IBS and possible Diabetes?

Digestive health
1

I have suffered with IBS on and off since a teenager (20 years), but since having my daughter it has gotten so much worse, to the point that I have been hospitalized on a few occasions. My symptoms are many, from interchanging Diarrhoea and Constipation, regular and immediate bowel movements, nausea, vomiting, bloating, headaches/migraines, flatulence, right down to the chronic abdominal pain and cramps.

Over the past 3 years it has totally taken over my life, I don’t make plans anymore, I can’t work, I am often too embarrassed or feel too rough to have friends over, I am even incapable of taking my daughter to school when I have a flare up and that can happen 3-4 times a month and last at least a few days.

I have gotten so sick of it all that I have been a nuisance to my GP and just kept bugging her to do more. Over the past year I have been poked, prodded, scanned and had numerous blood/urine tests. Nothing coming back as definitive, so a month or so ago I was sent to a dietician, who put me straight onto a Low FODMAP diet, I have been sticking to it strictly for 3 weeks in the hopes that it can relieve some of my symptoms at least a little. Well I can honestly say I have never felt worse, I have been so tired that I literally slept for a whole week only getting up for the loo, meds, food and drink, very dizzy with blurry vision, very sick, and I was breaking out in large painful boil type lumps on my back and inside leg, all this with moderate IBS symptoms too.  

So I went back to the Doctors last week and had to see a different GP, she wanted to take more blood tests to determine for some kind of blood deficiency. Turns out my sugar levels were rather high, and I now have to undergo a fasting blood test next week to diagnose for Diabetes. Having spoken to the same doctor again, my own GP and friends who have Diabetes, it seems some of the IBS symptoms I have been suffering with for many years could be attributed to Diabetes and looking back on my life I remember episodes when I would pass out, sleep a lot, get shaky hands, muscle cramps, migraines and break out in unsightly and inflamed boils or haematomas. I have also had a very weak bladder since my teenage years.

Now here is why I am posting….. both my GP and Dietician are saying to stick with the FODMAP, but I am really concerned that in doing so I will be risking making the possible Diabetes worse as it seems odd that I have been so ill since starting it. I am new to the whole Diabetes thing and its hard even thinking about dealing with that on top of the severity of my IBS, my faith in the medical profession has been shattered, my life is currently in ruins as I just have to fight to make every day as normal as possible for my daughter but as comfortable for me as I can and the last thing I want is to be even more poorly.

Thanks in advance for any replies x

2

Hello,

I am 18 and is going through the same symptoms of weak bladder and IBS for almost a year now. The weak bladder started after my IBS symptoms showed up. I have not been officially diagnosed with both, but am planning to get a colonoscopy and I am also going to call my doctor tomorrow to make an appointment to check if I have diabetes. I'll post my results here if I get an appointment tomorrow and I do hope you also post your results for your appointment net week. I do hopeI do not have diabetes though

3

Hi, so sorry you are going through such a difficult time. I have colitis(under control at present), ibs-d, & have just been diagnosed with bile acid malabsorption. Apparently this condition is as common as 1 in 3 ibs sufferers, & mimics all the symptoms of ibs. If you haven't already, ask your doc to send you for a sehcat test to check for this condition which can be treated with meds. If it was me, I'd probably continue with my normal diet pending the outcome of the diabetes test if the FODMAP diet is making you feel worse than ever. hope this helps a bit, sometimes its hard to know what to do for the best when you are so poorly. take care.

4

Wow, Tina - I'm sorry you're suffering like this!  I know there are strict food rules for blood work, but other than your next round of tests, why does your dr. and dietician want you to stay on FODMAP?  Do they feel like it just needs more time to work?  If you've done it this long, put a deadline to it and ask when it should start giving positive results, and what's next if it doesn't?

We keep my son on a strict no-gluten diet for his Coeliac Disease because we HAVE TO and he's improving greatly with it!  FODMAP is yet more restrictive and frankly I wouldn't stay on it if it weren't helping me. But, I'd find it hard to break doctors' orders. Still, I'd politely challenge her/him to tell me why I'm still on it and what's next if it doesn't work - plus how would it go with diabetes?  It's possible that they want you to stay on for the purposes of testing you (much like a potential Coeliac patient must keep ingesting gluten for the tests to work). 

I'm guessing you're not deficient in any nutrient and have been tested for Coeliac, Colitis, etc. with no signs of those diseases... I certainly don't wish diabetes on you, but I do hope you have answers and proper treatment soon!

5

Have you been tested for any food allergies?

6

I wish you all the luck in the world for getting a quick diagnoses and to start taking meds or whatever steps is needed to make you feel better, at 18 you should be enjoying your life and not suffering or worrying about you health. 

I will indeed post my results.Lets hope whatever the results its something both of us can fix x

7

Hi.

Thankyou for your reply, i have never heard of bile acid malabsorption but if the symptoms mimic IBS i will definately be asking to be tested for it, as im sure in my heart that the diet i am currently on is not helping either my IBS or my sugar levels, and it is designed to help specifically with IBS so to my way of thinking it shouldnt be making me feel worse. It is difficult to know wether to stick with the doctors advice or not, there must be a reason they want me to continue with it but i feel so awful, my vision is blurred, im dizzy and feint and today i have been vomitting a lot too.

Doesnt it seem strange that although doctors and specialists tell you that IBS is not dangerous and doesnt lead to other complications, most people who suffer with bad symptoms end up with other food or blood related illnesses? x

8

Hi.

You give very good advice, i never thought that they may want me to continue on the diet for the testing and have been feeling so out of sync that i never thought to question why, they did say that the diet itself can take a while to show any positive results, as its only when you start reintroducing foods that you can see what the triggers are. Have indeed been tested for coeliac and colitis and tests were normal.

Have spoken to the surgery again this morning and they said that my sugar levels have risen and reduced in the past but they obviously didnt pick up on it til now, wether thats to do with the IBS or diabetes i guess i just have to wait to find out. Am thinking i will give the diet another week or so (until i have the results of the testing at least) and just try to get through each day as best i can. It is hard though, having a 6 yr old daughter and only my elderly parents for help, it seems so unfair on all of them, this is a time when i should be looking after them and not vice-versa. plus its just rotten to feel so zombiefied on top of the frustrating IBS symptoms.

thankyou again, and im so glad that your son is improving x

9

Most of them i think, hard to know exactly what ive been tested for because i have had so many blood tests for different things its hard to keep up with, but definately no Coeliac or colitis. x

10

Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time. If you are diabetic then you will need some carbohydrates to keep your sugar levels up a bit. You could try gluten free and have other forms of carbohydrates like potatoes if your finding Fodmap diet too strict. I have had IBS C for years but have only been really ill with it since my hysterectomy 2yrs ago. Hormone levels dont help. I have also been poked and prodded and had every test and seen every specialist. I was in complete despair like you and really feel for you. Have they tested your thyroid? U could always ask for referral for a food allergy test. I have been put on 20mgs buscopan four times daily and amitriptylline at night. Am sleeping much better which has helped me cope. I am avoiding gluten and other foods which trigger my symptoms (garlic, broccoli, onions, sweetcorn). I imagjne everyones trigger foods are different. I hope you find an answer to your problems and soon. X

11

BAM is maybe similar to IBS-D, but similar is all it is. IBS sufferers get swelling and pain in the lower gut, but should not experience such chronic diarrhoea. Moreover there are several different causes for BAM.

I don't see any sense in staying on a low fodmap diet, because it doesn't appear that you have IBS. I would definitiely challenege the doctor, or even better get a second opinion.

12

Hi.

Im sorry but i have no idea what BAM is? Its not something i have ever heard of or in fact been tested for. Which is suprising considering all the tests etc that i have been through.

I have lasted 4 weeks on the FODMAP now, but am showing absolutley no signs of feeling better, i just seem to be getting worse. Am back to docs on monday for the fasting test so think i will knock it on th head then and explain to them why. Plus i may ask to be tested for BAM?

Thankyou for your comment x

13

Hi.

thanks for your comment.

I have been tested for thyroid a number of times in the past three years all with negative results.

Bit wierd that your IBS kickstarted after the hysterectomy and mine got worse after childbirth. Seems that area in women has a lot to do with IBS, obviously its a syndrome that needs soooo much more investigating and research as still a lot about it is unknown.

I have IBS-M and it does leave me in despair, i spend a lot of time cying coz my quality of life is so greatly reduced from it all. i have been on Colofac, then mebeverine, then Buscopan all with no effect and now im on Colpermine, which doesnt appear to have done a lot either although i have only been on that whilst on this devil diet! I also take amitriptyline, which does help the cramps and sleep but makes it hard to get up in the morning and whilst ive been so exhauted on this diet i have to say i havent taken it coz i dont need to be zonked out anymore than i already am. Feels like i am existing in a nightmare world atm and spend my days at home, close the loo and sleeping far too much.

As for food triggers, this diet cuts out all the foods that could be the triggers but as i have said i feel worse not better so am at a loss as to what is actually happening =( x

14

Hi ,

BAM is short for bile acid malabsorption that I posted to you about a couple of days ago. Definately worth asking doc to refer you for the sehcat test if a 2nd person has mentioned it independently reading your symptoms. good luck, take care.