“The findings of this screening indicate that a significant percentage of IBS/FMS patients actually have celiac disease. These patients can improve symptoms and possibly prevent long-term celiac-related complications with a strict lifelong gluten-free diet.”
via Many Cases of IBS and Fibromyalgia Actually Celiac Disease in Disguise – Celiac.com.
In my own extensive work with clients diagnosed with these issues I have virtually always found that gluten sensitivity, if not actual celiac, is an underlying issue. It is usually not the only issue, and I do want to stress that. People can be terribly frustrated when they take gluten out of their diet and do not get the relief they expect. I find that is because undiagnosed gluten sensitivity is virtually always accompanied by underlying microbial issues, as well.
Often, H. Pylori is a problem. The majority of those who are gluten sensitive and have eaten gluten most of their lives, have it. To address H. Pylori, I work with several herbal protocols that I have found to be extremely effective, along with nutritional changes, without causing the additional gut problems that a course of antibiotics almost guarantees.
Many of my clients who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia actually have Lyme and its co-infections. After all, fibromyalgia is really just a description of chronic pain, with no suggestion as to the underlying cause. In my experience, diet and Lyme are often the underlying cause. Removing inflammatory foods from the diet, healing the gut, and addressing Lyme often completely relieves the pain for people who have been suffering for years.
Fran Sussman Holistic Services 