Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hi everybody - Another "Ask Dr. Donohue" excerpt.

"...For the past year or so, I have been treated for irritable bowel syndrome. Recently I began to lose alarming amounts of weight, and my diarrhea was pretty much nonstop. I decided to see a specialist. Guess what? I don't have irritable bowel syndrome--I have celiac disease. Care to spread the word about it to your readers? You'd be doing them a service.

Answer: Celiac disease has plenty of victims, but many like you, are misdiagnosed. About one in 200 people has it, so a city the size of St. Paul, Mn would have more than 1500 celiac patients. The problem rests in the immune system's misguided attack on gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. The attack leaves the digestive tract in shambles. It cannot absorb food. Weight loss naturally follows. Bloating and crampy abdominal pain are common symptoms. Diarrhea can be profuse. Because essential nutrients are not absorbed, celiac patients often come down with osteoporosis or anemia. The dx is strongly suggested by finding in the blood, antibodies made by the immune system against gluten. The dx is established by examining a small sample of the small intestine w/a microscope and finding the typical celiac disease changes. Treatment consists of eliminating gluten from the diet, not a small feat. Grain products are easily recognized, but gluten finds its way into foods where it would not be suspected--ketchup, salad dressings, processed meats, beer and ales, for example. Once on the gluten-free diet, symptoms are promptly lost.

Thought you'd all be interested in this.

Sharon

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Sharon
"Anything Chocolate"...that is all!

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