Symptoms

[Erin3172]

Good morning, 
I am very new to this and I am going to see a GI doctor on the 9th. I have had multiple symptoms (not just abdominal pain). I know that symptoms vary person to person but I was wondering if anyone has had any of these symptoms as well. 

-sever abdominal pain (but not everyday)
-constipation/diarreah
-severe bloating (looking like I am nine months pregnant after eating)
-exesscive gas (little to no relief when passed)
-Night sweats--waking up drenched
-migraines/headaches
-feeling like I am constantly in a fog, fuzzy brained and lack of concentration
-feeling "flighty"
-petechiae on thighs, feet and ankles.

Do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone?
Anyone have any help/advise for me? or has anyone had these symptoms as well?

 

 

[bartfull]

Hi Erin, and welcome to the forum. Those all sound like celiac symptoms. There are actually 300 (!) potential symptoms, and there are some folks who have NO symptoms, even though they do have celiac.

My advice to you is to make sure you get the complete celiac blood panel. It's amazing how many doctors only order one or two tests, yet there are folks here who tested positive on only one of them. So you need them all, and someone will be along soon to tell you what those tests are. (I had a list on my old computer that crashed so I lost it.)

Also, be sure you continue to eat gluten until ALL testing is done. Usually after you test positive (and sometimes even if you don't) the doctor will order an endoscopy with biopsy, so don't quit gluten until that is done.

Now, if you go to the coping section here you'll see a thread pinned to the top called, "Newbie 101". It'll help you prepare your mind for the gluten-free diet should you need it. There are a bunch of links in some of the posts there. Be sure you click on all of them.

I think one of the links is to the University of Chicago Celiac Center. Those guys are the number one source of info and research. Basically the best of the best. Check them out too.

I hope for your sake that you DO have celiac. Why you may ask? Because it is the easiest to treat! You won't need surgery. You won't need medications with all of their nasty side effects. You'll just need a gluten-free diet which is actually pretty easy compared to the old days because labeling has improved, there is a ton of new and delicious gluten-free food on the market, and the recipes have gotten better.

I'm not saying it will be easy at FIRST. We all had a hard time emotionally at the beginning. But give it a few months and you'll be an old hand at shopping and cooking really tasty meals and desserts. And if you DO have celiac, you're going to start feeling better to boot.

[cyclinglady]

Here is the list:

 

-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA and (tTG) IgG

-Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) IgA and (DGP) IgG

-EMA IgA 

-total serum IgA and IgG (control tests)

 

-AGA IGA and AGA IgG - older and less reliable tests largely replaced by the DGP tests

 

-endoscopic biopsy - make sure at least 6 samples are taken

 

VERY IMPORTANT:  Keep eating gluten daily until ALL testing is complete or the tests can be inaccurate.  

 

(Source: NVSMOM -- ?)

 

Welcome to the forum and let us know how it goes!