You Guys Would Know... Do You Think I Have A Gluten Allergy?

[myreggie33]

Ok so here is my story PLEASE read I'm desperate for some input:

Even in highschool and middle school I have always felt like crap. I mean really. Achy and tired all the time. I've got the motivation to get things done inside... but NEVER had the energy, I would get tired easily, then I would always get this jittery feeling like I was starving even if I had already eaten, then I would eat more hoping it would go away. Then I got older and the same thing but MORE symptoms... my weight fluctuates like crazy, I'm always tired etc.

I worked for am Eye doctor and while I worked there developed scleritis. It's an inflammtion of the white lining in your eye. He told me that I needed to go to the regular doctor right away because people only developed that kind of an eye problem when a type of systemic inflammtion was involved. My chiropracter also recommended this becuase I had SO MUCH inflammation in my joints and I am only 24 (now and that was a few years ago).

I went to the dr,I told him ALL of my symptoms... which included ALL of the following:

Constant Constipation, but severe diarhea with laxatives

Horrible Headaches

Constant Fatigue, and random bursts of energy that don't last very long

Jittery Feelings

Extremely achy joints

Trouble Sleeping

Severe bloating after eating almost ANYTHING (stomach feels flat in the morning and ballons out after eating)

Forgetfullness

Trouble Focusing

Feeling starving even though I'm full

Weight loss and gain quickly

Depressed Feelings

Acne

Hair Thinning

Feeeling like I've been drinking when I haven't

They did colonoscapies (2 of them) and blood tests and found nothing. They told me to take laxatives everyday because all the inflammation was because of poor digestion. But I'm not satistfied. I tested negative for celiac and thyroid problems but had no clue until now that you can still have a Gluten allery. Beer makes me tired and cranky...if I eat icecream I feel tired and gross afterwards so is there a better chance it's a sugar intolerence??.... The worst part is that when I told the dr all these things he looked at me like I was crazy and just reading off symptoms for attention. I'm 24!and i'm not obese just maybe about 10 pounds overweight. I feel like I'm 80, I am a mother of 2 and feel like I just can't keep up.

Has anyone else gone through this or am I just losing it??? I am going to try a gluten free diet just to see because it's worth the try, I want to feel good and have more energy. I haven't been eating great, and yesterday I had 2 brownies and 2 beers last night and this morning I felt like I had strep throat and everything was sore and achy. I've also read into sugar intolerances.... I don't really know the difference and I NEED to try something. I feel like everyone thinks i'm a whiny baby

Any suggestions, input or help would be SO helpful, I don't know anyone with these problems so this is my only reference. Thank you!

Reggie

[Skylark]

Hi there. Yes, your trouble could be gluten especially with the bloating, feeling hungry, and constipation. If you're willing to try the diet, I'd recommend cutting out both gluten and dairy for a couple months. Start strict, remembering you can always challenge and see if you tolerate a little dairy later on. A lot of us find B vitamins helpful too, particularly B12. Good luck and I hope it helps.

[Kay DH]

Easiest (well, maybe not easiest but best) way to tell if you have gluten intolerance or sensitivity is go go gluten-free and see how you feel. Gluten is hidden in many foods, so it is not easy until one gets the hang of it, which took a few months for me. All of my tests have been negative, blood and endoscopy, but I cannot eat even trace amounts of gluten without a reaction. I do have the HLA-DQ8 genetic marker, but the GI said that only gives me a 10% chance of Celiac. My reaction to gluten is more pronounced now that I am gluten free. I like to think that is my body spitting the miserable molecule out. You might want to consider an elimination diet of dairy or other potential allergens at the same time. It only took me 3 days on the gluten-free diet so see the effect of gluten on my health; my joint aches took a couple of months to go away, my GI problems and brain fog a few days. There are reasons why only 3-5% of people with Celiac are diagnosed, and some of that is the accuracy of the tests and the knowledge levels of the doctors. As you may have noticed, a number of people on this forum are self diagnosed, some after many years of problems. My life is much better being gluten-free. I have more energy, get fewer colds, and don't have the mood swings that gluten can cause. Best wishes for tracking down the culprit(s). You might want to also consider keeping a food log so you can determine what you ate before feeling ill.