Bile Acid Malabsorption

2.5 rather miserable and very symptomatic years after coeliac diagnosis I have just been diagnosed with the above too. The drugs have worked from day 1 and my life is really transformed

So if you’re coeliac and still symptomatic while being really strict with your GF then it’s worth asking about. GPS really don’t know a lot about it so do your research and persist!

tillyxx

[Penel]

Glad to hear you are regaining your health, Tilly.

I hadn’t come across this condition before, so had to look it up. This is an article on BAM for anyone who wants to know more.

healthline.com/health/bile-...

[Hidden in reply to Penel]

Thanks penel. I had many many visits to GPs who insisted “just” IBS on top of coeliac and recommended I relaxed more alongside other more sympathetic responses... (on 12+ immodium at that point). I got really REALLY lucky at a standard dietitian hospital appt with a woman who knew her stuff. Scary how easily I could still be in the same boat.

It’s actually caused by various things not just coeliac so may be of interest to others too (esp those labelled IBS).

Hope all is well with you

[BabsyWabsy]

I was talking to my brother about this only the other day. He has Crohns and has recently been diagnosed with BAM, which is now being successfully treated. I have colitis and although it has been mitigated by a course of steroids, I still get frequent diarrhoea, particularly after eating. I am not sure if there is a genetic component to BAM, but initial research suggests it is rarely considered as a diagnosis even though there are tests available and 35% of colitis sufferers are thought to have it. Next time I am at the GP I am planning to raise this and ask for testing as I continue to lose weight for no obvious reason. I am GF because of a wheat allergy but have not been tested for coeliac. Makes you wonder...

[Hidden in reply to BabsyWabsy]

hi there - go well armed with facts is my advice. I asked my GP about this years ago (before I was diagnosed with coeliac). She looked at my general blood tests and said "not possible your bloods are fine". I took her at her word. With hindsight I think she was confused by the word "malabsorption" and thought I was talking about vitamin deficiency. There is no test for BAM other than the SeHCAT scan, so don't be fobbed off with the answer I was :).

A rather scary stat I have come across in various reputable sources (or as reputable as the internet does) is that an estimated up to a third of diarrhoea-dominant IBS sufferers are considered likely to have BAM. That's a LOT of people being dismissed as "just" IBS

Diarrhoea straight after eating is a classic BAM thing btw (not actually one I had), as is yellow poo (tmi I know, but we're all probably beyond caring )

Really good luck.

[BabsyWabsy in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the advice. Bro said orange/yellow or green poo. I have green. Yum. I will go armed with some facts. If there is a hereditary factor, that will add weight to the argument. Both my granny and my mum were diagnosed with diverticular disease. I wonder how accurate that was ?? My bloods are fine too.