# Is it IBS? Or something more serious?



## tinoryls (Feb 22, 2013)

Hello. I am 28 years old male. I started suffering from frequent defecation around 3 years ago. The first few months, I didn't even notice. After that, I generally ignored it for the next year. After that time, I got married and decided to get this problem treated.

I went to my GP and he suggested infection and prescribed me antibiotics. That didn't make much difference, so after a week he prescribed different antibiotics. This went on for 3 weeks after which I stopped going to him altogether. When things didn't improve, I consulted an GI in my city. He suggested that I undergo Sigmoidoscopy. He found non-specific colitis and prescribed me Mesacol suppositories for 15 days. It did make some difference, but not much. After the mesacol stopped, things went back to the way they were.

Here's my problem. I don't get actual diarrhoea. Most of the times, my stool is soft/pasty and voluminous. I have to go 3-4 times a day, but seldom more. Also, I never felt the urgent need to defecate that I cannot hold it in any longer. Apart from this I get flatulence and cramps, but never pain. This in itself would not trouble me much, but during the worst flareups, I would start getting burning pain in my anus. I am not sure if it was from the frequent defecation or due to inflammation in my an-rectal region. I tolerated this for another year and went back to my GI. He said I might have Anal fissures and gave me Cremagel to be used after defecation. He also asked me to go off all types of lactose products. The cremagel does help in controlling the burning, but does not cure the root cause.

After suffering like this for a few months, I went to another GI. He started me on a course of Normaxin and VSL#3 (probiotics) for a month. I could feel some difference immediately. Instead of going 3-4 times a day, I would now go only 1-2 (Mostly only one). But the consistency of the stool remained the same. It would still be Soft/Pasty and a mess to pass.

Since last 4 days, I stopped having wheat/ wheat products of any kind. Since, then, for the first time in many years, 90% of my problems have been resolved. I go only once or twice, there's hardly any flatulence and the stool consistency is normal. I have not experienced burning since then. Now I am not sure if this is because I stopped wheat or if it is just because the Normaxin has started taking effect.

I researched the wheat connection on the internet and came across Coeliac disease, then Crohns and then Ulcerative colitis. Since then, I have been very depressed. I cannot imagine a life without having bread/pasta etc. The current situation is that I have to continue my Normaxin for a month and then report to the doctor. If I tell him there's no significant change, he would ask me to undergo a full Colonoscopy to rule out anything else.

My questions

1. What are the chances of this being Coeliac/Crohns? I hardly have pain in my abdomen and never had blood in my stool.

2. Is a colonoscopy worth the pain/humiliation (again, as I had a sigmoidoscopy once)? Can it successfully detect Crohns or Coeliac?

3. Has anyone here experienced relief from using Normaxin (A variant of Librax)?

I am quite tense and anxious. Would appreciate some replies.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Colonoscopy will not detect celiac, you do that with a blood test screening and then an upper scope to biopsy the small intestine to confirm.

Are you having any issues maintaining weight even when you eat more than enough food or have issues with nutrition (like anemic even when diet is sufficient, etc). Crohn's is more likely to cause very frequent defecation (more than 3-4X a day which is still in the normal range than IBS which usually is more like the 3X a day rather than the 6-20X a day type of thing (although some with IBS can have way more than 3X a day it is more common in Crohns and UC than in IBS) With just IBS symptoms (and fairly mild on stool consistency issues, but you have both consistency and frequency issues) and no other symptoms of other things it is likely just IBS and not something else.

IBSers often have problems with a lot of other things in wheat that have nothing to do with Gluten. The Low FODMAP diet gets rid of wheat because of the fructans in it as well as other foods that have that and other fodmaps in them. Also reducing fructans can cause a fairly quick response. Usually with Celiac you need to be off all gluten from all sources for a couple of weeks before the small intestine has healed up enough to make a huge difference.


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## tinoryls (Feb 22, 2013)

Thanks Kathleen. The first year I lost 10-15 kg weight (I was 78 kg and went down to 65). But after the first year, I started exercising regularly again and now I am more or less constant at 70kg.

In my case, getting off wheat made a difference the very next day. Something else I forgot to mention above was that when my symptoms are at their worst, the stool is very thin (In shape). Can it be because of inflammation in the intestine?

I will stay off wheat for a few more days and then try re-introducing it slowly to see what effect it has. If I see issues the very next day, I would know that it is wheat. Once I complete my medication course, I will go back to the doctor and let him decide whether a colonoscopy is needed.

Also, is inflammation/burning around the rectum and anus common with IBS?

Thanks again!!


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