gluten free and awaiting a specialist

[not diagnosed celiac]

Hello all  I have been living gluten free now for 6 months, as directed by my family doctor after a 6 week elimination diet revealed that I may be celiac or gluten sensitive. I was tested by blood work,  which showed nothing, and am awaiting a specialist to get a biopsy done. I am no where close to getting into see her as it is cased as a non emergency. I have been constantly having bowel problems, rashes all over my body, low iron, weight fluctuations, no energy, depression  and anxiety now for 6 years. Have been a huge nuisance(imo) to my doctor requiring constant antibiotics for this,  creams for this "mystery rash" and either laxatives for constipation that would sometimes go on for over a week to diarrhea that would keep my home- no in between . It hasn't been easy, especially whenever doctors are so quick to blame all symptoms as mental illness. Even though I have continuously told them I feel my issues are something simple...  not a mental illness. Anyways long story short, after going gluten free I have had somewhat Nnormal bowel functions, less rashes around my stomach, been able to cut back drastically on my depression medications and anxiety meds, and energy has taken a huge improvement  which all is great! But .... I am constantly HUngry have gained 20 lbs and can no longer fit into most of my clothes. This is really bothering me because I am afraid I am approaching a weight problem.  At only 5'5" weighing 165lbs is large to begin with. Especially whenever I have two children and have only EVER weighed this much while being pregnant with them. I am 26 years old and just tired of not being myself. I am physically healthy and just would like my body to act it. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I said I am only 6 months into my journey and have definitely re exposed myself to gluten (accidently) many times in between. Much love. 

[GFinDC]

Hi not diagnosed celiac,

Welcome to the forum!

Your doctor should be sent to remedial celiac disease training.  Since that probably won't happen, I suggest you find a new doctor.  He doesn't know what he's doing when it comes to diagnosing celiac disease.

You should not have gone gluten-free before completing all celiac disease testing.  The testing for celiac disease depends on the immune reaction being active.  Removing gluten before testing removes the antigen that causes the immune system to react, and lowers the chances of getting a correct test result dramatically.  The University of Chicago celiac disease center recommends:

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• Prior to blood testing we recommend 12 weeks of eating gluten.
• Prior to an endoscopic biopsy we recommend 2 weeks of eating gluten.

In the case of a severe reaction to gluten, a medical professional may opt to shorten the 12-week challenge and move immediately to an endoscopic biopsy. May, 2013

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So you will need to go back to eating gluten before your endoscopy.  That may cause worse symptoms than before when you were eating gluten.  So it would have been better to do all testing before going gluten-free.

Can you search for a celiac disease support group in your area?  They exist in many parts of the USA and world.  They can be a good place to get a knowledgeable doctor recommendation.  There is also a doctors subsection of this forum where you can search to see if any doctors in your area were recommended.

[not diagnosed celiac]

Hello I'm happy to join, any help is greatly appreciated as it can be difficult by times for sure. Unfortunately, I have been told my doctor has definitely not been doing anything correctly and very backwards about Alot of things. I live in canada, and there are celiac support groups I have found but I am about 2 hours away from any. I live in a pretty rural area. Although,  I have still received some help from them , they prefer a diagnosis before helping out to much. My doctor has me on a waiting list to see a gastrointestinal specialist but whenever I called her office to inquire about an appointment time I was told there was a very long wait and that I was considered to be a non emergency. So I am waiting to get an appointment. I have seen a dermatoligist for some of my rashes and she said it was dermatitis and gave me different creams for them.  It is frustrating because I don't know how to go about getting a actual diagnosis besides this biopsy. I was told to request a different specialist, but supposedly there is a waiting period for most in our area. 

[cyclinglady]

Despite being overweight, a celiac can be malnourished.  Your body could be hungry for missing nutrients.  You need to eat wholesome foods that are naturally gluten free.  Avoid processed junk foods.  Fill up on protein and good fats and reduce carbs.  

I am in the U.S., but hopefully a member who lives in Canada can provide some advice about speeding up the process and obtaining a GI appointment.  Since you have been gluten free for six months, you might as well continue insuring that you avoid accidental exposure.  You can discuss a gluten challenge with the GI later.

i hope this helps.