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What's My First Step?

Fettucini

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Fettucini Newbie
Fettucini
Posted

Does anyone know where I can be tested? I have low income, and no insurance.

What level of testing (if any) would be appropriate for me given my symptoms:

- difficulty focusing, forgetfulness

- headache

- diahrea, loose stools

- depression/fatigue

- feeling a need for nurishment, even when full

Also, I am thin despite eating plenty.

I have been unable to clearly establish a link between eating wheat and my

symptons. If there is a link, there seems to be a delay of three days to a week.

This delay (and perhaps lack of mental clarity) makes it difficult for me to know

whether of not I am imagining the connection. I do not have any obvious

increase in symptoms on the same day I eat wheat, even in large quantities.

My understanding is that the response time to wheat among people with celiac

disease varies. Is three days to a week typical?

After avoiding wheat for a couple months, I noticed improvement, but this could

be due to a variety of unrelated causes. Casein or lactose intolerance may be

another suspect because I was severely allergic to milk as an infant.

I am starting a spreadsheet to track diet and symptoms over time. This should

be useful in any case.

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Fettucini Newbie
Fettucini
Posted
  • Author

BTW, I am in the Santa Cruz, California area. Any thoughts about how

I can find a good clinic that can to celiac screening?

celiac3270 Collaborator
celiac3270
Posted

I know what everyone else will recommend so I may as well say it now: Open Original Shared Link. You get advice on what tests to take (and they're supposed to be more inexpensive)....you have choices on how many and which you choose to take. Someone else can give you more info. I haven't taken any tests there, but many others have.

-celiac3270

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

If you're trying to do a dietary challenge for gluten intolerance, don't forget that just cutting out wheat is not enough. You have to cut out anything that has or is made from wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Have you gone over the safe/unsafe list on this site?

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    • trents
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      Welcome to the celiac.com community @EssexMum! First, let me correct some misinformation you have been given. Except in the case of what is known as "refractory" celiac disease, which is very rare, it is not true that the "fingers" will not grow back once a consistently gluten free diet is adopted. Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition whereby the ingestion of gluten triggers an inflammatory process that damages the millions of tiny finger-like projections that make up the lining of the small bowel. We call this the "villous lining". Over time, continued ingestion of gluten on a regular basis results in the wearing down of these fingers which greatly reduces the surface area of this very important membrane. It is where essentially all the nutrition from what we eat is absorbed. So, losing this surface area results in inefficiency in nutrient absorption and often to medical problems related to nutrient deficiencies. Again, if a gluten-free diet is consistently observed, the villous lining of the small bowel should rebound. "We was informed that her body absorbs the gluten rather then rejecting it and that is why she doesn't react to the gluten straight away, it will be a build up and then the pains start. " That sounds like unscientific BS to me. But it does sound like your stepdaughter may have a type of celiac disease we know as "silent" celiac disease, meaning, she is asymptomatic or at least the symptoms are not intense enough to usually notice. She is not completely asymptomatic, however, because you stated was experiencing tummy aches off and on. Cristiana gives some good suggestions about ordering "safe" food for your stepdaughter from restaurant menus in Europe. You must realize that as the step parent who only has her part of the time you have no real control over how cooperative her other set of parents are with regard to your stepdaughter's needs to eat gluten free. It sounds like they don't really understand the seriousness of the matter. This is very common in family settings where other members are ignorant about celiac disease and the damage it can do to body systems. So, they don't take it seriously. The best you can do is make suggestions. Perhaps print out some info about celiac disease from the Internet to send them. Being inconsistent with the gluten free diet keeps the inflammation smoldering and delays or inhibits healing of the villous lining. 
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