[tkm256]

For the past few years, I have had intense stomach pains, lactose intolerance, muscle weakness, bloating, and severe food sensitivities (apples are not my friends). Last year I saw a doctor about it and she said I had gastritis; she put me on a stomach acid reducer and promised it would clear up in a month or two. It's been ten, and it hasn't.

I finally scheduled an appointment with a gastroenterologist for next week, so hopefully he can figure out whether this is caused by IBS, celiac disease, or simply chronic gastritis as the doctor last year surmised. Does anyone here have any of these conditions? Can you share your stories?

[Lizabeth2]

My gastro problems were really bad up until few months ago. The only changes I have made were eating yogurt with good pro biotics as well as taking pro biotic supplements every day. I do take beano when needed and avoid 'gassy' foods as a whole. Drink peppermint tea, take enteric capsules of peppermint and fennel, don't lie down after eating. Lots of things doctor doesn't tell us. Good luck on recovery.

[elladarling]

Go into your gastro appointment with some ideas about what you think you might have. Gastro symptoms can be very hard to pinpoint

Your symptoms would be common Celiac symptoms, but Celiac can be hard to Dx. Most docs want to start with an antibodies test, but some are starting to move away from that test because it is not considered completely reliable for dx unless combined with Endoscopy.

I am Celiac, but never knew "for sure" until my daughter had a genetic test and severe enough symptoms that her doctor went ahead and dx her- Don't stop eating gluten before you are tested, if you think that is what you have- it's very hard to get accurate test results if you do. When we took my 4 year old off of gluten, she grew just shy of three inches in 4 months.

[Hydra]

I have gluten intolerance. I do not have Celiac disease, the blood test and endoscopy came back negative. I do have ibs and since I have started to go gluten free my ibs symptoms have become markedly more manageable. I stock up on foods that are naturally gluten free and I do buy gluten free bread, pasta, snack bars, crackers and the occasional frozen entree. I also meditate and drink herbal teas that are good for the gut like peppermint, and good for relaxation like lavender or catnip tea.

[kaplods]

I have IBS, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune disease attacking my sinuses, nose cartilage, lungs joints and skin. I'm also prone to secondary infections (pneumonia, seborrheic dermatitis, staph...) In a sense my immune system is like an army in which the soldiers are so busy fighting among themselves, they don't notice invading troops. The IBS I've had the longest, since my teen years (though at the time, my pediatritian diagnosed it under a different name, non-ulcerating colitis).

Several months to a year ago, I began noticing that eating more high carb foods (especially sugar and grains) seemed to trigger and/or worsen symptom flares. Usually more than a couple servings of fruits and veggies (especially raw) triggers a severe IBS (food poisoning-like) flare. Recently, though I've discovered that my tolerance for raw produce is much higher when I'm eating the fewest "starchy carbs."

I'm trying to narrow down the cause of the flares (is it carbohydrates, sugar, grains, gluten grains, or a specific grain such as wheat). Currently, I'm trying to eliminate gluten grains. It's rather difficult, though because wheat is in so many products.

So far I have had far fewer and less severe flares, but at this point, I can't eliminate the possibility of coincidence or placebo effect.

[Lizabeth2]

Kaplods, like you I had IBS, colitis,(get colonoscopy done!) and other digestive problems. Not bad at all now. I take a good prebiotic, acidophilos tablet every day as well as eat yogurt. I avoid soft drinks and raw veggies and beer (most alcohol will set it off) I believe I had the gut where food seeped through and caused allergy problems. Where I think we are smart is not depending entirely on the doctors prescriptions. My doc said she too had IBS! Do the research. Hope things get better for you.