Hi everyone,
This year has been hell for me! It started out as a crazy week of diarrhea and has lasted over a year! I have extreme explosive diarrhea almost everyday(mostly completly loose and yellow sorry if I'm being too graphic) terrible left side cramping and a feeling of burning and gnawing right under my breast bone. I am either strapped to the toilet or crumpled over in pain almost everyday. I had my gallbladder removed in February because they thought that was what was causing the problem. Surprise Surprise when the gallbladder came out I just got worse because now I have no place to store fats so the diarrhea got even worse. I have had 2 MRI's, numerous ultrasounds, a colonoscopy and everything has come back totally fine. I was told today that they think it's IBS-D but want to do a stomach scope (I don't really know what that is) to rule out other stuff because of the burning feeling in my gut. Does this sound like IBS? It is ruining my life, I had to leave my job last year and now I am nearly broke and feeling no where near able to hold down a job since I can barely leave the house half the time. Has anybody come through IBS and been able to live a normal life? and if so, how did you do it? The doctors put me on Questran and Buscopan (I start them tomorrow) just to get me through until the scope. Is anyone else on these medications? Do they work for you? Is there any home remedies or anything I can do to ease this terrible pain even a little? I'm at the end of my rope here! I really hope someone can help me! Sorry for being so down it's just I feel so hopeless!:(

Hi- I just posted a message about this, but I'll ask here as well. Have you been tested for celiac disease? I have read many, many stories of people who had their gall bladders removed and were later found to have had celiac. I had diarrhea for years and never really associated it with wheat because wheat is so common in the american diet that you eat it pretty much everyday so that just keeps the immune response going all the time.

No I haven't been tested for Celiac disease what kind of test do they do for that? and is celiac disease manageable?

Celiac is definitely manageable. It can be hard to avoid wheat since things like sauces, soy sauce, soups etc. all can have wheat in them. However, not having D and other intestinal problems all the time makes the effort to avoid wheat definitely worth it. You shouldn't stop eating gluten before being tested though as that can alter the results. I wish you luck in figuring out what is wrong.

I have IBS. My prblem is not diarrhea...just the opposite. But when I need to go I get very sick.....it has no way out because of the hard stool. I start to sweat, cramp horribly and vomit. It takes about an hour of pain and crying before it finally breaks loose and I can go. ZELNORM has helped tremendously. Hope you feel better soon!!!

The test for celiac is a blood test. You can ask your doctor for a celiac panel. It should include anti-endomysial antibody (Iga EMA), anti-gliaden antibody (Iga and Igg) and tissue transglutiminase (ttg iga).

If these come back positive, the doctor will do an endoscopy and take a biopsy of the small intestine to confirm the diagnosis.

they did a colonoscopy already is that the same as a biopsy of the small bowel? I'll definately ask my doctor to run the blood tests. Thanks for all of your help. I have been so sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I feel like my life is over at 27, but knowing that I am not the only one dealing with this is comforting. If it does turn out to be IBS does anyone have any tips that might help me deal? My dr. told me to take benefiber but it seems to make me much worse.

no, the colonoscopy is definitely not the same test. you would need the blood test for celiac and then if it is positive they do an endoscopy where they go in from the top end to take a biopsy of the intestine right near where the intestine comes out from the stomach. That is where the damage happens in celiac. They can't see that part in a colonoscopy.

Citrucel always seemed helpful to me when i was still sick. Also i know they have some anti-spasmodic drugs that seem to work well for IBS.


you can find more info about celiac on the national institute of health's website. (i can't type the site here.) I hope that you do get the test, even if to just rule out one more thing. It is actually a fairly common condition (1 in 133 people) but it is very underdiagnosed. (i should know, i had about 10 GIs fail to diagnose me and just told me i had IBS).

Another good place for info about digestive problems is a book called Healthy Digestion the Natural Way. Good luck with everything. I know how hard it can be. I had D all the time from age 24-34. You are not the only one.

Thank you so so much! I have an appointment in a few weeks and I will ask if they can do those tests! you've been very helpful!