Gastroenterologist appointment

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I'll see a gastroenterologist for the first time tomorrow, because of some abdominal symptoms, including diarrhea, constipation, pain and reflux. I am hoping they won't say it's "just"IBS without examining me (although I can see why it would be IBS), but at the same time I hope nothing serious is going on. My psychologist suggested I ask about possible gluten intolerance, because I have many of the symptoms (I also have a B12 deficiency, which prompts me to think there is more than "just" IBS going on). She didn't know that there is research into this on autistics, but I don't have the data right now so don't know whether the study concluding Celiac was not more common in ASD folk in like 2008 was the final study on it. I am not sure I should ask about this specifically, because I don't want to play doctor. Any advice or support would be appreciated.

hello,
IBS is just a set of symptoms, of which the causes could be myriad. I know you don't want to be seen to playing doctor, so perhaps just go along with an open mind and see what they suggest. When I went to the doctors with these symptoms I was given 2 types of medicine, one of which (colpermine or pepermint oil) i could not tell if it actually did anything and something else nasty tasting, again I could not tell f it did anything because symptoms may have been worse. Overall the symptoms were not alleviated.
So i went back i asked for allergy tests and they found pollen, fruit allergy and milk allergy. no evidence of gluten intollerence, but experience (dietary elimination) tells me that i am also no good with wheat.
Good luck for tomorow - hope they get you sorted

Offhand, I'd say you're starting to get pretty savvy about doctors.

Some doctors are brush off artists and look for excuses not make more than one attempt.

Other doctors have more patience and will stay the course, and will keep trying different things which I think something like IBS needs.

And obviously, move laterally as need be till you find a doctor more like this second type.

You really cannot trust doctors any more. One time I went to see my male doctor because I was concerned about my emotional PMS symptoms, and he gives me these drugs that were for PHYSICAL symptoms such as cramps. And after I got them from the pharmacist it came with a long list of horrible scary side effects, most of them written in capital letters. I refused to take them and wanted to strangle my doctor, but could have been only 'cause it was my time of the month.
Doctors really don't care, they see you as just a diagnosis with a person walking along behind it. They're nothing but pill-pushers who prescribe poison to drug addicts. I don't care if I get arthritis all over my body, I will NEVER take oxy! If they think I'm stubborn now, wait 'til I become a senior citizen! But I'm lucky we even have doctors when we do need them where I live. And it's not as bad as in the US. Maternity leave in Canada is a lot longer than it is down there. And I wonder how doctors down there can sleep at night because a person is going to die because they can't afford the health care. It still could be a lot better up here, though.

Has your B12 deficiency been investigated? There can be all sorts of reasons for that, including not enough dietary intake and inability to absorb. I had this too and I'm almost certain that the amount of diarrhoea I was having was causing it. After a radio-active urine test, it was found that my body contains enough of the intrinsic factor for absorbing it and I was taking supplements, but I don't think it was getting a chance to be absorbed. Coeliac disease could also be a possibility, as it can reduce the surface area of the bowel. I don't think your doctor would be annoyed at you suggesting it, but I understand what you mean about not wanting to seem like you're diagnosing yourself. I had the blood test, but it came back negative. However, I feel my symptoms are better on low gluten/ low dairy diet. I haven't eliminated them entirely.

At the moment, I take turmeric, in capsule form, too. It's anti-inflammatory. I've never had a proper diagnosis, just told it was IBS (which I truly believe just means they don't know what's causing it). I think there is some inflammation, but I was pretty well when I had a radio-active scan (what's with all these radio-active tests), so there was nothing to see. There were periods, when I was a teenager, when I should have been hospitalised and this may have resulted in proper testing. But, my parents didn't realise how ill I was. I remember fainting and having diarrhoea, which was really just water, for 2 weeks. I understand now that I could easily have died of dehydration. Thankfully, I recovered, but was left with a chronic problem. Now two of my cousins have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and a third looks like he may have it too, which makes me think there was more to it than 'just IBS'.

I seldom have problems these days, but any time I accidentally eat maltodextrin, I get severe cramps and diarrhoea within the hour. Strangley, I've been told that maltodextrin can't cause a reaction like that - but it does! I really try to take care of my diet and the maltodextrin incidents have been totally accidental. A standard healthy diet does not work for me and I've found ways to help myself, which is probably why I keep so well now.

Good luck!

I would see what the doctor says. Most of them do not take kindly to you asking if it might be celiac or gluten intolerance, even though it is a valid question to ask. Just see what he says first and see how his attitude towards everything is, if it's good then you might want to ask towards the end of the session.

If you are not satisfied with the doctrs opinion / decision, afterwards you may want to try an elimination diet (gluten and diary intolerance are both very common) and see if you can pinpoint your issues that way. I know it's not the "official" way to do it, but it's certainly better than you being in pain all the time because they decide to slap an IBS label on you rather than actually investigate what is causing you the issues.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I'm back form the gastro doc. She was very thorough and patient. When she asked about allergies or the like, the nurse who was with me asked about gluten, but this didn't seem to be the first thing that came to her mind after all. After asking about my symptoms and history and stuff and examining me, she proposed to have me get blood drawn for some kind of inflammation marker, and to get a colonoscopy scheduled. This is to hopefully rule out inflammatory bowel disease and she also mentioned severe spasming of the colon can be seen on it (would that be considered IBS? I don't know). If the results of the bloodwork and scope are all fine, I'll be tested for food sensitivities and the like. I will get the colnoscopy done on July 27. It's no fun, but well, I suppose it's necessary.

@Mummy_of_Peanut: no, the reason for my B12 deficiency has never been investigated. It was assumed that I didn't take in enough, because of being vegetarian (I'm not a vegetarian anymore but I was for about a year). Then again I read on the Dutch B12 deficiency foundation website that unless you're vegan, the problem can't be with dietary intake.

Try a gluten free diet. Its tough but if it works you found an easy answer if not move down the list.

Although a gluten free diet is probably a very good idea, it is important to note that, after a few months of being on a gluten free diet, the antibodies to gluten can reduce. If you then go for a blood test to check for gluten sensitivity, it may come back as a false negative and your doc might be quite content that you don't have gluten sensitivity or coeliac disease. At that point you may even go back to consuming gluten, thinking that it's not doing any real damage. If you're quite happy to be on a gluten free diet, without ever getting a diagnosis, fair enough. But if you'd really like a confirmation that gluten in your diet is a very bad idea, you really need to keep taking the gluten, until you get properly tested. Sounds a bit daft, but worth bearing in mind.

I think anemia from B12 deficiency is a common problem for those with IBS or an IBD condition. A forum I visit is Crohn's forum, which also discusses other bowel problems. The topic of dealing with anemia often comes up there.

http://www.crohnsforum.com/index.php