'd be crying over it.

I truly hope they find in your case that it is only IBS because supposedly the other two are far worse and I think crohn's is the worse of the two. Celiac's is an intolerance to wheat gluten I believe. With crohn's your intestines spasm and twist like sausage casings and you have to have emergency surgerie when they do.

Brother,you'll survive... That's the good news. It's just not alot of fun...sometimes IBS is brought on by PTSD. Alot of it is psychological physiological if that makes any sense to you.

Best of luck
J
 
rbb....I was dx with UC at 16 yo, then crohns at about 20ish. Been living with it for about 20 years. ON that note, they can be progressive so take good care and start with diet no matter what anyone says. Get serious and read up, I especially recommend the specific carbohydrate diet. It's not easy but it is amazing in benefit and how fast you get used to eating correctly for what you have going on.
Stress management is essential, whatever floats your boat....for me it's been daily at times and sparse at others, but cardio like cycling and hiking as regular as possible is ESSENTIAL (for me). Whatever does "it" for you or can keep your interest is what you should go with regularly.
THis things are not a choice unless you want progression of the disease.

All this being said, if it's only celiac, just avoid ALL wheat and you will be absolutely fine.

Education is what has to be done and keep an open mind.

Good luck, any questions or advice, let me know.
 
I have IBS and celiac, and avoiding processed foods is key to recovery from what i have experienced and what I am learning.

good luck
 
Thanks guys... ive been doing a bit of research..and without trying to self diagnoise myself im thinking its not just IBS... i have had sometimes violent stomach pains for about 18months... its just not having to go to the bathroom quickly with a certain food, or pain after eating... most days i wake up early in the morning with a bad stomach ache, to the point ive started using a body pillow to put pressure on my stomach, which allows me to sleep thru it somedays.. i also get these pains when i get nervous, or worried.. im hoping its just a gluten problem.. but when ive looked at the symptoms, while they share a few... the night sweats (which i didnt think was related, i thought i just slept in a hot room, my girlfriend says i sweat like a beast) has me a bit worried.. I know there is no use sweating it.. it is what it is, i just like to try to have an understanding of as much as possible so i know whats going on.....kinda...


So basically he has instructed me to avoid dairy items for two weeks... he said it will either be a drastic change id notice completely... or its not a lactose problem ( he doesnt believe it is anyway)..then the next two weeks i am on fibre supplement to try and help... from then i should be back to get the results of the bloodwork ( i assume this is to check for lowered levels from possible celiac, and that weird drink thingy... which im now even more not looking forward too...

now here is where it gets interesting... the doctor was a bit puzzled that i dont have the typical weightloss issues... which i think can be attributed to the mmj.


Cheers
RBB
 
RatherBBurnin i am sorry to hear about this, but it will be OK...We will keep you in our prayers!!!! FF:salut:
 
there may be no "cure" my friend................but with a VERY healthy intake of cannabis daily, I am able to keep my crohn's manageable.....................good luck!

bf
 
rbb---
Feelin your pain bro, sorry to hear. I have experienced night sweats in the past and typically when in a "flare-up". Sucks. From what I have read they are linked to autoimmune conditions.

now here is where it gets interesting... The doctor was a bit puzzled that i dont have the typical weightloss issues... Which i think can be attributed to the mmj.
Click to expand...

When in a heavy flare, I will lose weight, but not always. In my experience, if you are only having pain, it can still be IBS/IBD. I have never had pain, ever, and all health care has been surprised as it's so common amongst the diseases. I suppose mj may help with weight loss, but, again, not always because it is not always about quantity of food eaten, it is often about absorption of nutrients and if someone is having "urgency" and the food is moving through their digestive systems too fast then the rate of nutrient absorption drops significantly. If your GI tract is not irritated "enough" or in the "right" places at this point then you will not have urgency and you will not have weight loss.

On the other hand, mj has been shown to be a potent stimulus of the canna receptors in the GI tract which allows for anti inflammatory effects as well as other positiv effects with in the GI system and local tissues.

I live in a non-med state and I have not divulged the benifit I get from mj to any of my docs due to my profession, unfortunately. But, in the future, this will change one way or another.

Eliminating foods from your diet is important in the process, I wouldn't trust just the test. What if you have multiple food "allergies" that are not picked up, for whatever reason, on an allergy blood test? I know celiac sprue test is very specific, but regardless of the results, I would still try going off wheat for a month or so to see the actual change, if any.
There are basic, common food allergies that everyone has to one degree or another. Typically, dairy, wheat, corn, nightshades, sugar.....I could go on a bit more. The only way to know what level you are allergic is to not eat ALL of them and then reintroduce one at a time with plenty of time in between and observe any reactions. Why I say ALL is that if you are only off dairy, still having the symptoms, and it turns out you are bothered by dairy, wheat and corn then you will never note an improvement while not eating one at a time.

If you are at the point at which you are getting sweats, I would think your system is kinda compromised and it could take awhile to get the system to relax back towards normal. If you try the food angle, give it time.

A barium will show some stuff but a colonoscopy will show far more. Better to know! Good luck. (sorry for the long post)
 
Thanks for the Long Post.. it is a lot of good information.. the urgency you speak off, is indeed there... i can basically time myself from a meal to the bathroom... somedays its much much worse... other days its a bit better.... the DR also asked me something about a skin rash.. and i didnt have any when he checked me over... now the odd thing is... last year in march when i was having prolly some of my worse pains.. i also had this rash that the DR said was ringworm... only problem is the cream didnt work...and when i went away on vacation to the dominican about two days into the vacation my rash went away.. long with the stomach pains.. but i never thought they were connected... this past july/aug i also got another run of the "ringworm" again the cream didnt help it go away.. but it did go away on its own..... im starting to wonder if they are connected..

I got my bloodwork done the other day.. they took 7 large vials of blood from me.. which was pretty interesting..cause i dont like needles, or blood..and most of all needles taking blood from my arm.... ahhhhh im such a wimp..

Cheers
RBB
 
I get major cramping in my back/sides/abdominals/diaphragm/groin from my "ibs" issues, but my cause may be neurological on top of the celiac, as my spine is often in flare when I have IBS flares.

I do a type of massage called myofascial trigger point therapy (release, massage, insert term here, all same thing). Its just a specific type of massage that aims to release muscle "knots" in layman terms.

Anyways, get yourself a lacrosse ball, or something similar (rubber helps, needs to be firm but have a tiny bit of give/bounce). Now find a clean floor without rugs, a small pillow or something for under your head (needs to slide), lay down on the floor, put ball under lower back along spine (NEVER ON THE SPINE NEVER NEVER NEVER, only along it or up against it, but never press on the spine itself! OK! :gramps: ), put some weight on the ball and your back and with short strokes, move one way one the ball relieving pressure when coming back, and repeat the stroke when you find resistance. You'll know, it will be a good kind of hurt; expect pain, 7/10, avoid sharp pain, don't over-do it or you will bruise, give it time! You know you got it when you can feel a knot and it'll "break up" into smaller crunchiness, and you'll feel massive relief. Just keep breaking it down, its hard to explain, you need to experience it to understand.

If you are overweight, then this may not work so well, but try doing it against a wall, or have someone use their elbow on you. You'll be surprised how much your mid and lower back affect your digestion!

There is a good book about trigger points massage if you are interested. There is a torrent of it, so if you do torrents or I could just send it to you somehow, send me a message. Its in PDF, about 120 megs I think. You could also buy it for 25 bucks or go to the library. I already plugged it a few times on this site, so don't wanna seem like I'm advertising so I'll leave the name out, just ask me in private.

peace

:wave:

don't mind the long winded message, i am oozing in mellowness and my mind is like a balloon flying in the wind tied to a string! :dogwalk: <-like that!
 
RBB, sorry to hear this. If it is an IBS type syndrome and not something too much worse (or maybe even if it is Chron's), you may be able to heal yourself with large amounts of probiotics. I don't want to assume you don't know about these, but they were not mentioned in your posts so far and they are vital to intestinal/GI health.

I cured my myself of a quite severe case of whatever it was, not sure if it was Chron's or really bad IBS or what, by taking lots of probiotics, using psyllium fiber once a day, taking enzymes with every meal, and changing my diet to cut out things that inflamed me (for me this was processed foods, cheap meat, dairy). I went from a severe problem to something easily managed. I still need to do these things regularly to stay in good shape, especially the probiotics.

I think the one doc is right on who is advising you to cut out some major food categories (dairy, wheat) one at a time and look for rapid improvements to identify problem foods/possible allergies.

Get some probiotics, man! And take lots of them, like 3X what they say on the bottle (take em 3-4 times a day)... they're perfectly safe and it really sounds like you need to reestablish the beneficial gut flora.

The colonoscopy and barium tests would be good I guess for ruling out worse stuff, but I bet you can fix yourself with the above method. Here's hoping you do. :wavey:
 
lacrosse ball you say.... well the good thing is.. i have a bucket of them and two sticks in the basement from playing for years.... Ill have to give that a try... I also get some back/neck pain. but when i went for xrays there was nothing there they could see... when i was younger i hit my head on the bottom of a swimming pool and came very close to breaking my neck... so its kinda odd for them to tell me there isnt anything wrong with my neck and back... even thought i feel the pain..
Ill try this out..

Cheers
RBB
 
Reverend Budbreath said:
RBB, sorry to hear this. If it is an IBS type syndrome and not something too much worse (or maybe even if it is Chron's), you may be able to heal yourself with large amounts of probiotics. I don't want to assume you don't know about these, but they were not mentioned in your posts so far and they are vital to intestinal/GI health.

I cured my myself of a quite severe case of whatever it was, not sure if it was Chron's or really bad IBS or what, by taking lots of probiotics, using psyllium fiber once a day, taking enzymes with every meal, and changing my diet to cut out things that inflamed me (for me this was processed foods, cheap meat, dairy). I went from a severe problem to something easily managed. I still need to do these things regularly to stay in good shape, especially the probiotics.

I think the one doc is right on who is advising you to cut out some major food categories (dairy, wheat) one at a time and look for rapid improvements to identify problem foods/possible allergies.

Get some probiotics, man! And take lots of them, like 3X what they say on the bottle (take em 3-4 times a day)... they're perfectly safe and it really sounds like you need to reestablish the beneficial gut flora.

The colonoscopy and barium tests would be good I guess for ruling out worse stuff, but I bet you can fix yourself with the above method. Here's hoping you do. :wavey:
Click to expand...

probiotics are helpful to people who lack benificials.Can actually make you more ill if your levels are already balanced.Eat a mored varied diet helps as much.They market it well though.

hope you get better!peace
 
fred said:
probiotics are helpful to people who lack benificials.Can actually make you more ill if your levels are already balanced.
Click to expand...

Um, wow where did you hear that? I would have to see some documentary evidence of that. How could beneficials make you more ill?

And, I would submit that between drugs (OTC and otherwise), tap water, environmental pressures, hormones in non-organic meats, and other insults to the flora, nearly everyone lacks them without supplementation, unless they are eating truckloads of fermented foods (which some cultures do, and those people have extremely low rates of things like IBS and Chron's).

Anyway, my point in recommending them was that it is very common that where people have problems of this nature, they have a severe over-run of putrefactive (unfriendly) bacteria.

It's usually not hard to tell when this is the case, either. Sorry to be graphic [WARNING, if eating, read this later! But why are you reading such a thread while eating?:happy:], but if you have really smelly poops and farts, I mean when they are really bad, clear-the-room, almost-make-you-nauseous type bad, this is a clear indicator that the bad bacteria is running rampant and that beneficials are powerless and totally overwhelmed.

RBB, don't mean to get too personal (but hey we are specificaly talking about GI health in this thread after all!), but if that is happening to you to any degree, you will benefit a lot from probiotics. When you have a really healthy population of probiotic bacteria in your tract---and especially if you are also taking enzymes with every meal and using psyllium fiber (in the form of whole psyllium husks) every day---eliminations are easy, often `didn't-even-need-to-wipe' type easy, and the odor is non-offensive, as "sweet" as poop can get anyway, if you will... usually they will be well formed and will float (especially when using the fiber; fiber and probiotics together are a dynamite combo).

By contrast, the typical IBS or Chron's poops will be pasty or liquidy, greasy, putrid smelling, sometimes partially yellowish in color, difficult, sluggish, accompanied by cramping, will be too dense and sink to the bottom, etc.

This is not just idle speculation, I have helped myself dramatically with this regimen and not only myself, I have recommended it to people and quite a few times had them write me later and thank me profusely for turning them on to it because it turned their whole situation around.

Hope his helps (and sorry to be graphic, but hey...).
 
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