What is the difference between IBS vs Celiac disease? Are the symptom of IBS vs Celiac disease different? While both conditions cause digestive symptoms and can negatively affect one’s quality of life, they both work a bit differently and require different treatments in order to get relief. To complicate things further, it is possible to have both IBS and Celiac Disease at the same time.
What is IBS?
Firstly, what are the symptoms of IBS? The Canadian Digestive Health Foundation defines IBS as the following:
“Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder affecting the intestine. IBS involves problems with motility (movement of digested food through the intestines) and sensitivity (how the brain interprets signals from the intestinal nerves), leading to abdominal pain, changes in bowel patterns and other symptoms.”
https://cdhf.ca/en/digestive-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs/
People with IBS experience changes in their bowel habits. Those with IBS-D (diarrhea subtype) will need more frequent bathroom visits and will have loose or watery stool. On the other hand, those with IBS-C (constipation) will have difficulty passing stool and will have less frequent bowel movements. In addition to bowel changes, people with IBS experience pain and sensitivity in their abdomen as their brain and nervous system over react to signals coming from the intestines.
Though painful & uncomfortable to live with, those with IBS can rest assured that IBS does not itself lead to cancer or serious disease.
What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. When someone with Celiac disease eats gluten, their immune system reacts to it as if it were harmful. This immune reaction damages the lining of the small intestine, specifically the microvilli which are responsible for nutrient absorption.
If left untreated, Celiac disease can cause problems beyond digestive pain and discomfort. Untreated Celiac disease can lead to malnutrition and other serious diseases such as intestinal cancer.
IBS vs Celiac Symptoms
So how can you tell IBS vs Celiac apart from each other? Both conditions share unpleasant digestive symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and/or constipation. You may not experience any sudden bowel changes with Celiac disease. Some people notice no differences prior to their diagnosis, however, others notice a characteristic foul smelling, fatty stool type.
Celiac disease is also more likely to come along with other autoimmune symptoms. There are 200 known symptoms of Celiac disease, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. To view a detailed list of symptoms or to use a self-assessment tool, you can visit the experts at the Celiac Disease Foundation here https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/symptoms-of-celiac-disease/
IBS vs Celiac Causes
There is no clear cause for IBS, but patients and doctors may be able to observe predictable triggers for flare ups.
IBS can be flared up by medications, stress, anxiety, hormonal fluctuations, and certain foods. Foods such as caffeine, alcohol, foods high in fat, and carbonated drinks tend to be examples of foods that cause IBS to flare up in some individuals.
Celiac disease on the other hand is genetic. Anyone carrying the genes HLA DQ2, DQ7, and/or DQ8 genes has a higher risk of developing Celiac disease. Like many autoimmune diseases, it is not clear what causes this disease to “activate” in some gene carriers but remain latent in others. You can develop Celiac disease at any age. Some Celiacs are diagnosed in childhood, while others may not be diagnosed until later in life.
IBS vs Celiac Testing
If you think you have either IBS or Celiac disease, you’ll want to make an appointment with your doctor to go over symptoms.
IBS is diagnosed using the ROME criteria. Your doctor will ask you questions about your bowel habits and symptoms to determine if IBS is an appropriate diagnosis for you.
If you’re concerned that you have Celiac disease, then a doctor can assess for Celiac disease using a few different tools. The first thing the doctor should do is send you for a blood test. This blood test will check to see if your immune system is reacting to gluten. It is important that you continue to eat gluten prior to your blood test in order for the results to be reliable. If the blood test is positive, you very likely have Celiac disease and you may be referred to the next stage of testing, an endoscopy.
Considered the gold standard of Celiac diagnosis, an endoscopy is an outpatient procedure that is used to assess any damage in your small intestine. If damage is found in your small intestine, then you will be diagnosed with Celiac Disease.
Come back next week for my next article about how they test for Celiac disease. This information will help you prepare for your testing and understand your results.
IBS vs Celiac Treatment
If you’re still here, then certainly you’re hoping to find some digestive relief one way or the other. Once your doctor has made a diagnosis, you can begin treating your symptoms.
IBS is typically managed with a combination of medication, dietary changes, and lifestyle factors. Your doctor may recommend you to avoid certain foods, or eat a low FODMAP diet until your symptoms improve.
Celiac Disease, unfortunately, does not have any medication to manage or prevent symptoms. The only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet. After you stop eating gluten, your small intestine will begin to heal. You likely will not feel better right away, but after some months of patience and healing, you will start to see a lot of improvement in your symptoms!
Sources:
https://cdhf.ca/en/digestive-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs/
https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/symptoms-of-celiac-disease
