Colitis and IBS...

I happen to have both. IBS is more of a reaction to food and stress. There aren't any physical signs of it, just symptoms, which unfortunately are almost the same as UC.

I am actually supposedly in remission right now with my UC, but my IBS is causing me some issues. Thankfully, I was given an anti-spasmodic med though and it's helping.

I don't know how you have both, but I def. know you can have both.

IBS is a functioning disorder, my GI explained to me when he told me I also have IBS that especially for those that have frequent/severe flares (and/or have had active IBD for many yrs) with their IBD that your bowels would become irritable and even in remission (or not) with your IBD that IBS can become an issue as well.

Some docs (and even patients) don't believe you can have both but there's no reason really why you couldn't they are 2 totally seperate entities that just happen to have very similar symptoms.

:)

quincy said...
Yeah, unfortunately one can....but differentiating while flaring is almost impossible.

Seems you've had lots of ups and downs...what exactly are the symptoms that the nurse suggested was IBS and not UC?

q

I've just flared up again since coming off the steroids...so theyve now started me on azathioprine and put me back on 40mg steroids. But I was telling the nurse about the pain I was getting and she said the pain could be IBS symptoms aswell as Colitis. Thats all she said. I have found certain food intolerances..including lactose, and random things like garlic and sour cream, I didn't mention this to her today but maybe these are symptoms of IBS aswell I don't know...?! Confusing!

My doctor told me that if you are 100% great with solid stools when you are on 40 mg of pred then you don't have IBS as a separate problem. Steroids will not do anything for IBS. I just thought I would bring it up because I thought I had IBS for years and I probably only had mild UC. When you are flaring at all with UC then you colon is irritated thus you have IBS(kind of), but people which IBS still have problems even when their UC is fine.

I know I'm in the minority around here, but I feel IBS and IBD are on a continuum of declining digestive function as opposed to being totally separate conditions. I suffered with IBS and didn't have the sense to try to figure out what the cause was or why my digestion was screwed up. I took antispasmodics and antianxiety meds to treat the symptoms. Eventually, I had a trigger event (dose of broad spectrum antibiotics) that set off the UC. Since then, I've found that my IBS mysteriously disappeared when I got my digestive ecology rebalanced, healed the gut and problem foods are eliminated from the diet - all things I did to heal my UC.

princesa said...
I know I'm in the minority around here, but I feel IBS and IBD are on a continuum of declining digestive function as opposed to being totally separate conditions. I suffered with IBS and didn't have the sense to try to figure out what the cause was or why my digestion was screwed up. I took antispasmodics and antianxiety meds to treat the symptoms. Eventually, I had a trigger event (dose of broad spectrum antibiotics) that set off the UC. Since then, I've found that my IBS mysteriously disappeared when I got my digestive ecology rebalanced, healed the gut and problem foods are eliminated from the diet - all things I did to heal my UC.

Hi Princesa,

The medical community probably says that they are totally unrelated and they could be for those who have certain kinds of IBD. However, in my case, I too believe they are related. I had IBS for years before I had my first colitis flare up. The gas and diarrhea certainly is not good for my colon and has set off my flares.

I never had issues with BM's until one day I turned the toilet purple... A few weeks before that I had stabbing pains in my gut but being 19 I thought it was either too much beer or ate something bad.... fast fwd 2 weeks to a purple toilet and it was all down hill from there. I didnt get urgency and D until years later when I feel I developed IBS in relation to my UC. I too feel in my case it is part of my digestive function decline...