ARGH I don't know whats wrong with me..I had been sick for a while and came across this site, and I realized I had a lot of the symtpoms for gluten intollerance. So I cut out gluten for the past 2 months and was just starting to feel good..then I went to Tennessee this weekend with my mom. The second day there we went to a buffet at Dollywood..and EVERYTHING was cooked in flour (and oil..but thats another story..) and I tried not eating it but then I realized I would have had cross contaimination issues anyways..so if i was going to be sick I was going to be worth it and went on to eat a biscuit. Then I was amazed cuz I didn't get really sick, and then the whole weekend all I wanted was bread!!! I rationalized that maybe I didnt need to be gluten free (I had a blood test last year that came back negative, tho i was eating gluten free then too. When the test came back negative i started eating wheat again, and was sick a lot. But the dr. said i had IBS). Anyways all weekend I had wheat and loved it, and didnt even feel that sick (tho my stomach was really really bloated). Now I think its catching up with me...my stomach is painfuly bloated, im incredibly tired, ive had headaches, and bathroom issues. I can't figure out if its jsut IBS, or if it is the wheat. I feel crazy for eliminating all wheat and that people will think im weird or something (i know, irrational, but yanno how people can be..). Tho my boyfriend and mom seem to think wheat is aproblem for me too, and ask me if ive had wheat when i complain about being sick. I guess i just need to vent. Im thinking about getting the enterolab test, so I would have some kind of clue about whats going on. Anybody else use it?

I'm not a big believer in IBS as a diagnosis. Unless you take it to stand for "Its BS" or "I have no idea, so lets put a syndrome on it"

From personal experience, I think IBS is a bunch of symptoms which can be caused by many things, one of which is Celiac disease. You could also have food intolerances. After 12 yrs of having "IBS", then one day having an instant cure (hidden food allergies/intolerances). If I knew then what I know now, I'd never accept IBS as a diagnosis. I only figured the main one out by elimitation and retrial. The rest I had an ELISA test to find.

With your family history on your signature, it would definately be worth persuing to find a cause for your symptoms as your family probably has similar underlying issues.

I think IBS is kind of a crap diagnosis too..seems like dr's will automatically just label someone that if they cant figure out whats going on (at least 3 of my aunts, me, and my sister are classified as having IBS). What is ELISA?

An ELISA test is a food allergy/intolerance test which unlike regular scratch tests or the RAST allery test, this test examines IgG reactions (delayed reactions) to foods. Depending on what type of ELISA test from which Laboratory, it can also test for IgE reactions as well. See Immunolabs or York laboratories. I also saw a lab called Sage labs that claims to do this test as well, but I don't know anyone who has used it.

With diabetes in your family, there is a slew of diseases and autoimmune conditions that could be plaguing you. PCOS, Celiac, Insulin Resistance, Food Allergies, Thyroid.. just to name a few. You know your symptoms best, so do some online searching and read up on symptoms and conditions. Discuss it with your doctor as well. If your doctor thinks your nuts or brushes you off, find a new doctor who is willing to get to the root of your problems with you.