Can Someone Advise Me...

[ana-ana]

Hi,

I desperately need some advise.

I've been having dull stomach aches and pressure in colon for the past few years. It's worse after a eat. I also suffer from constipation and haven't hsd diarrhea for at least 4 years, not even once. My other symptoms are chronic depression and anxiety for the past 16 years. And even as a child I was quite anxious, always worrying, but that could be due to my very strict father, whom I was terrified of. At 13 i developed eye inflammation (posterior uveitis), doctors did several tests but never found the cause. I have had recurring uveitis over the years and developed chataracts on both eyes. I'm 38 now. The past 5 years I have been getting numbness that starts in my hands and spreads to my whole body from my neck down to my toes. It stays for 2 to 3 months and dissapears very gradually. MRI of spine didn't show signs of MS. I've also suffered knee pain for a long time. Vaginal thrush was also a problem for me since I was a teenager, but that has resolved after a strict anticandida diet. Last year I had an endoscopy which showed a hiatus hernia and a blood test showed H. Pylori.

Depression and anxiety are my worst symptoms of all, and antidepressants never helped.

Do you think all of this could be due to gluten intolerance? I had bllod tests done last year but they came back negative. I asked for my levels of IgA to be tested and they were quite low. I read that they can be low in gluten intolerant people.

Started a gluten free/casein free diet a week ago, but my stomach ache is still there and I feel very irritable and down. The only improvement I've seen is my face, which used to be extremely oily has become drier the past two days and my severe acne which I've been battling for at least 15 years havw startwd to clear up. I would go for a biopsy but what if it shows that I don't havw celiac, what do I do then...

I would really appreciate your opinions.

Ana

[bartfull]

Ana, it COULD be celiac, or it could be non-celiac gluten intolerance. It could be something else entirely. If you want to get tested you need to be eating gluten. If testing isn't important to you you could just try the gluten-free diet and see if your symptoms improve. A week isn't long enough to see any results so don't let that discourage you. If I remember correctly, I went through two weeks of gluten withdrawal - headaches, foggy brain, constant hunger, and just an overall sense that something was wrong. Then that lifted. it was after three weeks of being gluten-free that I started seeing results.

 

But some people take much longer to see any relief. And if you have a lot of damage, although you may notice things getting better it could take a couple of years to completely heal.

 

You should also read the Newbie 101 thread here. It will help you to eliminate any chance of cross contamination. For example, if you are still using your old toaster, your old strainer, your old wooden spoons, you are getting gluten. If you use the same mayonaise jar that someone dipped a knife into after touching bread, you are getting gluten.

 

After reading Newbie 101, look around and read as much as you can on this forum. You will learn a lot. And ask as many questions as come to mind. We are here to help.

[nvsmom]

Welcome to the board.

I agree with Bartful, it can take a long time for symptoms to improve. I had some improvements in the first few weeks, but I was still having symptoms improve at 6 month gluten-free. This disease requires a lot of patience.... Unfortunately.

This report has lots of info on celiac disease and it's tests: Open Original Shared Link. Pages 11-12 discus the tests.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do,whether it is celiac disease testing or going gluten-free.