Ibs or gluten intolerance

[Bue2]

Hi all. I've had couple of months of pain after eating, started with lower stomach pain on the right, then wind after eating, then every morning having loose stools all morning ( 1st one is normal, 2nd one is loose, 3rd is explosive diahrrea) when I noticed spot of blood and mucus I contacted the doctor, he thinks ibs, and prescribed me meveberine, which contains lactose and im intolerant. I'm awaiting results of bowel and blood tests, then doc said I will need to have a colonoscopy. While I'm waiting I decided to try gluten free diet and I've been so much better. I only became lactose intolerant in my 40s, then couldn't handle dairy at all within a year and now with this apparent gluten intolerance I wonder if its auto immune related ( I have fibromyalgia ) I've tried digestive enzymes, don't know if I tried long enough but they didn't help at all. Anyone out there with similar experience, any advice will be appreciated. X

[Snowcat18]

Hi. Sorry you’re suffering. I also have fibromyalgia and IBS. I also have a dairy intolerance - I used to have terrible pains and wind, often loose stools until I gave up dairy. I was also tested for celiac disease - I had lower right pain and bloating but that was negative, there is something called non celiac gluten intolerance where people feel much better avoiding gluten despite testing negative. You could ask to be tested but you will have to have eaten gluten every day for a few weeks before the test or you could get a false negative. Regardless of the result, if you feel so much better without it then I’d carry on, but avoiding grains etc when there’s no need isn’t recommended. Sometimes but more rarely it’s wheat rather than gluten that’s the problem. I think the important thing is to rule out other causes of your symptoms, such a diverticular disease which has similar symptoms and would explain the blood. You’ll have a better idea of what to do when they’ve completed the tests.Hope it all gets sorted soon - it’s miserable to be in pain.

[Bue2 in reply to Snowcat18]

Hi snowcat18, hope you are well today. Thank you for the advice yes I'm much better when I've avoided gluten, wouldn't fancy staying on it that long for the purpose of test, just so strange isnt it how something that's never had that effect before, suddenly starts. Since I turned 40 I've become intolerant to dairy and alcohol, hay-fever when I never used to suffer with it in my life before, and now gluten, but I'd rather miss out on the things I used to enjoy ,rather than have the added pain and not be able to leave the house due to toilet needs. As you will know it's already a struggle with fibromyalgia, theses things are sent to try us 🙄

[Snowcat18 in reply to Bue2]

When I said to my doctor that it was strange that I was suddenly dairy intolerant he said not really because when we’re born we have an enzyme called lactase which is needed to digest lactose, as we pass the age of weaning, this gets depleted and by the time we’re adult it’s a wonder any of us can digest dairy products. He made the point that we are the only species that consume dairy past childhood and that of another species too! Made sense to me. You can become intolerant to anything at any age. It’s probably more to do with additives and processing etc than the foodstuff itself. The bread we eat today is nothing like the bread of years ago …

[Bue2 in reply to Snowcat18]

Interesting, makes a lot of sense, I don't eat processed food, don't like fizzy drinks etc but when you look at dairy free alternatives there's things in that that make you think do we need this . I was an ice cream lover, don't miss cheese anymore or bread, not keen on soya as alternatives , I love my coffee but have decaf, but just lately I've had to start scrutinising everything, oh the joys of a dicky tum eh 😄

[Snowcat18 in reply to Bue2]

Cashew milk is lovely - nearest thing to real milk that I’ve found. It’s great in tea and with cereal but curdles a bit in coffee so I use oat milk in that.

[Bue2 in reply to Snowcat18]

Almond milk is my go to, doesn't curdle in coffee and tastes creamy too, I've not tried cashew milk ,il be adding that one to my list to try 🙂

[Luisa22 in reply to Snowcat18]

I wonder if making our own bread with spelt flour, and nothing else but water, yeast and salt would be good. Apparently many who can't manage wheat flour can eat spelt with no problems. And real bread shouldn't contain anything except flour (unbleached white, or wholemeal) plus yeast and salt with some water added to make dough.

Brushing bread with beaten egg on top is fine , or adding fruit and spices to make a sweeter bread is OK too.

I have found that the only bread I can get on with is Italian ciabatta with decent and simpler ingredients.

[Snowcat18 in reply to Luisa22]

Hi Luisa. I think you're right - originally that’s all bread was made from. A genuine sourdough from a local bakery is ideal but many supermarkets sell ‘sourdough’ bread which really isn’t as it contains all sorts of ingredients such as commercial yeast, sugar and vinegar, plus additives. Bertinet bakery who sell through Waitrose in the UK do genuine sourdough products and are much easier on the digestive system. It wouldn’t be good for celiacs of course but many with IBS can tolerate it and it’s better for diabetics too. Also some IBS sufferers can cope with bread made with French flour as the way it’s produced is much more in line with old original methods. It causes less bloating for sure. I make my own bread using French flour and it’s lovely. Other than that, I buy sourdough from a local independent baker who makes it himself. Supermarket bread is not very nice in my opinion.

[Luisa22 in reply to Snowcat18]

Thank you, Snowcat18 ! I have been unable to tolerate sourdough bread. Someone on here commented fairly recently, that supermarket "sourdough" isn't given long enough to ferment properly, so is continuing to ferment after we eat it!! Apart from any other additives in it.

I didn't know about French flour. That's interesting. I would very much love to make my own bread with the simple ingredients, but I only have a wee mini-oven now, and I doubt if that would work for bread which has risen. There is not much room between the heating elements. I know I should buy a bread maker.

[Snowcat18 in reply to Luisa22]

I agree about the supermarket sourdough Luisa. From my research they use commercial yeast and other things to make it ferment quicker which really means it’s not true sourdough. To be honest I’m not keen on the taste and if you toast it it’s a bit hard on the teeth! My friend can’t eat bread here - it causes her painful bloating etc, but when she goes to France she can! She found out really just by chance. Tesco used to do a French boule loaf which she could have but alas they’ve discontinued it - I buy French flour on Amazon and make bread in my bread maker. It’s lovely! Although I’m trying not to eat too many carbs as I’m diabetic but it’s a treat to have now and then!

[Edgar77 in reply to Snowcat18]

I am a celiac also lactose intolerant. I also find the fodmap diet a help too. I have fibromyalgia and IBS the two often go hand in hand. It would be advisable to get a proper diagnosis. Even just to rule it out. If you are confirmed celiac it is one more for the research records. You will have regular health checks as it can lead to osteoporosis . You should be referred to a dietician who can put you in touch with lots of helpful organisations. I even get gluten free bread on prescription as it is so expensive! Really worth getting this confirmed one way or the other, and unlike 30 years ago when I was finally diagnosed after suffering for 12 years. It is only a blood test, but as snowcat18 said you must continue eating gluten until you are tested. I have long term damage because it took so long to get diagnosed. My sister was diagnosed as soon as she had symptoms because they knew about me and she is so much better than me despite being older. Good luck.

[Bue2 in reply to Edgar77]

Thankyou edgar77, I'm sorry to hear you have long term damage, I will look into fodmap . I was saying to my daughter that when I was young I could eat and drink what I liked without worrying but it makes me wonder if It's the past coming back to haunt me, wine, take aways, fresh cream cakes, for the last several years I have stuck to unprocessed foods, back to the natural foods I was brought up on. Thankyou for the advice, take care