To answer Syl's question, I had the following tests in this order (as I remember it - but I've probably forgotten something):
1. Upper GI with small bowel follow through - the doc said this was normal, but after doing some research of my own I question this because I had large amounts of gas in the small intestine which according to what I've read is NOT normal - the small intestine should produce very little gas.
2. Complete cbt (I think) blood and several other blood tests (giardia, celiac, etc.) All normal
3. Colonoscopy (found and removed polyps)
4. Fecal fat test - Abnormal results (double the normal amount of fat in stool). My GI said this was an indicator of the following: Celiac, pancreas insufficiency, Crohn's, infection, giardia, small bowel overgrowth
5. Endoscopy - this was performed b/c the blood work for celiac is only 90% effective and an endoscopy will rule this out 100%, my results were normal
6. CAT scan of entire abdominal region (including gall bladder etc.) - This test was to rule out pancreas insufficiency and/or gall bladder issues. Results were normal
7. I had some more blood work done, but I can't remember what it was for but the results were normal.
I see the new GI today, so I'm very interested to see what he has to say. As I've said in other posts, I'm just not comfortable with a diagnosis of IBS (although I do not doubt that I have IBS, I just think there's something else going on as well). Because IBS is supposed to be the diagnosis ONLY when all tests come back with normal results - since I've had some abnormalities found, I feel the need to further investigate.
BTW, I was originally diagnosed with IBS 20 years ago, I had most of the tests mentioned above way back then all results were normal. My symptoms have never been as severe or chronic as what I've had for the past 10 months. Before starting Heather's diet (about 5 weeks ago), I did not have a single week with no symptoms and a typical week for me was 3 to 5 days of D (typically 8 BM on the D days) and flatulence, bloating, pain every single day not to mention numerous instances of incontinence. Since starting the diet, I now have D once or twice a week (typically 5 BM on the D days but with much less urgency), gas, bloating, pain, but no instances of incontinence.
Also worth mentioning, I've had a bowel surgery... I had a prolapsed uterus which caused my bladder and bowel to drop. I can't remember the medical terms but basically what they did was remove my uterus and repair my bowel and bladder. This could explain how I would get SIBO (If I do in fact have SIBO). I have read that "One of the most common clinical manifestations of SIBO is chronic diarrhea secondary to fat malabsorption". So, I'm very suspicious of this (it would explain why my symtoms have become so much worse than in the past 19 years, and the large amounts of gas in my small intestine) who knows, it might even explain why I've had polyps at such a young age.
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Jeanette IBS-D, then switched to IBS-A, now stable with Udo's Choice Super Bifido Plus Probiotic
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Re: Fecal Fat test and colon polyps poll
