Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | How can I check if it's celiac?

Hi,
I'm gluten intolerant but thus far test negative for celiac. If you go to www.celiac.com and read the message boards there, you'll find that the symptoms for celiac are often similar to IBS--there's a lot of crossover. Many people with celiac take months and months to start feeling better after going gluten free, just like many people have difficulty feeling better right away on the IBS diet. I do both--I'm gluten free and I follow the IBS diet. This seems to help, though I still have attacks for reasons that I can't explain.

Anyway, to answer your question, celiac testing has gotten much better in recent times. You can get a gene test to find out if you have the celiac gene (it's just a blood test). There are other blood tests to check for antibodies that indicate celiac disease, and they are supposed to be fairly accurate. You get these done before ever having an endoscopy (in the past you had to have the endoscopy, although it wasn't always a sure thing--nothing may show up on the endoscopy in the early stages of celiac). There is also an interesting website ( www.enterolab.com ) for a lab that does stool testing for gluten sensitivity, as well as milk, egg, and yeast sensitivity. Many people on the celiac.com message board feel this is the best testing possible to determine celiac disease and other problems.

I completely understand that you would just as soon have celiac disease as IBS. IBS always seems like a catch-all syndrome, and I don't feel doctors take it very seriously. I often find myself wishing I had a more "respectable" diagnosis so someone would sit up and take notice (and give me a pill or something that fixes the problem!). If you have something like celiac or colitis or Crohn's, doctors seem more apt to pay attention. But be careful what you wish for -- going gluten free is not easy, trust me. You have to be a sleuth about every single thing you eat, it's very difficult to eat in restaurants, it's hard to eat at friends' homes, it changes your whole life.

Personally, I think anyone with IBS symptoms should at least be tested for celiac and gluten sensitivity. Many experts feel that it is likely to be present in as much as 30% of the population. In many countries, routine screening is done for it at a very early age. It's more common in people of English and Irish ancestry, and I just recently read that there is a very high incidence of it in Italy! Since it has symptoms similar to IBS, it's worth ruling it out.

Get it checked out, but cross your fingers that you don't have it. Good luck!!

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