IBS Sufferers

No ****? Just kidding!

I've never had an issue when flying, but when driving on a long trip, I've been tempted to smack my dear wife upside the head when she says I need to eat something. Yeah, many things are fine, but a few for sure I know can give me issues. Oddly? I know I'll be just fine if I do a 12 hour drive and consume nothing but 3 or 4 "Slim Jims" and a liter of Mountain Dew. Like Mtn Dew for travels, as it isn't horrible if it gets warm or flat.

 

I suffered from IBS for many, many years. It was horrible. I know it's considered a fad by many but I went gluten-free 4 years ago and it changed my life. I am 95% better. It took months for the improvement but it just kept slowly resolving until now I can live like a normal person.

 

I can assume that celiac disease or gluten enteropathy has been ruled out given the fact that you have an extensive GI work up, including biopsy of the small bowel that was done with the upper endoscopy. Have you tried probiotics, most of these are over the counter but a few of them you need a Rx from your GI doctor. Some of these probiotics may help and some may not. There are other therapies for diarrhea predominant IBS like in your case but these need to be prescribed by your GI specialist if a trial of probiotics does not help. A blood test to see which particular food that you are especially sensitive or allergic to may help to identify which food to avoid and this may help also. Remember that IBS is not something you can cure and it can flare intermittently especially with stress.

 

I had a bunch of tests done just like you. Tried lots of different things with no success. Finally started adding fiber to my diet. I started eating bananas or high fiber yogurt for breakfast plus started taking fiber supplements and noticed improvement. I don't take too many fiber pills as they make me nauseous. You might have to play around to find what dosage works best for you. Good luck.

Scott

 

Hey Rob,

I'm going through it also, alot of people are. I was diagnosed with IBS, H Ployi, Gastroenteritis, etc. After researching myself and studying my symptoms I believe I have a candida overgrowth. I am now changing my diet with no more sugar/yeast at all! I felt light headed today which is a good sign. I'm hoping in 3 months my IBS issues go away. I believe taking anti-antibiotics started it all.

 

Looks like you are one of those IBS patients that don't response well to probiotics. There are a couple of prescription meds that may be tried and that seem to work well in some patients. However, in order to be prescribed these meds, you will need a Rx from your GI specialist and most likely your insurance will need a PA (i.e. prior authorization) from your specialist and not a primary care physician.

 

+1000
Simple and worth trying.

 

You don't.

 

I have celiac test negative (both blood tests and small bowel biopsy) gluten sensitivity. The negative tests likely, but don't completely, rule out that gluten could be the (or a) contributing factor.

 

Don't give up on the pro-biotics. My wife has all but eliminated her IBS with them. It just took some time to find the right one.

She also did some reboot/cleanse thing. I will get some more info on that.

They put her on Linzess (or something like that) and it made her worse. Once she did the reboot and found the right pro-biotic, she has been symptom free for months after suffering with it for about a year.

 

Completely gluten free diet is a hard diet to be on. Unless you are diagnosed with celiac disease, a gluten free diet would not be helpful except may be in situation when allergy testing reveals that you may have some sensitivity to gluten (i.e. high IgE level) despite the fact that celiac disease has been ruled out.

Yes, small bowel biopsy may be normal in a patient with previously confirmed diagnosis of celiac disease if he or she has been on a gluten free diet (the small bowel biopsy would be normal in this situation). But remember that most patients undergo the GI workup while they are symptomatic, and thus, it is unlike that the small bowel biopsy would be normal. In addition, to have both normal small bowel biopsy and serologic blood tests are highly unlikely.

Yes, there are many different options for diarrhea predominant IBS, including fiber, probiotics, and Rx meds such as antispasmodic, antidiarrhea and even antidepressant agents. Some of these may work on some patients and not on others but there are side effects associated with prolonged use.
However, Linzess is definitedly contraindicated in diarrhea predominant IBS. It is indicated in constipation predominant IBS only.

In your case, you did not respond to many probiotics and had side effects to the commonly used Rx agents (i.e. antispasmodics and antidepressants). There are a couple of other Rx meds that are currently out in the market that may help but these are off label use (i.e. Only FDA approved in females or approved for another disease state). You would have to ask your GI specialist about these meds.

There have been recent studies that show a low carbohydrate diet (i.e. Less than 20grams daily) may benefit IBS-diarrhea patients and I think this is a lot easier than a gluten free diet.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

My understanding is that the above is perhaps incomplete. It certainly isn't true for other organ systems where gluten plays a role in disease (dermatitis herpitiformis and the skin, for example). And it may not be completely true for the gut (meaning that a gluten free diet may not help except in celiac disease or positive IgE situations). There are various epitopic modifications to the tissue transglutaminase in the gut (or so I am told by my research buddies) such that you may have some degree of gut reactivity with negative blood tests and an indeterminate small bowel biopsy.

They are finding tissue transglutaminases that are unique in other organ systems, and the evidence is building (though not solid) that some people who complain about gluten sensitivity and their joints, their cognition, etc., may have a real disease process explained by the antigentic enzyme.

It gets even more complicated when you look at the antigenic proteins--gliadin is the main one, but there are several other wheat proteins that may become allergens and that current testing doesn't detect.

And as an aside (I follow a strict gluten free diet because of joint and gut issues, and a strict low carb diet because of a small particle LDL issue), I think being gluten free is easier than being ultra low carb. Essentially all gluten is carbs, but not all carbs is gluten. The only challenge is ensuring that there is no gluten present, whereas very low carb diets can tolerate a bit of carbohydrate.

 

Ok, any idea then?

 

Wait, I thought you were a guy? How would you have candida overgrowth?

 

I'm not a doctor so take my advice for what its worth. Give up all wheat and all sugar. Gluten free is fine but there are many ingredients in gluten free which are really just sugar.
Eat as clean as possible , high protein egg whites, fresh vegetables , not so much fruit. You know the trigger foods to avoid . I really believe wheat and sugar are in some way responsible for so many problems including IBS. I also agree on pro-biotics everyday in very large doses.

 

I am, sorry for the delay. Antibiotics and poor diet can lead to that. We all have it but it can overpopulate and causes issues :-/

 

Also, do you guys hear a bubbling on the right side near your hip after eating certain foods?

 

One thing that really triggered my wife was raw fruits and vegetables.

 

On a possibly related topic where do you start with figuring out food allergy or intolerance? Is the only real method an elimination diet? I see all sorts of tests discussed on the interwebz but also seems to be a lot of skepticism about said testing.
Do I just start a detailed food diary and try eliminating gluten (for example) for a few weeks?
Switch to vegetable juice for 30 days ala "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead"?

 

I've had all kinds of intestinal issues including IBS and I was able to narrow all of it down to Soy. Soy was never meant to be a food for consumption, and can cause many problems. If you look on the food labels of what you eat it's in just about everything. I had to eliminate soy for a couple reasons and in doing so I noticed my intestinal problems have disappeared. I know it's the soy because when I slips back into my diet (which can be very easily done) I get strange signs and symptoms.

Jim

Jim