I know that the symptoms for IBS and celiac are very similar and they are often confused, but my doctor is now telling me that he thinks I have both.

I was diagnosed with celiac about a year and a half ago, by colonoscopy which found sprue and then a follow up blood test. So I think there's no question that I have celiac. But I have stomach issues that have cropped up more recently (and are not due to unintentional gluten intake, I've made absolutely sure of that) that my doctor is now saying is probably IBS. He actually said that he's thought that I have had IBS for a while, but when the celiac diagnosis came up, he just attributed everything to that.

So, am I just unlucky and beat the odds and have both, or is this something common?

Yes, according to my gastroenterologist it's quite possible to have both. I do, and mine is caused by additional food intolerance.

It's not uncommon for a Celiac to go gluten-free, then weeks or months later get symptoms again. The best thing to do is an elimination diet to try and uncover what other foods may be causing your symptoms.

We hear a lot of "IBS is a catchall diagnosis"--and that's true if the doctor is not willing to dig deeper and attempt to find the cause. I think of IBS as more of a symptom than a diagnosis. It's not normal to have chronic D or be constipated most of the time. If you are truly gluten-free, and are sure you aren't getting gluten, I would suggest cutting out dairy, soy and corn (one at a time) and see if that makes any difference.

I also take a Caltrate 600 with vitamin D twice a day--it is quite helpful for IBS with D.

IBS is the number one misdiagnosis for Celiac. It is a garbage can diagnosis for when the doc does not know why you are having stomach issues.

Thank you for the responses. My doctor is not trying to take back the diagnosis of celiac, and he is very conscientious, and is doing further testing to make sure there is nothing else that could be causing my stomach problems. He told me that for my own well being I should look into it, and I'm inclined to trust him and take the medication to make my stomach stop hurting.

HI
I have both and have been gluten-free and other foods for 2 1/2 years. What medicine did he put you on and was it for the IBS?
Judy

None, yet. I'm having an ultrasound and CT today to confirm that there's nothing else, but if everything else is fine, he said he'd put me on an anti-spasmodic. I can't remember which specifically he mentioned, though.

I found that continuing intestinal symptoms were due to other foods I'm sensitive to. When I follow a very basic diet of meat and veggies (and a few other things) my IBS clears up. So I'm always trying to identify what the heck it was I ate that set me off.

The "Big Eight" list of things people are allergic to (food-wise) is probably a good place to start:

Soy
Wheat
Milk -- dairy
Shellfish
Peanuts
Tree nuts
Fish
Eggs

But right now I'm suspecting chocolate, SF chewing gum, a sugar free raspberry syrup I'm using. I've eliminated all of them and I'll reintroduce them slowly and see how Mr. Gut feels. Right now, all is quite on the southern frontier so it is time to test something.

Jules......how did your tests go today?
Judy

Ya know what?? I always chew the same kind of gum, but the store was out of my preferred brand the other day. So, I bought something different. Without reading the ingredients (I know... BAD) I shoved a piece in my mouth and began to chew vigorously.

Within minutes, my entire face was itchy - and my throat felt tight.

I'm fairly certain that I've developed a wheat allergy - and *that* is my typical reaction to cross-contamination and wheat ingestion. So, it would not surprise me, at all, if there is wheat in your gum!!!

I wish I could remember what kind it was that I bought. It was "stick" sugar free gum. I normally buy Orbit gum and have not had any problems with that.

FYI:

"Q: Are there some celiacs who do not respond to the gluten-free diet?

A few patients have a poor clinical and/or histologic (biopsy) response to the diet. An important step in assessing patients who are non-responders is to confirm the diagnosis of celiac disease by review of the original biopsy, preferably by an expert gastrointestinal pathologist. However, the most common cause of a poor response is continued gluten ingestion, which may be intentional or unintentional.

An intolerance to other foods, such as lactose and fructose or soy can be a reason for lack of improvement. Some non-responders may have reversible pancreatic insufficiency or bacterial overgrowth, requiring treatment. Colonoscopy might indicate other causes of the failure to respond, such as microscopic colitis or inflammatory bowel disease. Though rare, other causes of failure to respond to a gluten-free diet include lymphoma, ulcerative jejunitis, collagenous sprue, autoimmune enteropathy or refractory sprue."

http://www.celiacdiseasecenter.columbia.ed...nts/A02-FAQ.htm

You may want to speak to your doctor about some of the above Celiac-associated conditions (along with others).

My doctor's initial reaction was that there's nothing there "that needs to be dealt with right now" (whatever that means ) but should have a full report next week, when we'll discuss what to do next. Thanks for your concern!

KEY IS 'DEAL WITH RIGHT NOW' ............HANG AROUND FOLKS FOR THE DETAILS.....OMG THESE DRS............
WELL KEEP US POSTED OK ......................WE'LL WAIT WITH YA!

Well, when I saw him, he laughed when I asked why he had said "right now." I had him go through all the reports with me and there was nothing. He just likes to torture me apparently.

But I really do love this guy. He doesn't want to drop it until we know for sure what's wrong (which is how I got the diagnosis for celiac in the first place -- any other doctor would've just said "Oh, you're female, so you're anemic. The end."), so he's sending me for more testing, since he's now localized my pain to possibly my stomach, rather than my large intestines. As soon as I work out whether the insurance requires me to see a GI before I do a barium swallow, I'll be able to make the appointment.