Celiac? Lactose intolerance? IBS?

Anonymous
Please describe your symptoms for celiac and/or lactose intolerance and/or IBS.

I have been experiencing stomach issues for the last four weeks, including explosive diarrhea, gas, and foamy mucus (this last symptom is occurring at every bathroom visit). I am physically worn out and have lost five pounds.

I thought this all started with a reintroduction of dairy to my diet after 10 months (I was breastfeeding and have abstained from dairy for all three of my kids due to milk protein allergies). I have never had issues with dairy myself (or any stomach ailments), but the timing was such that it seemed like it could now be an issue. I immediately stopped eating dairy again but the symptoms have remained, especially the foamy mucus situation.

I had an appointment with my doctor this week and he suspects IBS. He recommended low fodmap which I will try. I do eat gluten in the form of kids snacks that I can't resist (damn you Annie's chocolate bunnies) but generally not much.

I have hypothyroidism which I have successfully managed with Synthroid for the last 8 years. I am 38.

I would appreciate hearing others' experiences with such issues. Thank you.
Anonymous
It sounds like dairy is your issue. Stay off it, and try the OTC lactaid pills.

I have IBS. I’ve had it since childhood. While dairy rips through me, I’ve never completely eliminated it. I have other triggers as well.

Anonymous
You should be scoped. You have a history of autoimmunity and post-pregnancy would be pretty textbook for IBD to show up.
Anonymous
Try scaling back on dairy again and see if it helps. Don’t change anything else. And schedule a colonoscopy to see if there are other issues. And then go from there. If you change too much at once you’ll go insane.
Anonymous
I have Celiac and it can be quite a process to get a diagnosis. I would try elimination first and if you are still concerned about Celiac you can get a blood test to see if you have antibodies but those are not always conclusive (especially if you are not eating alot of Gluten...no gluten, no reaction, less damage and there a varieity of different antibodies that could be effected so those do not always offer a clear picture hence the importance of the biopsy). There is also genetic test for Celiac as you have to have a very specific Gene set to get Celiac so if you have that gene set its no guarantee that you have it but can rule it out. If you do have antibodies you need a endoscopy as Celiac is usually only diagnosed with a biopsy via endoscopy
Anonymous
Half my family has celiac disease. To read up on celiac, these are great resources:
- celiac.org
- beyondceliac.org
Some key takeaways: celiac can occur at any age/weight/size, etc.; it can have any combo of like 200 different symptoms (including diarrhea, constipation, both, or almost no symptoms - silent celiac). It can cause lactose intolerance, because the enzymes that help us digest lactose are created in the small intestine villi, which is exactly what is destroyed in the celiac autoimmune process; some people regain the ability to tolerate lactose after going GF and healing, some don't. You have to be consuming gluten for the bloodwork and/or endoscopy (not colonoscopy, which is not used to assess for celiac) to be valid; most people recommend that you get tested first, before trialing an elimination diet, because if celiac *is* your issue, it might be really really hard to go back onto it in order to get tested (because your reactions can get much more severe). The genetics are complicated - most people with celiac have one of a few variants (but something like 30% of the general population has one or more of these without necessarily becoming celiac), but you need a doctor's office to test - 23andme does not check for all of them, and the 23andme results did not show positive genetics or an increased risk of celiac for my family member when her doctor's testing did identify one of the known variants and her celiac bloodwork was definitely conclusively positive.

Celiac tends to co-occur with Hashimoto's, so that would be something to put in the "consider celiac" column. IANAD, but in my layperson's understanding, IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, so if your doctor is suggesting IBS without first doing the bloodwork to rule out testable conditions like celiac, I would consider looking for a different doctor.

I hope you're able to find the right diagnosis and get on the path to feeling better soon - good luck!
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