slee11211

My son's friend's mom: " How are you? I know you haven't been well lately" Me: "Getting better, thanks. Found out I was full blown Celiac, so no more gluten for me. It's been really hard to get used to." "Really!? Because I went totally gluten free to get 'bikini ready' for our trip and it's SOOO easy!" Blank stare. (in my head: "Assholes wear bikinis??") Sigh. Celiac makes me cranky.

I was diagnosed at age 48. I had to push for alot of tests after doing my own research. I asked my doc to run blood work to test for vitamin deficiency. Major Vit D deficit which took a year to resolve. 50,000 IU's twice a week for 6 weeks finally pushed that up to normal levels of D. also, had osteopenia and I was always into working out etc but the inflammation was blocking calcium and vit D as well as other essential minerals to build bone, so make sure your bones are ok and your vit D level is ok.

thank you - yes, my doc is incredibly thorough (and a naturopath, so he believes in looking at the whole system). He caught the Vit D deficiency right away (that is result of the gut going flat...that's where your Vit D is produced!). So I'm already tackling that. Thanks for the words.

Slee, hang in there.

It's funny about the plantar faciitis. I was "diagnosed" with it and I had it so bad that I couldn't walk at times from 2004-2007. I slept with night braces on both feet for over a year straight in 2007. It made me wear running shoes to work. I had to stop training for a marathon.

After I was diagnosed it took me a few months to realize that I no longer had plantar pain. Now I wonder if I really had true plantar faciitis or if it was just inflamation from 30+ years of undiagnosed celiac. And people look at me funny when I tell them that going gluten-free eliminated my plantar faciitis but it couldn't have been anything else - it's too much of a coincidence. Also gone: mouth sores every week or two, constant smelly flatulance, daily D, stomach pain and bloating after eating, arthritis and daily back pain, anxiety and 75% of my rosacea.

I have luckily found a really good naturopathic doc that sees Celiac in a very systemic, holistic way....he says that the inflammation in the gut actually causes (or aggravates) inflammation elsewhere in the body (maybe it's a quick way to describe fact that your body is not well, and cannot tackle each instance of inflammation as it comes up, not sure). So yes, he felt that the plantar f. would go away very soon, and probably not return. He related it to the Celiac very clearly. Same with sinus inflammation. And yes, mine has been this bad for last 2.5 yrs too....and really not fun when you have a 4-6 yr old boy to run around after and take all over the city. This is my second summer of plans to run all over and really give this kid the summer of his life...derailed. It's sad. BUT....soon to be gone! I'm sure of it. As with each of these replies, it is good to hear the similarities....I just thought I was a mess, falling apart at 45, and a hopeless hypochondriac. So good to know I'm not alone in this. Wow.

I just found gluten free dairy free cheese. YEAH! I was thinking i would never be able to have pizza or cheese on a sandwich again. Yeah Tofutti! I like the scavenger hunt mindset!

melissa

thank god, i thought there wasn't any! so it's Tofutti cheese?

You might start reacting more strongly to gluten at first. Don't let this discourage you. It's your body getting stronger & your immune system more capable. I noticed that after a year, my reactions markedly decreased & now they're much lower than they were before I was gluten free, but that adjustment period can be hard. Good luck!
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Thank you. This is helpful. I think I must have been only seeing stories about how quickly this all resolves. I know better, because I'm not a twenty something…this will surely take time. But it's reassuring to actually hear this.

Hi all, Thanks to anyone willing to tackle this. Just diagnosed 3 wks ago (I'm 45), likely this has been going on since childhood…was always referred to by family and friends as a hypochondriac even though this MORTIFIED me. I felt like I was a warrior, strong, overcoming each new and constant physical and mental hurdle that was inevitably placed before me. Not a fun thing to go through…and it went on for so long that I've had years of chronic hives, bouts of IBS, crippling GERD and reflux, chronic sinus and other inflammation problems, stomach ulcer, lactose intol, chronic plantar fasciitis, low immunity so I catch everything, brain fog, fatique, loss of concentration. Doc says that because it went unchecked for so long, I've likely got Hashimoto's and have developed a host of other food allergies.

So, given that it's only been 3 weeks, I'm sane enough to realize that I will not be one of the "overnight relief" people with the glorious lifting of any and all symptoms 3 days into gluten-free diet….but I'm hitting the point of being a bit depressed over the multitude of things I'm dealing with, now that I'm acutely aware that they are NOT all in my head. It's like I have the freedom to actually admit that all these things are happening, they are real, and hopefully will now clear up with some time and energy. But it's a lot to take in. (obviously, part of "dealing" was a serious dose of denial! )

I don't have another visit with my new doc for a few wks (he confirmed all this on first visit, with all my bloodwork and tests in hand, sent me away with basic info and a good bunch of helpful supplements and said he'll see me in 5 wks) for awhile, so I'm hoping to hear from others here who might have started their journey in a similar spot. Wondering how long it might be before I notice any kind of a change…what to expect. I'm 45 and feel like the last 20 years were pretty much a blur except for the very lucky times I was in the care of people who were incredible healers (but still didn't know it was Celiac).

Can anyone share any advice or wisdom with me to get me through these few weeks. I'm also smart enough to know that after the initial ELATION of finding out I was not insane and that all I had to do was rid my diet of some irritants, I am now experiencing a bit of normal low….but it would still help to hear what the next year might hold for me…

Thanks for any input!