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My Journey Into a Gluten Free World

Entries in this blog

A Diagnosis? Or Not........

FINALLY! A call from the GI doc's office (8/22) and the nurse tells me "it looks like you may have a mild case of Celiac Disease; try a gluten free diet for a few weeks to see how you feel." LOL I asked her to send me a copy of my results for my records, which arrived yesterday (8/25).   I was thinking that since this office didn't seem to know much about Celiac Disease, that maybe they didn't really know how to interpret the test results, and that by looking at them myself I'd see definitiv
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Waiting, And Feeling Worse

I had a follow up with my GI doc on Thursday, and he said that everything is 'normal' (colonscopy/biopsy, stool samples, blood work). We talked about the high values on some of my previous blood results and he said it was really nothing to worry about, but that we could do testing for B12/Folic acid levels. I pushed for the rest of the Celiac Panel blood tests, and his response was that the TtG IgA was the most sensitive, but that we would go ahead and do the rest of them anyway. (Gee, thanks.
ohsotired

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More Test Results - Normal

Got a phone call from the GI doc's office with test results from the stool samples and my colonoscopy biopsies. "Everything looks normal; no indication of parasites or colitis. Follow ups are usually scheduled for 4-6 weeks after the colonoscopy."   HUH?? All we've done is rule out some pretty bad stuff (for which I am quite grateful, don't get me wrong!). I still feel like crap, and now I need to wait 4-6 weeks before we talk about anything else?   I pushed for an earlier follow up ap
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Patience, Patience.........

Mine is wearing thin. I still don't have test results from the stool samples, and don't expect biopsy results until early next week sometime. It's been really hard to sit around and NOT dwell on the possibilities. And if those come back negative, what next? I still need to address having the rest of the Celiac Panel done (they only tested for tTG IgA), but other than that, and asking about some of the 'high' reports on my CBC, I'm not sure what the next steps are.   I just know I'm not fee
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I Survived My Colonoscopy.

This is intended to show the lighter side of my experience with having a colonoscopy. Please bear in mind it was NOT funny as I was going through it, but in retrospect, it's hilarious to me. I hope you find amusement in it as well.   First of all, let me say that I was terrified - TERRIFIED - of having this done. Other than a skull fracture when I was 4yo and having a baby, I've never been hospitalized or had any type of procedure done for anything. So I was freaked out about the prep. I wa
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Blood Test Results

Got a phone call from the GI office today.   Blood test results.......(drum roll)...............normal. No further details on what normal means or what all they tested for. I'm going to swing by tomorrow and pick up printed copies for my records and see what exactly they tested for.   Stool samples were dropped off on 7/21 so still waiting on those results.       UPDATE: I got the printed copy of the results. It doesn't appear that they ran the entire Celiac Panel. All that show
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Gi Visit

Today was my visit with the GI doctor. I think I like this guy. He asked a lot of questions, and took a lot of notes. I told him that there's a history of IBS in my family, as well as Diverticulitis and Ulcerative Colitis. I also told him that I'd been 'diagnosed' with IBS about 8 years ago. He asked me "How were you diagnosed?" I must have had a funny look on my face, because he then asks "Were there any tests run?" I said, "No, she listened to me for about five minutes and then said 'Oh y
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Doctor Visit

(I'm a little behind in posting, so this has been backdated.)   So I saw a doctor today. He seemed really receptive to the things that I was telling him, but he said to me "well if you think it's gluten related then stop eating it for a while and see what happens." I asked him about the possibility of that affecting test results and he says "Oh they can still run the tests." So obviously he doesn't know much about Celiac Disease testing, or the disease in general. We did no testing of a
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Make It Stop!

Six days back into a glutenous diet, and last night I wanted to die. With a capital D. I ate a ceasar salad for dinner that had chicken, feta and parmesan cheese, portabella mushrooms and croutons. I also had a couple slices of foccacia bread with asiago cheese on it. Within 30 minutes of finishing dinner, I had a stomach ache. Within an hour, it felt like there was a knife twisting around inside my stomach. By 11pm, it was lower abdominal pain and it was BAD. I felt nauseous, was freezing col
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Day 4

I felt better today than I have in years. My mind was clear and I could actually concentrate on something for more than a few minutes. Absolutely no gas or cramping, and I had more energy too. The only kink in the chain today was that Auntie Flo is in town so I had my usual back cramps and a slight headache. I had bad night sweats again last night, despite having the A/C set at 75 before going to bed. That makes three nights in a row that I got up in the middle of the night to change out of a
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Gluten Free Day Three

Being gluten free seems to be helping with my issues. I felt pretty good today. No stomach cramping or bloating, just a bit of C - but I actually went to the bathroom today, and that's a major accomplishment sometimes! (Ok, TMI, but pretty much everyone here goes through this, right?)   After doing some more research here, I've realized that my cystic acne issues popped up at about the same time my GI issues did. I'm thinking there's a connection, although I can't say I've seen an improvement
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Review: Larabar

I thought I would add some reviews of the gluten free items I try. I know there are other blogs out there that do this, such as Open Original Shared Link (and they seem to do an excellent job) but I thought I would do this just in case there are any other people out there that have 'texture issues' like I do. (If you don't know what that means, then I'm guessing you don't have it - I can try a protein bar and love the flavor but have a major issue with the texture - too cakey, too gooey, etc - w
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A Long Beginning.....

It's already been a long beginning, but it's about to get longer.   I'm not diagnosed celiac disease or even gluten-intolerant, but I've done enough research to suspect that one of these things is what's wrong with me. I plan on using this blog as a way to gather my thoughts in one place, maybe keep a food journal and review various gluten-free products I try, as well as, hopefully, help someone else along the way. It's a scary, lonely road (mine has been, anyway) and if I can reach out and h
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