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Irritable bowel disease

Question:

Has anyone heard of developing irritable bowel disease from endo?  I went to a gastro dr with severe stomach problems and gas.  The diagnosis after reading my charts from the gyn was irritable bowel disease.

Have you ever investigated gluten intolerance? IBS is its most common symptom, but it is rarely tested for. Celiac disease is the medical name for intolerance to gluten, a protein that is found in all wheat (more so in bread and pasta), but also found in lesser quantity in spelt, rye, barley, oats and all foodstuffs containing one of these grains, including many food chemicals like hydrolyzed vegetable protein (called "flavorings" or "natural flavors" in the ingredient list). Intolerance to gluten is a common condition (at least 1:300 among people of European descent), however, it is only taught to gastroenterologists. The other specialists are taught that celiac disease is rare and some will refuse to test for it! An undiagnosed gluten intolerant person is at increased risk for dozens of secondary conditions, a couple fatal (like intestinal lymphomas), but most related to the damage to the villi that line the small intestine, and the subsequent malabsorption of fat soluble minerals and vitamins, of which there are many. Being skinny or having weight loss is common, but not a prerequisite, as some are overweight due to a resultant compulsive eating disorder. The heaviest known diagnosed patient was 388 lbs! Iron is fat soluble and undiagnosed celiacs frequently are anemic and fatigued. Body pain, a mild form of rickets, can come from a deficiency of vitamin D and calcium. In a "classic" case of celiac disease the patient will get steatorrhea after gluten consumption. Steatorrhea is the passage of fatty stools that are pale, bulky, frothy, greasy, malodorous and always float. These may be liquid or semi formed. And smelly gas is usually present. However, steatorrhea is rarely present in the teen years, and some 20% of undiagnosed celiacs are constipated. Any diagnosis of IBS is suspect. Lactose intolerance frequently appears as a secondary intolerance to gluten intolerance as the lactase enzyme is produced in the brush border of the intestine’s microvilli. This becomes evident when the diagnosed celiac goes through recovery and the villi, then the microvilli, grow back. Regarding mental aspects I selected two quotes: (1) The following is taken from the "Celiac Sprue" flyer from CSA/USA (Box 31700, Omaha, NE 68131 402-558-0600): "…; personality changes (especially common in children with sprue; they become unable to concentrate, are irritable, cranky, and have difficulties with mental alertness and memory function); can also occur in adults; …" (2) From Coeliac Disease, by Dr. Michael Marsh, Blackwell Scientific Publications, November 1992. – Chapter 3 – on CD in adults, written by Peter Howdle and Monty S. Losowsky. p. 55 – "Psychological changes have also been widely investigated, but are difficult to quantify.  Many patients appear to be depressed, while others are irritable, morose or difficult to relate to… Nevertheless, in some case reports, treatment with a gluten-free diet has resulted in spectacular improvements in mental function." Additionally, in undiagnosed celiac patients, the intestinal wall is excessively porous; not only are nutrients improperly absorbed, but large molecules which should be contained by the gut wall are not, and improperly digested peptides could pass into the bloodstream and then cross the blood-brain barrier. In some adults, symptoms of celiac disease have been observed to appear after severe emotional stress, a pregnancy, an operation, or a viral infection. Gluten intolerance can be screened for with a combination of anti-gliadin (IgA & IgG) and endomysial antibody testing of the blood. It is definitively tested for by a small bowel biopsy of the mucosa which can be obtained by an endoscopist in the distal duodenum. The patient must be consuming gluten at the time of the tests. However, many patients have high antigliadin antibodies without showing visible mucosal damage (or high endomysial antibodies). The medical community doesn’t consider them to be gluten intolerant, though their bodies are obviously reacting to gliadin/gluten. But the tests are not that reliable and I think a trial diet should be considered definitive. After going 100% gluten-free the patient should recover 100% (over a year or two) and enjoy perfect health. The 100% GF diet must be maintained for life. can be obtained by putting GET CELIAC FAQ in the body of a message to the list server. Many other documents also exist, send GET CELIAC FILELIST. To join, send a message to the listserv with the following in the body: SUB CELIAC your name. The mailing list is also mirrored at bit.listserv.celiac, but you can’t post unless you subscribe and set to NOMAIL. And this web page has annotated links to all sites on this subject, including a link to the site that has all the archives of the above:   The Gluten-Free Page:  http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/

Response:

It’s possible for endometriosis to actually invade the intestines.  This happened to me.  I had to be careful to avoid roughage and have only cooked fruits and vegetables, or I would spend the day in the bathroom! After having the endometriosis cut out of my intestines, I can eat whatever I want once again.  (Except strawberries.  Still too many seeds on the strawberries.) –Susan Strandskov – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Has anyone heard of developing irritable bowel disease from endo?  I went to a gastro dr with severe stomach problems and gas.  The diagnosis after reading my charts from the gyn was irritable bowel disease.  I had lesions from the endo and a cyst that burst wrapped on my intestines and bowels. So now I have been on fiber pills for 3 months.  It helps, I finally feel better and don’t have as much problems going to the bathroom.  I was just wondering if anyone else has had this devleop or heard about it.  Thanx you guys are great and I am glad I found everyone. ~Amanda

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Dear Amanda, Yes IBS is very much connected with endometriosis. It almost seems that they go hand in hand. You might benefit from a low residue diet. I know Heather (HCG) has posted it before. You might want look at past postings to try and find it. Take care. Peace, Birgit

Response:

Has anyone heard of developing irritable bowel disease from endo?  I went to a gastro dr with severe stomach problems and gas.  The diagnosis after reading my charts from the gyn was irritable bowel disease.  I had lesions from the endo and a cyst that burst wrapped on my intestines and bowels. So now I have been on fiber pills for 3 months.  It helps, I finally feel better and don’t have as much problems going to the bathroom.  I was just wondering if anyone else has had this devleop or heard about it.  Thanx you guys are great and I am glad I found everyone. ~Amanda

Response:

Hi Amanda, Has anyone heard of developing irritable bowel disease from endo?<

I too have the wonderful IBS.  Isn’t it horrendous?!!!  I am interested to hear about the fiber pills – nothing they have given me from antidepressants to high Rx’s of every kind of anti-diarrheal has worked. I know that they tend to use IBS as a catch-all Dx for GI probs, and I recently had my gall bladder removed in emergency surgery.  I am still suffering, in fact worse than ever, with the IBS probs.  Can you tell me more about the fiber pills?  Thanks a million. =) Best, The Other Heather =) visit an endometriosis awareness & information website at: http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/9783

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Dear Don, Thank you for this information! This is very, very interesting and I am going to pursue further research on it.   Thanks again. Best, The Other Heather =) visit an endometriosis awareness & information website at: http://www.geocities.com/hotsprings/9783

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Sorry to say that it’s common for endo sufferers to also have IBS. I think alot of doctors aren’t aware of the connection, however. I really thought I was going nuts because doctors had pretty much convinced me that my symptoms were all in my head or stress induced. It wasn’t until recently (through research & this newsgroup) that I realized I wasn’t alone. One thing that helps me is to keep track of what I’ve eaten in the day when I have an attack. It helps me to eliminate certain foods or food combinations from my diet. For example, I know my body cannot tolerate dairy products and red meat together, so cheeseburgers or lasagne are out. I’ve also been taking Metamucil, but maybe I’ll give those fiber pills a try since you’ve had success with them. ~Angela

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my wife is on birth contron pills to control her endometriosis on the ovaries that has now traveled to her bowels.Has anyone heard of the pills or the endo affecting the thyroid??

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Can you tell me more about the fiber pills?

I take 8 Fibercon a day to help w/ my bowel problems.  I used to take Metamucil, but found it hard to swallow — literally.  I found myself gagging on it.  The fiber pills are great.  You take them w/ a large (at least 8 oz of water). To take 8 a day, I spread it out over the whole day.  2 in the am; 2 midmorning; 2 in the afternoon; and 2 at night w/ my vitamins.  They really do help. Laurie

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Amanda. I had a similiar situation. I believe that once they do the GI work ups and find nothing pointing to a specific disease, they clasisfy it as IBS. I was classified with IBS and then found out I had endo. I have had the endo sucessfully treated and guess what? No GI problems! I believe that in my case the endo bought on the "IBS", which has now been treated and the GI problems have disappeared. I no longer stock my purse with Maalox, GAS-X or imodium and am back to the way I used to be. I think I was lucky and was operated on before the GI effects were irreversible. I ran the gamit of tests and was upset, when they all came back as negative-I wanted to know why my stomache was suddenly "revolting". It took a lap to find out why and I think our experience is not uncommon among endo patients. Joanne

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