IBS and Heredity
#279207 - 08/20/06 05:59 PM
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GaiasSong
Reged: 07/12/06
Posts: 267
Loc: SC (IBS-D/P) - STABLE! Spring 2007
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My mom and I were talking this weekend and I was sharing with her a lot of what I've learned about IBS here and elsewhere the past few weeks. Her mother (my grandmother, now 99 years old) has struggled with D for years, but she calls it "spastic colon." I was surprised to have my mom reveal that she, too, has struggled with chronic D for years... not diagnosed with anything particular, but the Drs. have never found anything wrong with her, either. My mom is kind of emotionally unavailable, so I was surprised that she would share this... me, I just blurt out all kinds of stuff.  It made me feel great to be able to share with her what I've learned here. Mom especially loves fruit, and now she knows to peel things with tough skins, and combine any fruit with SF to make it more tolerable. I also plan to share Heather's books with her.
But I am going to continue to wonder, "anecdotally," about the heredity connection. I wondered if anyone else here has close biological relatives who also have IBS.
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Check multiple sources and make the best-informed decision possible!
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Yep. I have IBS. My sister has IBS. My Dad has always had stomach issues that sound like IBS to me, and he's mentioned a lot of women on his side of the family had "stomach issues" too. Of the three of us immediate relatives, it's all D problems, too.
My Mom, on the other hand, is the one with the cast iron stomach.
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My mother also has a cast iron stomach, but my maternal grandmother has upper GI issues (GERD, heartburn) and her mother also had periodic "stomach issues" and I remember she always drank prune juice and took laxatives. So, I do see a pattern here somewhat. I just hope my son doesn't have to deal with this issue during his life.
Christy
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My mom and sister have GERD and I suspect my other sister does too. I often wonder about my dad. He is gone now, but I sure remember him being gassy (which has become one of my main troubles), but you know you always think of guys, especially old ones being gassy, so I don't know there.
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My mom has IBS type symptoms though she was never diagnosed as having any GI problem. She and I used to be racing eachother to bathroom after arriving home from being out to eat... We both have anxiety issues.
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I have mentioned this before on the boards, I grew up with my Mother racing to the bathroom or leaving us at a store to find a bathroom with D. I don't think she has ever been diagnosed with anything. When I started having the same problem I didn't worry, it was normal to me and I just figured I inhereted my mothers stomach.
All the girls in my family were born with reflux, projectial vomiting and stomach pains when they were babies. They did grow out of this before the age of 1 year. My youngest daughter had an upper GI when she about 3 weeks old.
I do think IBS can run in families. My Aunt now says she has problems and my cousin. I see the signs that my oldest daughter has a similar stomach to me but of course she hasn't changed her lifestyle or seen a doc. Like I did, she thinks it is just normal, the unlucky one to inheret Moms belly.
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Janey
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Both my mom and her mom have IBS of some sort (and yeah, it's like pulling teeth to get them to talk about it). I've now converted my mom to soy milk and my grandma (who also has diverticulitis) to chocolate fudge soy ice cream.  Neither of them seem overly interested in getting Heather's books, but even small changes are nice to see.
--AC
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My paternal grandmother has "spastic colon". She refuses to call it IBS. She also refuses to tweak her junk food diet to help her. To each their own I guess.
I would say that my father definitely has IBS - but he has never been formally diagnosed as such.
One of my sisters is lactose-intolerant - so not IBS, but still some issues.
So I would say yes - it probably can be hereditary.
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>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<
Michelle
IBS-A, pain predominant
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My mom and brother both have IBS (my brother was diagnosed very young, around the age of 12, I think - he's now 16). However, while I have C, they both have D.
Lisa, IBS-C
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Lisa, IBS-C (Vegan)
Stable since July 2007!
Mommy to Rhiannon Marie (Dec. 13, 2008)
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My father, his two sisters and his mother suffer/suffered from IBS and GERD. I won the genetic lottery and inherited the problem whereas my brother can eat anything (so not fair!  )
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Not sure about all my family history, but I'm IBS-D and my sister is IBS-C.
We're opposites in most everything, so this I guess, isn't any different 
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Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away
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My dad has chronic C, always has as long as I can remember, & doctors have never found a problem--my lucky mom can eat anything--and she never gains weight! NOT FAIR!! But I don't really know my dad's family, so I'm not sure if they had IBS issues or not. I'm IBS-A, but lean more towards C. And I'm always nervous & stressed out, even when I'm at home "relaxing" (just like dad), and that can't help matters.
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IBS-A...I can never make up my mind 
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Oh yeah
#279367 - 08/21/06 07:20 PM
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It's funny because my story is similar to yours. Once I found out the name for my GI problems, I started talking more openly about my problems with both my mother and her mother, my grandmother, because I knew they had trouble with their digestion at times.
My mother and grandmother both referred to their problems as "spastic colon" and "sensitive tummies" because that is what their doctors had characterized it as for all these years. Upon further investigation with my grandmother, I learned that all three of her aunts and her grandfather all suffered from "spastic colon."
So, I am convinced that there is some sort of genetic predisposition. It's good to know because should I ever have children someday I can be on the lookout for any early signs of IBS and help them to avoid all the pain and suffering I endured in silence for so long!
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Family curse!
#279375 - 08/21/06 08:10 PM
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Kree
Reged: 10/08/03
Posts: 3748
Loc: Northern NY
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Oh yeah. My mother and her cousin Bill both share my IBS, and I have an uncle with Crohns, a cousin with Colitis, and another cousin with a dairy allergy. I call digestive problems the "family curse". Plus my parents share my problems with GERD. They may not have any hard evidence that IBS is passed on to future generations, but there's no question in my mind.
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"Anyone can exercise, but this kind of lethargy takes real discipline." -Garfield
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