New Doctor - Austin Texas

[TexasJen]

I am grateful to my doc for diagnosing me with celiac last year. It was not on my radar at all since I have no GI symptoms (I was anemic). However, he pretty much just referred me celiac.com, told me to start a gluten free diet and he'd see me in a year. He gave me no other advice and recommended no other tests ( I have since had that all done).

Any advice on a good GI doc for celiac patients in ATX or San Antonio?

Thanks in advance!

[Jmg]

Are you quite sure you need one Jen? Your doctor already sounds better than the majority I've encountered. He knew enough about you to detect celiac from anemia for one thing. I don't think there's a great deal of a role for a doctor as you start the gluten-free diet. Checking levels after a year to see how your going is pretty standard. Maybe a referral to a dietician for advice on how to adapt to the diet would've been of help though. 

Sorry by the way, I don't have any useful info, just love Austin and couldn't help clicking

 

[TexasJen]

Well, that thought did occur to me.....After me asking him, he did give me the name of a dietician but she knew nothing about celiac specifically and had no experience. She wanted me drinking kale and almond mild smoothies all the time but couldn't address some very practical issues.

Some of my more atypical symptoms (fatigue, joint aches) aren't going away.  Since I don't have GI symptoms I don't know when I'm making errors. I think I'm doing a pretty good job at following the gluten-free diet, but I have suspected in retrospect, that I might be making some errors - still not sure though. I need some practical advice on how to proceed from here (i.e. only eat certified gluten-free foods and all natural foods? - There are some things I like - like cheeses, dried beans, coffee that could be cross contaminated but I really have no idea if that is the issue OR take the plunge and go dairy free?). If I do that, how long do I need to be dairy free to decide if that's the issues - is 2 months enough?  Since it often times take weeks to recover from been glutened, it's hards to tell where the problem is....

[tessa25]

In my opinion, because you have no outward symptoms the only way to see if you're doing it right is to get your celiac blood test results so you know your starting point. After a few months retest the number that failed and see if it's going down. If it is then your doing it right.

[Jmg]

1 hour ago, TexasJen said:

I need some practical advice on how to proceed from here

You may already have seen this: 

 

but if not there's lots of good advice in there.

Best of luck with your recovery!

[cyclinglady]

I think you GI has done a pretty good job (better than most).  I got pretty much the same thing from my GI.  However, I give him credit for finding celiac disease, when I went in for a routine colonoscopy and he saw that I had been anemic forever.  I did not have intestinal issues.  

Coffee, dried beans (sorted and washed), and cheese are all safe food choices provided you do not have any intolerances.  The only way to find out is to keep a food journal and give up foods that can impact joints (e.g. Night shades are common).  Reintroduce them and gauge your reactions.  Everyone is different, so there is no easy way to figure it out.  

Have other AI issues been ruled out after a year of being gluten-free?  Are your antibodies still high (can take years to go down), but are trending downward?

[TexasJen]

My numbers at the time of diagnosis were >100 for both IgA and IgG. When I was retested at 6months, IgA was 0 and IgG was 6 so I definitely made improvement. But, weirdly, in retrospect, there were some times when I had made some errors in my diet - minor but possible cross contamination or like drinking a tequila that wasn't 100% pure agave...

Thanks for the help!

 

[Lexiola]

Hi Jen,

 

 

I know this is late but my doctor just referred me to a GI for similar issues if you'd like the name. He's located in Austin, TX off James Casey Str I think?