Question by Angie: Question about symptoms. IBD, IBS, or Gerd?
I have an appointment the 10th. Just looking to see if anyone else is or was in a similar situation. Was treated last summer for h. pylori. Felt much worse after all the antibiotics (bactrim, tetracycline, and flagyl). My doctor didn’t tell me to stay on an acid reducer or to take probiotics but after a few months I started this. I get heartburn, a gurgling in my throat, episodes where I hear sloshing like water in my intestines, burping, diarrhea or loose stool, and gas. Can get pretty miserable. No pain or blood in stool. Doesn’t much matter what I eat. I haven’t had a colonoscopy or endoscopy yet but have had the celiac test (neg) and liver panel (normal). Re-test for h.pylori many months back was negative. Tried Xifaxan for seven days without much improvement. Worried it may be IBD or something worse.
Best answer:
Answer by Shauna
Well, at least re: IBS – the last two initials kind of say it all: it’s a BS diagnosis.
It’s what they diagnose you with when they can’t figure out what the heck is going on, but sadly, they tend to give the diagnosis out before they actually test you for everything. 
Re: celiac disease. The test has around a 20% false negative rate, for blood tests, so if you get an endoscopy, they should still do at least 4 samples for biopsies to check that. Also, there is such a thing as non-celiac gluten intolerance, which can only be tested by going on a gltuen free diet and checking symptoms to see if they resolve.
some things that have similar symptoms:
food intolerance, like lactose intolerance. This can sometimes happen temporarily if there was damage to your intestines, like by h. pylori, or even possibly the antibiotics. If one avoids dairy for a time, allowing the body to heal, it will often resolve after a few months.
mild food allergies – these just inflame the insides, not the outside, and will give very similar symptoms. Main way to test is with an elimination diet, as allergy tests are pretty hit or miss with this.
parasites
crohn’s disease – this one seems less likely.
low stomach acid
There’s a lot of things, but foods can be good to look, IMO. Doctors typically don’t, but considering that checking our foods involves no drugs, and just time and energy on our part, it always seemed to me to be a good thing to get a doctor to look at.
Give your answer to this question below!
Not found what you want ?
Hi Angie. My sister and her daughter both have celiac and my daughter-in-law has a gluten intolerance. All three were tested negative for celiac and their doctors’ initial diagnosis was IBS. They experimented with diet and made notes about what they had been eating when they noticed worsening symptoms. With a change in diet, all three are feeling much better now.
You should certainly continue working with your doctor, but it’s pretty easy to look into whether any dietary changes might help. Also, somewhat time consuming. But, you’re the type of person who has the discipline to do the kind of careful monitoring that it takes to check your diet. It’s certainly worth a try. I hope all goes well. -Jim
Diarrhoea and abdominal pain are the most common symptoms of IBD, IBS, or Gerd. According to medical practice the best treatment for irritable bowel syndrome is proper diet, coping with stress and depression, and natural IBS remedies and cures.