Does IBS run in the family??
#91673 - 07/19/04 10:08 PM
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dagenj1
Reged: 07/19/04
Posts: 35
Loc: Minneapolis, MN
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I have IBS pretty bad, and my sister started having symptoms around the same age as me. She now has IBS just about as bad as me. I also have a cousin who has extremely severe IBS to the point where he won't eat. He weighs practically nothing! Is this something that usually runs in the family? Or do we maybe have other problems that we don't know about?
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There are several people on this board who have relatives who also have IBS. While I'm the only one in my family with a real diagnosis, my three siblings have struggled with "sensitive stomachs."
I don't know what the research on this says, but it's not uncommon for IBS to strike more than one person in a family. However, it's also not uncommon for only one person in a family to be afflicted...
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Christine
Those who can do; those who want it done better teach.
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I've had IBS for almost 4 years....my mom and my youngest brother were both diagnosed with it last year though I have it worse than either of them. I've wondered the same thing, though our symptoms are slightly different. We are all on Heather's diet though.
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Melissa
Friendship is thicker than blood. ~Rent
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I grew up with my mother having to rush to the bathroom at a minutes notice with D. She has never had an official diagnosis. When I started having stomach pains and D I didn't think anything of it, I just thought that was the way some people are. My cousin also has problems. My sister on the other hand has what we call a cast iron stomach. She can eat anything and never has a problem.
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Janey
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It's possible
#91731 - 07/20/04 06:37 AM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I don't have a formal diagnosis yet, but I'm strongly suspecting IBS is what I have. My father has it too (he was diagnosed years ago). Similarly, my boyfriend has a "sensitive stomach" (his symptoms are like mine, but not as severe)... as does his father and older brother.
I don't know if research supports it, but I definitely think that at least the tendency for digestive disorders can be hereditary.
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Let's ask Heather!
My vote is in for yes, too. I remember my mother always had stomach problems, especially if she ate something at all different that "her" cooking - family gatherings and pot luck dinners were especially bad.
And now, I am the same way! Arrgh!
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It's never too late to be what you might have been.
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~Wookie 
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Maybe...
#91771 - 07/20/04 10:41 AM
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Sheri01
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 1731
Loc: New Jersey
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First of all I would like to say 'hi' and welcome to the boards.
Second, I have wondered the same thing myself. Seeing as what causes IBS is not a completely unraveled mystery, it may be possible. I have not looked into any info on this, but there may be some research publicated.
Seeing how stress and anxiety, depression, etc, are linked to IBS and those problems ARE hereditary, I could see how there might be a link.
I do know that my aunt has IBS, even though I never talked to her about it, I don't think she knows that I do.
It could also be coincidence, and just probability talking effect, though, seeing how so many people have IBS (1 out of 4 or 5, can't remember the statistic)
I will definately read everyone elses posts later, I don't have a chance now, but still wanted to get my two cents in!
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-Sheri
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me my brother and now possiblt sister have IBS
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if God brought you to it. He will bring you through it.
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maybe families are likely to have multiple members with IBS because of eating habits and life styles. Looking back, I realize that my ex-boyfriend probably had IBS. I did not know what it was, and if he knew he kept it a secret from embarrasment. But, for some reason, he never had a problem telling people that he thought he had colitis ??? (yet never got up the guts to get a colonoscopy ??)
For months into our relationship we spent almost every waking moment together and always ate fastfood, sometimes for all meals during the day. We also would stay up all hours of the night, and I was always stressed from the abusive mind games he would play with me, as he is mentally disturbed. Then I developed IBS.
Coincidence?
Other friends of his would say that they would "catch what he had" after spending too much time togther (as in frequently get Diarrhea or and upset stomach). Were they on the way to IBS, but tummys were stronger and less susceptible than mine, or maybe they got away quick enough?
makes one think...and realize to consciously think of making your OWN healthy choices.
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-Sheri
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I have IBS, my mom has it and she thinks that her grandma had it. My family also has a lot of stomach/digestive problems. Dad is lactose intolerant and me and my sis both have acid reflux.
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it looks like there is a family tendency to develop IBS, but it's not a black and white, "IBS is strictly hereditary" type of deal. People can definitely develop IBS through environmental influences, and it may be a combo of genes/environment, or it may be possible that are simply different causes that can be genetic or environmental. But, you're definitely not imagining it if it seems like IBS just runs in your family...it probably does!
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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until I wrote Eating for IBS. Then I found out my uncle and cousin (both men, interestingly) have had IBS for years too. This uncle was like a second dad to me, and my cousin is just a few years younger so I'd grown up with him almost as a brother. But I was thirty years old before I learned this about them! And they didn't know it about me, either, because none of us ever talked about it. I still think if it wasn't for the book the topic just never would have come up.
So...there may be more people in my family I just don't know about, and there might be a few folks in your family too. IBS is still a really hidden disorder.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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