Symptoms... Sometimes?

[PopeFrancis]

I've joined this forum today (can't you tell by the username? Well I wan't going to use my real name... this stuff is embarrassing) to ask you all a very important question! I currently experience very VERY soft stool at random. I'll have it one day and then perfectly normal the next. Then back to diarrhea-ish the following day. It literally bounces back and forth. 1 good day, 1 bad. 4 good days, 2 bad. 5 good days, 1 bad. 1 good day, 1 bad. All the while eating the SAME foods...

 

Is it possible to be gluten intolerant and only experience symptoms sometimes? Typically when I eat a lot of whole wheat spaghetti I get diarrhea, but when I eat a pack a Ramen noodles I'll be fine. Both of these contain gluten, but only one (sometimes) makes me react. Could I still be gluten intolerant or is it likely something else that's causing my problems?

 

This summer when I went camping with some buddies all I ate was GoLean Cereal (gluten), hotdogs with white buns (gluten), cheezits (gluten) and of course drank a lot of beer (gluten). My stomach never felt better! I had the BEST poops of my life! (wow that sounds dumb, but I think its important information as to tell whether or not Im gluten intolerant). 

 

Oh and one more thing, I never experience pain after eating (something very common for the Gluten intolerant..?)

 

With all of this, is it still POSSIBLE that I'm gluten intolerant? Please answer, I'm at my wits end.

[1desperateladysaved]

I had 30 years of untreated celiac symptoms with virtually no pain as a reaction to eating.  I was always hurting tired and foggy though.  Have you had any testing done?  Your situation sounds uncomfortable.

[PopeFrancis]

I had 30 years of untreated celiac symptoms with virtually no pain as a reaction to eating.  I was always hurting tired and foggy though.  Have you had any testing done?  Your situation sounds uncomfortable.

I've had a colonoscopy done (nothing found). This whole thing started after a long stretch of constant anxiety. I'm starting to wonder if the diarrhea and occasional stomach pain is just from anxiety...? I don't know if that's plausible.. nothing makes sense.

[kareng]

If you think you might have Celiac, you should get tested for it. They usually start with a Celiac blood panel. Then, they might do an endoscopy. A colonoscopy doesn't diagnose Celiac.

[PopeFrancis]

If you think you might have Celiac, you should get tested for it. They usually start with a Celiac blood panel. Then, they might do an endoscopy. A colonoscopy doesn't diagnose Celiac.

I understand that a colonoscopy can't diagnose this disease; I can't afford any more tests. I just want to hear some input from those who are knowledgable concerning whether or not my symptoms match up. Ugh, this post has 203 views and only two responses? I'm very discouraged right now. I wish this wasn't happening to me.. I'm only 19 years old.

[mushroom]

You might not realize that anxiety itself is often a symptom of gluten intolerance.  There are over 200 symptoms attributed to gluten, and many of them are shared with other conditions and could be caused by something else, so it really isn't possible to say, yes, celiacs have that so therefore you must be celiac, or no, celiacs do not have that and therefore you cannot be.  I don't know of anyone who has all 200 symptoms (although some posters will swear that they come close ) and it is pretty much irrelevant whether or not you have one particular symptom.  I had no stomach pain for example, only cramps with gas.  Pizza used to be my go-to comfort food  but I couldn't tolerate pasta long before I knew gluten was the problem. 

 

The only way to know for sure is to have a celiac blood panel drawn, I'm afraid.

[powerofpositivethinking]

check out this list of possible symptoms  Open Original Shared Link   

 

hope this helps!

[GFinDC]

Welcome Pope Francis! I was wondering when you would show up!

 

As you probably know by now, it is best to get some testing done  for the blood antibodies.  Some people have no symptoms at all, and they call that silent celiac.  But they still have the disease and are still getting damage on the inside.  Symptoms can be very mis-leading when it come to celiac disease,

 

One of the affects of celiac damage to the small intestine is that nutrients are not absorbed correctly.   So people end up low on some critical vitamins and minerals.  That can cause anxiety right there.  Just taking extra vitamin pills doesn't fix it because the aren't absorbed either.  Celiacs tend to be low in the fat-soluble vitamins.

 

If you are in the Chicago area there is a free celiac disease testing clinic once a year.  There may be free or low costs testing in some other areas also.  You could check with some local hospitals to see if they have a celiac clinic can offer such testing.

 

Another option is to get a Bio-card do it yourself at home test kit.  They are lower cost but may not be available everywhere.

 

You could also try the gluten-free diet for 6 months to see if your body reacts positively to the diet.  You would need to be very strictly 100% gluten-free though or the test is not going to tell you anything.  You would keep a food diary of what you eat each day and also write down your symptoms and how you are feeling.  If you do a test diet it may be hard to go back on gluten for testing later.

 

Do you have any reaction to dairy?  Sometimes people with celiac have problems digesting dairy, once they have enough damage to the villi in the small intestine that makes the enzyme that digests dairy sugar (lactose).

 

By the way, does this mean Catholic celiacs may finally be allowed to use a gluten-free host for communion so they don't get sick?  Just kidding!