Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment

Question by Erica C: undiagnosed, and untreated thyroid disease symptoms?
My mom, her two sisters, her mom, her sisters kids (my cousins) all have some sort of thyroid disease, it’s only the youngest and newest addition girls in the family that have not yet been diagnosed with some form of thyroid disease. I started loosing hair and feeling gravely depressed when I was 11. When I was 11 I also started my period, my very first one was very painful, made me sick, it was very heavy and I clotted for the first few days. My periods were like this and lasted for two weeks before finally giving me a break. My mom took me to the doctors for my hair loss, I had blood tests done (I can’t even remember what they were) but when they came back my doctor told me my iron was a little low, but that’s all that showed on the results. He said my depression and stress was probably what was contributing to my hair loss.

I’m 23 now, and haven’t been to the doctors since then, except for an occasional physical for employment.

My symptoms have increased since then, and only now have I realized that they are symptoms of thyroid disease. My symptoms include,
I’m tired most of the time
I have a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, or falling back asleep when I’ve woken in the middle of the night.
I get occasional ringing in my right ear
I have dry bumpy and/or scaly skin on my arms, parts of my back, my neck, sides of my thighs and on my buttocks.
I am depressed
I have a terrible time concentrating or staying on topic, as well as memory problems.
I am overweight and am having a really hard time gaining the bodily and emotional energy it requires to exercise
my toes are 80 percent of the time cold
I sweat 24/7 but only in my underarms, private areas and under my breasts
I used to have an increased menstrual flow, but now I’ve been so light, I can only see very little pink on toilet paper when I wipe, and some months I go without a period which is a huge change from how my periods used to be. But whether they’re light or heavy, I get terrible cramps in my ovarian area.
I am extremely irritable, and my emotions are all over the place one second happy the other sad…
I feel anxious and nervous, and can never stand still for long
my hands shake for a couple days after any sort of exercise
I have had panic attacks and nervous breakdowns
I have frequent bowel movements, which are usually loose
my appetite is outrageous
my blood pressure always used to be low, but with a fast heart rate, now its high with an even higher heart rate
i get to where i feel that i hate myself at least a few times a month, and its taking a terrible toll and making my depression worse
i get light headed and i get dizzy every time i use the elevator at work
i have very little desire to do anything but lay in bed
i have a puffy face, although i am overweight, but i lost a good deal of weight once before and even then my face stayed puffy
im snoring more lately
I have developed carpal-tunnel syndrome
Things that I have going on with me, that I’m not sure have anything to do with thyroid diseases are my butt cheeks stay cold all the time, even if I’ve been laying in bed for hours on them, my knuckles and toes have been bothering me, my breasts are swollen and tender no matter what time of the month it is, ive developed a cough that wont go away, my inner right ear itches and swells, goes away and then itches and swells again, my inner right ear tends to hurt sometimes too…. and i’ve read that a loss in sex drive or no sex drive can come from hypo, but i have an increased sex drive, like want it all the time, could that be a symptom too?

but so basically ive been all kinds of jacked up, and my symptoms keep piling, but i never thought about thyroid until recently when my memory has been foggy. I’ve been trying to conceive and with my missing periods and sore breasts I was searching to see if a foggy brain was a symptom too, and then i came across thyroid symptoms. and now that ive had them laid out in front of me i realize how bad ive felt, well i guess i always new, but i put it in the back of my mind, and just lived with it all, but im getting too depressed, too forgetful, and i only ever sleep well with a sleep aide, and its all becoming too frustrating, and too much to live with.

I get insurance with my new employer this month and will be going to the doctors, but what im wondering until then is, if ive had these symptoms for so long, and it turns out i do have some form of thyroid disease, what sort of things could of by now gone wrong with my thyroid gland, or other parts of my body by now. I mean…. I’ve gone undiagnosed and untreated for so long, what could this mean for me? any one know from experience?

Best answer:

Answer by D V
When you stay away from doctors for 13 years that’s what happens. You can die from thyroid problems that are untreated for years… I would go NOW if I were you.

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Question by ahauntedwood: Are disease names capitalized while writing?
Are diseases like Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, etc. capitalized while writing? Are there rules to which ones are and which ones are not? please help! Thanks

Best answer:

Answer by Bad Kitty!
They’re not capitalized unless they’re named after someone — then the person’s name is capitalized.
As in “Down syndrome” (formerly Down’s syndrome) – named after John Langdon Down, the British doctor who described the syndrome in 1866.

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Question by CrAzY_chik: Please Read! People with Gastrointestinal Problems. Chrones disease? IBS? IBD? Celiac Disease?
I am sixteen years old and have been suffering from chronic abdominal discomfort and other symptoms for more than four months. I have constant nausea ( I always feel like I am on the verge of vomiting but never do), abdominal pain ranging from a
mild irritated feeling to sharp cramps (not menstrual), gas, headaches, and debilitating fatigue.. I had an ultrasound and a ct scan a week ago and they both showed that I don’t have gallstones but I do have a large amount of (may be graphic-beware) compacted fecal matter (I warned you). However I have not been feeling constipated. In fact lately I have been having dihherea (occasionally bloody) 4-5 times a day.
I have Celiac disease and I was diagnosed about 4 months ago. And I know that it can take a while to heal but even the doctor doesnt know why its taking so long.
I just feel so sick all the time. Here’s my question: could it be Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Chrones or Ulcerative Colitis) or something els

Best answer:

Answer by svengteach
Your doctor needs to determine the cause. There are a number of things it could be. I would not want to make an armchair diagnosis.

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Question by michimama: Is this Crohn’s Disease?
At the age of 16 I acquired a stomach illness. Everyday after school I would have terrible bouts of painful watery diarrhea (and occasional constipation)–worsening with stress, PMS and certain food intake.
After that I realized I had a chronic bowel disorder. My doctor, after just a few insignificant tests, decided I had irritable bowel syndrome. I’m 24 now, and threw a few different SSRIs and antispasmodics at me. Since then my symptoms have only increased with time.

Sometimes I will find blood(either on toilet paper or in toilet) and mucus with my feces. I have constant soreness, itchiness and mild bleeding around my anus. My bowel movement are very urgent, numerous and extremely painful. Sometimes I will go as much as 15 times a day. The pain in my abdomen is excruciating and feels as if my intestines are about to rupture. I have never felt pain even comparable to the pain I get from my stomach issues. And I just feel so exhausted and sore in my hips all the time. I also get nauseated and vomit. Sometimes the vomiting and diarrhea is worse than any food borne illness or stomach flu I have ever caught in my life.

Best answer:

Answer by Lucy L
It’s time to see a specialist in diseases of the digestive system–a gastroenterologist. You might have irritable bowel disease, but you could also have some kind of inflammatory bowel disease, like Crohn’s Disease. Whatever the cause of your digestive problems, more can be done to control the pain and the diarrhea.

If your doctor is not listening to you and you don’t have access to a gastroenterologist, take yourself to the emergency room next time you have severe symptoms. It is not normal to have such extreme diarrhea and vomiting and could lead to dehydration and other serious health problems.

Good luck!

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Question by : HELP! Do I have ceilac disease or something else?
ok, for 2 months now i’ve been feeling so sick. very weak, i thought it was my thyroid but i had that tested and i guess it’s ok. So as i said i’ve been sick and constipated, then my dr gave me medicine to help me go to the bathroom (he believed maybe i ate too much fiber and not enough water for it to flush out). So after this medicine, i find myself suffering with diarrhea but still sooo sick. I can’t eat much without being sick, or go for jogs like i so loved to do. I feel trapped. Do you think I have have celiac disease? A girl I knew had similar symptoms and was diagnosed with this…but do you think it could be IBS? (irritable bowel syndrome)? i just am soooooooo sick of being sick. thanks for anyones help!

Best answer:

Answer by purple.shorttiii
HERE IS SOME INFORMATION ON THE DISEASE! HOPE I HELPED!

What is celiac disease?
Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms.

The small intestine is shaded above.

When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi—the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine. Villi normally allow nutrients from food to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Without healthy villi, a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food one eats.

Villi on the lining of the small intestine help absorb nutrients.

Celiac disease is both a disease of malabsorption—meaning nutrients are not absorbed properly—and an abnormal immune reaction to gluten. Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families. Sometimes the disease is triggered—or becomes active for the first time—after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress.

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What are the symptoms of celiac disease?
Symptoms of celiac disease vary from person to person. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system or in other parts of the body. Digestive symptoms are more common in infants and young children and may include

abdominal bloating and pain
chronic diarrhea
vomiting
constipation
pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool
weight loss
Irritability is another common symptom in children. Malabsorption of nutrients during the years when nutrition is critical to a child’s normal growth and development can result in other problems such as failure to thrive in infants, delayed growth and short stature, delayed puberty, and dental enamel defects of the permanent teeth.

Adults are less likely to have digestive symptoms and may instead have one or more of the following:

unexplained iron-deficiency anemia
fatigue
bone or joint pain
arthritis
bone loss or osteoporosis
depression or anxiety
tingling numbness in the hands and feet
seizures
missed menstrual periods
infertility or recurrent miscarriage
canker sores inside the mouth
an itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis
People with celiac disease may have no symptoms but can still develop complications of the disease over time. Long-term complications include malnutrition—which can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, and miscarriage, among other problems—liver diseases, and cancers of the intestine.

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Why are celiac disease symptoms so varied?
Researchers are studying the reasons celiac disease affects people differently. The length of time a person was breastfed, the age a person started eating gluten-containing foods, and the amount of gluten-containing foods one eats are three factors thought to play a role in when and how celiac disease appears. Some studies have shown, for example, that the longer a person was breastfed, the later the symptoms of celiac disease appear.

Symptoms also vary depending on a person’s age and the degree of damage to the small intestine. Many adults have the disease for a decade or more before they are diagnosed. The longer a person goes undiagnosed and untreated, the greater the chance of developing long-term complications.

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What other health problems do people with celiac disease have?
People with celiac disease tend to have other diseases in which the immune system attacks the body’s healthy cells and tissues. The connection between celiac disease and these diseases may be genetic. They include

type 1 diabetes
autoimmune thyroid disease
autoimmune liver disease
rheumatoid arthritis
Addison’s disease, a condition in which the glands that produce critical hormones are damaged
Sjögren’s syndrome, a condition in which the glands that produce tears and saliva are destroyed
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How common is celiac disease?
Celiac disease affects people in all parts of the world. Originally thought to be a rare childhood syndrome, celiac disease is now known to be a common genetic disorder. More than 2 million people in the United States have the disease, or about 1 in 133 people.1 Among people who have a first-degree relative—a parent, sibling, or child—diagnosed with celiac disease, as many as 1 in 22 people may have the disease.2

Celiac disease is also more common among people with other genetic disorders including Down syndrome and Turner syndrome, a condition that affects girls’ development.

1Fasano A, Berti I, Gerarduzzi T, et al. Prevalence of celiac disease in at-risk and not-at-risk groups in the United States. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2

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