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Tests came back negative but still feeling symptoms?


hersheygirl9

Recommended Posts

hersheygirl9 Explorer

My GI ran blood and biopsy tests on me. My blood tests showed no sign of celiac and during the endoscopy he said the examined part of the small intestine appeared normal and  he took two random biopsies of the second part of the duodenum. The biopsy came back normal as well. However, I've been noticing a thin film of oil on the water in the toilet and my stool looks fatty with little streaks of what looks like mucus. I know that this fat malabsorption is caused by many things but I just don't know what's happening right now. I get some pain and discomfort on the very lower part of the abdomen and sometimes on the sides or top left. Some in the center but very rarely. It's never sharp pains or excruciating but I'm just not sure what the problem is. What else could cause fatty stools? I still notice a little but of food but my stools are formed. And they don't float. I also noticed some black specks on my stool too. Looks like pepper but I'm not eating anything with pepper sooo. GI wants to run a fecal fat test to see if I'm really not absorbing fats. 

Is it possible I could still have celiacs. The nurse I spoke to said that that's not a suspect right now because of the blood and biopsy results. So if not celiac then what???

I'm a college freshman and the last thing I need right now is all these health problems and I'm just really scared so any advice or help would be great! Thank you!


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Ennis-TX Grand Master

It could be many things, from something as simple as a nutrient deficiency, or a slightly more complex issues like you might have a intolerance to something causing inflammation  and the formation of said mucus (Mucus can be a sign of bowl irritation also). You could also have non celiac gluten intolerance, if you still suspect gluten. Have you been eating gluten foods? How often? and do you notice anything within a few hours of eating said foods?  It might not be gluten related by a allergy, or food intolerance.

For now try keeping a food journal, write down everything, seasoning, beverage, etc. you eat with each meal and how you feel afterwards. Try each day rotating your meals and certain foods including staples like dairy, and gluten out for 2-3 days and see if anything changes. You might find a certain food gluten or otherwise might be causing your issues.

Also do you have any other symptoms? Swollen lymp nodes, joints hurting, rash, mind fog, etc.

ironictruth Proficient

What blood work? I find more and more reading on Here that many GIs do not run the whole panel. TTG, DGP, EMA  and overall IGA. 

6-8 samples for biopsy including at least one from the duodenal bulb. 

If you were not gluten free for long before the test, or on a challenge, the results are probably accurate and point to not having celiac. If symptoms persist, get a new GI. 

Do you have a gallbladder? Pancreatic enzymes been checked? 

A little mucous is normal. Generally we do not see it.  If you are looking closely you are probably seeing things you have simply not noticed before. 

What are your symptoms again?

hersheygirl9 Explorer
On 3/16/2017 at 6:48 PM, Ennis_TX said:

It could be many things, from something as simple as a nutrient deficiency, or a slightly more complex issues like you might have a intolerance to something causing inflammation  and the formation of said mucus (Mucus can be a sign of bowl irritation also). You could also have non celiac gluten intolerance, if you still suspect gluten. Have you been eating gluten foods? How often? and do you notice anything within a few hours of eating said foods?  It might not be gluten related by a allergy, or food intolerance.

For now try keeping a food journal, write down everything, seasoning, beverage, etc. you eat with each meal and how you feel afterwards. Try each day rotating your meals and certain foods including staples like dairy, and gluten out for 2-3 days and see if anything changes. You might find a certain food gluten or otherwise might be causing your issues.

Also do you have any other symptoms? Swollen lymp nodes, joints hurting, rash, mind fog, etc.

I have been eating gluten continuously every day for the past two weeks. I had a period of gluten free for about a month with a couple of slip ups because I was dealing with gastritis. I had a jelly sandwich earlier this morning and about an hour or two felt like I had to go to the restroom but it was just gas and it wasn't an urgent need. It just felt like there was some stool to pass. My stool in the morning when I woke up was very very smooth in texture on one side and that normal jaggedness on the other side. It was a long relatively thick stool. This is how a majority of my stools are. They are formed but the oily film is still there. I'm assuming they're formed because I do take a teaspoon of Citrucel twice every day. 

I think I'll start the diet rotation once I complete the stool test and see what happens from there. All of this is so confusing really. I don't have any swollen lymph nodes I don't think. My knees feel kind of weak but that's just a general problem I've had because my mom suffers from joint pains. But it doesnt hurt or anything. Just feels weird. I'm not sure what kind of rash you're indicating too but I've read about the celiac rash and I haven't noticed anything. I do have slight mind fog though, It's getting harder for me to pay 100% attention to work and such and I'm a little forgetful but I just always attributed it to my being so stressed about college and all these health issues that suddenly started. Thank you!

hersheygirl9 Explorer
13 hours ago, ironictruth said:

What blood work? I find more and more reading on Here that many GIs do not run the whole panel. TTG, DGP, EMA  and overall IGA. 

6-8 samples for biopsy including at least one from the duodenal bulb. 

If you were not gluten free for long before the test, or on a challenge, the results are probably accurate and point to not having celiac. If symptoms persist, get a new GI. 

Do you have a gallbladder? Pancreatic enzymes been checked? 

A little mucous is normal. Generally we do not see it.  If you are looking closely you are probably seeing things you have simply not noticed before. 

What are your symptoms again?

The doctor did an IgA and TtG-IGA test. I asked the nurse why the DGP and EMA wasn't run and she said it was because the TtG and IgA was normal so there was no need to test for the other two. I also questioned the two biopsies in terms of number and she just said that because of my blood results and the normalcy of the first part of the duodenum the doctor just took two from the second part which is worrying me because what if he missed something. The nurse and my roommates mom who is a physician both stated that if there is damage, it will be evident. And I know there's a lot of different info on the internet and I cant say that all of it is true since I'm not a doctor and all but it's just so frustrating and I know I should wait for the results and not stress over what I don't know but it's so difficult. 

I do have a gallbladder and I don't think my enzyme levels were checked. I got an abdominal ultrasound and that was found normal except a cyst in my kidney.

Yeah, I look very closely at my stool now and notice a lot more and it's honestly a little scary because what if these problems have been happening for a while and I just never noticed. But then, I never had any abdominal ache either until i got diagnosed with gastritis so I don't know. 

I have a little upper abdominal pain but that might be due to the h. pylori infection and gastritis I'm having right now. I feel a little nauseous after eating just about anything, again a symptom of the PPI I'm taking. I'm not very bloated either. That actually went down a few days ago. Might be because the GI told me to change the amount of time i put between taking the PPI and eating food. I still have gas but I wouldn't say it is excessive as I used to have gas before all this too as it is normal to pass gas. As Ennis_Tx asked earlier I do have a little bit of mind fog with forgetfulness and being unable to pay too much attention I think that's just a stress thing but maybe know. I hope its a stress thing. I've been so focused on these issues and googling everything which is a terrible decision for someone as anxious as me. I'm also 4 days late for my period. I don't know if all this leads to Celiac and I'm honestly soo worried but yeah.  If you could read my reply to Ennis_Tx I talked a little bit more of what I was experiencing. 

Any and all advice/help would be great. Thank you.

moosemalibu Collaborator

Sorry to hear of your woes! Ask your doctor regarding tests for your gall bladder and perhaps discuss possibility of colitis? If they ran the correct Celiac panel and your biopsies look good it may not be Celiac. But 2 biopsies is not a lot but for some reason most doctors don't do a large portion. 

hersheygirl9 Explorer
7 hours ago, moosemalibu said:

Sorry to hear of your woes! Ask your doctor regarding tests for your gall bladder and perhaps discuss possibility of colitis? If they ran the correct Celiac panel and your biopsies look good it may not be Celiac. But 2 biopsies is not a lot but for some reason most doctors don't do a large portion. 

Yeah, I'm going to visit my doctor at the beginning of april so I'll have to bring this up. I hope that the number he took was enough because it would be so terribly frustrating if it was celiac all this time and I just didn't know because he didn't take enough biopsies. Thank you!


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cyclinglady Grand Master

At 19 my niece was diagnosed with Crohn's.  They checked her for celiac disease (because of me), but all tests were negative.  She was still getting severe abdominal pain every few months (many ER visits)  but it was getting worse (but never daily).  Her 4th GI ordered a pill camera and found the Crohn's damage located at the very end of the small intestine (one year later and she is doing well!)

Now, do not freak.  I just offered it up as another possible test (pill camera) in the future.  Try to get some rest, eat healthy, and save your energy for studying until your April appointment.  

You can always trial the gluten-free diet since you have tested negative.  

hersheygirl9 Explorer
2 hours ago, cyclinglady said:

At 19 my niece was diagnosed with Crohn's.  They checked her for celiac disease (because of me), but all tests were negative.  She was still getting severe abdominal pain every few months (many ER visits)  but it was getting worse (but never daily).  Her 4th GI ordered a pill camera and found the Crohn's damage located at the very end of the small intestine (one year later and she is doing well!)

Now, do not freak.  I just offered it up as another possible test (pill camera) in the future.  Try to get some rest, eat healthy, and save your energy for studying until your April appointment.  

You can always trial the gluten-free diet since you have tested negative.  

I will keep that possibility in mind! I will talk to the doctor and see what he can do. Hopefully, my insurance will allow it or the doctor will actually give the test a try. Thank you so much! I'll try to relax until my appointment. :)

ironictruth Proficient

I did not realize you had H. pylori as well as gastritis. This, and the ppi's may be what is going on. Are you also on antibiotics?

Posterboy Mentor

hersheygirl9,

2 hours ago, ironictruth said:

I did not realize you had H. pylori as well as gastritis. This, and the ppi's may be what is going on. Are you also on antibiotics?

I agree with ironictruth I believe it is the affects of the PPI's.  They can be hard to get off too without experiencing the rebound wall.

see this thread from medhelp that discusses the problem you describe.

Open Original Shared Link

In short black specs can be a normal thing -- black stool is a medical issue.

The mucus film is mostly likely undigested fats this could be from taking the PPI's because your stomach acid is now too low to trigger the absorption of  them.

PPI's are/were only every intended to be taken for a short period of time. 2 months max or we become low in things like Magnesium which help us make energy.  Find Magnesium Citrate or Magnesium gylinate taking 3/day will really help your energy levels.  taking PPI's restrict your bodies natural ability to absorb important nutrients like Magnesium.  They even advertise this affect in warning labels now.

Also A strong acid actually kills most bacteria in 15 minutes.  Once your stomach lining becomes dried out it is suscepital to cracking and infection.  An injured/inflamed stomach i.e your gastritis (itis is inflammation) could be the trigger.

Taking Mastic gum can help with your Ulcer.  95% of ulcers are caused by an overgrowth of H.Pyori that has eaten a hole in the stomach wall.

Taking betainehcl (powdered stomach acid) can help you find your gastric tolerance.

see this article that explains how to accomplish this Open Original Shared Link

If when you first start the betainehcl it feels like someone is putting a cigarette out in your stomach it is the ulcer reacting to the stomach acid.

I also recommend reading chris kresser's work on "what everybody should know about stomach acid but doesn't" piece.

Open Original Shared Link

Eating low carb for a few months can help you get off the PPI's (especially if you are also taking replacement stomach acid ie. betainehcl capsules) because carbs ferment splattering the low stomach acid you know have back onto the esophagus wall (uncoated) unlike a healthy stomach that has mucus naturally.

this will only need to be done for 3 or 4 months max until your body can take over and begin producing it's own stomach acid naturally at a healthy level.

Begin taking Niacinamide or Slo-Niacin (3/day) at the same time you begin the betainehcl and in 3 months your body will have healed from the gastritis.

Stress makes us low in B-vitamins and B-vitamins help us with stress.

See this link that explains why this is so.

Open Original Shared Link

There was even new research this week confirming once again that B-Vitamins help us when we are stressed.  It is a totally unrelated health issue but it illustrates the point.

Open Original Shared Link

"B-Vitamins may have 'protective effect' against air pollution.

***** this is not medical advice but taking betainehcl for gastric support can help many GI problems.

I hope this is  helpful.

posterboy,

 

hersheygirl9 Explorer
6 hours ago, ironictruth said:

I did not realize you had H. pylori as well as gastritis. This, and the ppi's may be what is going on. Are you also on antibiotics?

I took antibiotics about a month and a half ago because I had some sort of stomach bug and was prescribed the antibiotic Amoxicillin-Clavulanate and prednisone, a steroid for ear inflammation. But its been a bit over a month since my last dose of either of those. The doctor doesn't want to give me a prescription for antibiotics for h. pylori until I see him in April which is really frustrating but that's his office's policy apparently.  But can PPI's cause fat malabsorption? That seems like very uncommon and far out thing? Because the fat absorption happens in my small intestine. Honestly, I really really hope it is the PPI's. However, the nurse said that h. pylori doesn't cause fat malabsorption so I don't know what's going on at this point. 

Is there any relation to all of this in terms of my period being late? It's never been more than 2/3 days late if anything it will come a couple of days early. It's at day 6 now which my tracking app says is within the normal but I don't know. I have been really stressed but how far back can that even push the period? 

I also woke up this morning with one eyelid swollen, my right one. With the upper right and a little bit lower too part swollen rather than the entire thing. It doesn't itch or anything and I don't have any discharge. It just feels and looks kinda swollen and hurts a little, actually. I think my left eye is also sswelling but I guess I won't know for sure until tonight or tomorrow morning. I've read that this can be a sign of a stye starting to form. I'm hoping it's a stye but any help? 

Thank you!

hersheygirl9 Explorer
2 hours ago, Posterboy said:

hersheygirl9,

I agree with ironictruth I believe it is the affects of the PPI's.  They can be hard to get off too without experiencing the rebound wall.

see this thread from medhelp that discusses the problem you describe.

Open Original Shared Link

In short black specs can be a normal thing -- black stool is a medical issue.

The mucus film is mostly likely undigested fats this could be from taking the PPI's because your stomach acid is now too low to trigger the absorption of  them.

PPI's are/were only every intended to be taken for a short period of time. 2 months max or we become low in things like Magnesium which help us make energy.  Find Magnesium Citrate or Magnesium gylinate taking 3/day will really help your energy levels.  taking PPI's restrict your bodies natural ability to absorb important nutrients like Magnesium.  They even advertise this affect in warning labels now.

Also A strong acid actually kills most bacteria in 15 minutes.  Once your stomach lining becomes dried out it is suscepital to cracking and infection.  An injured/inflamed stomach i.e your gastritis (itis is inflammation) could be the trigger.

Taking Mastic gum can help with your Ulcer.  95% of ulcers are caused by an overgrowth of H.Pyori that has eaten a hole in the stomach wall.

Taking betainehcl (powdered stomach acid) can help you find your gastric tolerance.

see this article that explains how to accomplish this Open Original Shared Link

If when you first start the betainehcl it feels like someone is putting a cigarette out in your stomach it is the ulcer reacting to the stomach acid.

I also recommend reading chris kresser's work on "what everybody should know about stomach acid but doesn't" piece.

Open Original Shared Link

Eating low carb for a few months can help you get off the PPI's (especially if you are also taking replacement stomach acid ie. betainehcl capsules) because carbs ferment splattering the low stomach acid you know have back onto the esophagus wall (uncoated) unlike a healthy stomach that has mucus naturally.

this will only need to be done for 3 or 4 months max until your body can take over and begin producing it's own stomach acid naturally at a healthy level.

Begin taking Niacinamide or Slo-Niacin (3/day) at the same time you begin the betainehcl and in 3 months your body will have healed from the gastritis.

Stress makes us low in B-vitamins and B-vitamins help us with stress.

See this link that explains why this is so.

Open Original Shared Link

There was even new research this week confirming once again that B-Vitamins help us when we are stressed.  It is a totally unrelated health issue but it illustrates the point.

Open Original Shared Link

"B-Vitamins may have 'protective effect' against air pollution.

***** this is not medical advice but taking betainehcl for gastric support can help many GI problems.

I hope this is  helpful.

posterboy,

 

As I mentioned to ironictruth's post I didn't realize PPI's can affect the small intestine and I truly hope it is the PPI's or lack of digestive enzymes from my gallbladder and such. I will look into these links and speak to my Primary Care Provider, hopefully she will be able to guide me. Thank you!

Posterboy Mentor

hersheygirl9,

This response will be a little technical and probably longer than it should be so hold on for the ride.

But I am trying to educate here and sometimes that requires a long post.

I will quote Jennifer Scribner in her entirety because I can't say it better than she does.  she writes for the bodywisdomnutrition website

I will let you know when I am typing again so know it is me.  But in short digestion is a north south process and when you think of it that way it helps you to understand it better and it works better that way too!

Quoting Jennifer

"Digestion: A North to South Process

By Jennifer Scribner on in Digestion

I started writing a bit about digestive issues and then I realized that I should probably start at the beginning and describe how digestion works when it’s functioning optimally. Digestion is a north to south process, but until I was studying it I didn’t really have a good grasp on how the organs interact with each other.

Digestion is a North to South Process

Digestion is defined as the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food. Proper digestion breaks food down into molecules that are small enough to be absorbed by the body’s cells. This is how we get the nutrients that are reassembled and used to make our entire body!

When training to become a Nutritional Therapist we learn that digestion is the foundation that all the body’s processes rest on. If you have a problem anywhere in your digestion it will eventually lead to other health problems. If your fats, proteins and carbohydrates aren’t properly broken down in to their individual parts, how will you successfully build new cell membranes, muscles, or neurotransmitters?

Digestion begins in your northernmost organ – your brain. The thought of food or the site & smell of food are what triggers your salivary glands to kick up production of saliva. When you put a bite of food in your mouth your teeth grind it smaller and your saliva mixes with it to lubricate things and start breaking down the carbohydrates. Chewing begins the mechanical breakdown of the food, sparing your stomach from having to do so much work. Notice the difference in how your stomach feels after a rushed meal where you’ve “inhaled” your food compared to a relaxed meal where you have taken the time to chew things a few extra moments. That bloated or achy feeling may be your stomach complaining that it’s overworked.

When you swallow, the mix of food goes down your esophagus and through the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) into your stomach. This is the valve that typically works one-way to keep your stomach acid contained (when it works inappropriately you get heartburn – more on this in a future post). The stomach is muscular and it moves and contracts to continue to mechanically break down the food, while gastric juice is secreted and these chemicals starts to work on it at the same time.

It’s important that the stomach maintain a very acidic pH of between 1.5 – 3.0 in order to work optimally. This turns the food into a paste-like consistency that is then ready to be released into the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. Since the pH is still so acidic, the pancreas is triggered to release some bicarbonate (yep, like baking soda) to return it to a neutral pH of 7 so the rest of the intestine doesn’t get burned. Then the pancreas secretes enzymes to further break things down, and the gall bladder secretes bile to emulsify the fats so they will be the proper size to be absorbed. At this point the food is almost totally digested and is ready to be absorbed.

Muscular action of the small intestine moves the components through and millions of tiny, finger-like, villi grab a hold of the nutrients so they can be carried into the body through the blood and lymph system. 90% of what nourishes you is absorbed in the small intestine!

The leftovers, which consists of undigestable fiber, water, bile, and old cells, gets pushed through to the large intestine, aka colon. Here the water gets recycled and missed nutrients get captured and turned in to vitamins K, B1 & B12. What’s left after that becomes the feces and exits to the south.

With the basics covered, I’ll get a little more in depth about stomach acid and indigestion in my next couple posts!"

It is me again.

Your digestive enzymes works best at a certain PH and when you take an acid reducer their affect is limited and hence the fat goes unabsorbed.

Medical/pharmaceutal companies know this and actually study ways to "reacidify" your stomach.

see this link  Open Original Shared Link

a strong PH is needed to help the medicine's we take work properly.

the livestrong website has a less technical but still helpful article on why fats needs to be emusified for good absorption to take place.

Open Original Shared Link

dr.heaney's blog simply illustrates (with graphs) for evaluating nutrient's affect see. figure 2.

Open Original Shared Link

By changing the PH of you stomach you shift the curve of absorption limiting your fat intake or lack there of passing the fat along to areas of the GI not equipped to absorb fat int he first place thus it passes out into your colon.... and finally your stool.

Nutrient's and fats in this case go through undigested/metabolised because they are not being digested properly.

there are two drugs I run away from when I get the chance statins and PPI's.

the news on PPI"s keep getting wore and worse.

Here is a great summary article on their long term (more than 2 months use) when people often take them for years and years.

Open Original Shared Link

subtitled "Is your antiacid making you sick?".

they can cause chronic kidney issues (latest news), dementia in the long term, increase your chance of Diff C. (like your H. Pylori only worse in the colon) etc.

quoting another site discussing the health affects on the heart.

Open Original Shared Link

"PPIs are commonly used to prevent or treat these GI complications, but PPI use may lead to pneumonia, micronutrient deficiencies, and osteoporosis-related fractures." not counting low magnesium Levels.

Read the label or listen to the  fine print/read the next TV add for acid reducers.

You need magnesium to make energy.  Find a Magnesium Citrate and you body will thank you for it.

3/day will help your energy levels.

Going low carb can help some of these GI symptom's you might be having because carbs ferment and splatter stomach acid onto your uncoated esophagus wall.

sorry to go on a tirade. go back and read chris kresser link and the 20somethingallergy link and it will tell you how to take powdered stomach acid to get off PPI's for good.

***this is not medical advice.

I hope this is helpful.

posterboy,

 

 

Jmg Mentor
15 hours ago, hersheygirl9 said:

The doctor did an IgA and TtG-IGA test. I asked the nurse why the DGP and EMA wasn't run and she said it was because the TtG and IgA was normal so there was no need to test for the other two.

There are two contrasting approaches here and I understand where your roommates mother and nurse are coming from. The TTG is considered the most accurate of the serological tests: Open Original Shared Link  It's also cheaper to run. 

However, there are some people that test negative on that test but who do show up on one of the others. That's why the preference here is for the full panel to be run. There are diagnosed celiacs on this board who DO NOT TEST POSITIVE for TTG so the decision not to run the other tests may be as much related to resource management as clinical best practice.

15 hours ago, hersheygirl9 said:

the doctor just took two from the second part which is worrying me because what if he missed something. The nurse and my roommates mom who is a physician both stated that if there is damage, it will be evident.

 

It's very difficult to even question medical professionals. They're doing their day job and see lot's of different people in a day, you're incredibly personally invested. They have knowledge and experience. You have some alternative viewpoints you've researched but little way to validate them. They have the terminology. etc etc. It's a very stressful experience and no-one could blame you for feeling stressed out by it. I do and I've had a lot of experience over the past few years. 

Try writing some short notes for yourself before you see the dr. Just some bullet points that you want to convey and maybe one sentence outlining the outcome you want to see. The more concise and punchy you are, the better chance you'll be listened to. 

hersheygirl9 Explorer
On 3/18/2017 at 6:39 PM, Posterboy said:

hersheygirl9,

This response will be a little technical and probably longer than it should be so hold on for the ride.

But I am trying to educate here and sometimes that requires a long post.

I will quote Jennifer Scribner in her entirety because I can't say it better than she does.  she writes for the bodywisdomnutrition website

I will let you know when I am typing again so know it is me.  But in short digestion is a north south process and when you think of it that way it helps you to understand it better and it works better that way too!

Quoting Jennifer

"Digestion: A North to South Process

By Jennifer Scribner on in Digestion

I started writing a bit about digestive issues and then I realized that I should probably start at the beginning and describe how digestion works when it’s functioning optimally. Digestion is a north to south process, but until I was studying it I didn’t really have a good grasp on how the organs interact with each other.

Digestion is a North to South Process

Digestion is defined as the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food. Proper digestion breaks food down into molecules that are small enough to be absorbed by the body’s cells. This is how we get the nutrients that are reassembled and used to make our entire body!

When training to become a Nutritional Therapist we learn that digestion is the foundation that all the body’s processes rest on. If you have a problem anywhere in your digestion it will eventually lead to other health problems. If your fats, proteins and carbohydrates aren’t properly broken down in to their individual parts, how will you successfully build new cell membranes, muscles, or neurotransmitters?

Digestion begins in your northernmost organ – your brain. The thought of food or the site & smell of food are what triggers your salivary glands to kick up production of saliva. When you put a bite of food in your mouth your teeth grind it smaller and your saliva mixes with it to lubricate things and start breaking down the carbohydrates. Chewing begins the mechanical breakdown of the food, sparing your stomach from having to do so much work. Notice the difference in how your stomach feels after a rushed meal where you’ve “inhaled” your food compared to a relaxed meal where you have taken the time to chew things a few extra moments. That bloated or achy feeling may be your stomach complaining that it’s overworked.

When you swallow, the mix of food goes down your esophagus and through the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) into your stomach. This is the valve that typically works one-way to keep your stomach acid contained (when it works inappropriately you get heartburn – more on this in a future post). The stomach is muscular and it moves and contracts to continue to mechanically break down the food, while gastric juice is secreted and these chemicals starts to work on it at the same time.

It’s important that the stomach maintain a very acidic pH of between 1.5 – 3.0 in order to work optimally. This turns the food into a paste-like consistency that is then ready to be released into the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. Since the pH is still so acidic, the pancreas is triggered to release some bicarbonate (yep, like baking soda) to return it to a neutral pH of 7 so the rest of the intestine doesn’t get burned. Then the pancreas secretes enzymes to further break things down, and the gall bladder secretes bile to emulsify the fats so they will be the proper size to be absorbed. At this point the food is almost totally digested and is ready to be absorbed.

Muscular action of the small intestine moves the components through and millions of tiny, finger-like, villi grab a hold of the nutrients so they can be carried into the body through the blood and lymph system. 90% of what nourishes you is absorbed in the small intestine!

The leftovers, which consists of undigestable fiber, water, bile, and old cells, gets pushed through to the large intestine, aka colon. Here the water gets recycled and missed nutrients get captured and turned in to vitamins K, B1 & B12. What’s left after that becomes the feces and exits to the south.

With the basics covered, I’ll get a little more in depth about stomach acid and indigestion in my next couple posts!"

It is me again.

Your digestive enzymes works best at a certain PH and when you take an acid reducer their affect is limited and hence the fat goes unabsorbed.

Medical/pharmaceutal companies know this and actually study ways to "reacidify" your stomach.

see this link  Open Original Shared Link

a strong PH is needed to help the medicine's we take work properly.

the livestrong website has a less technical but still helpful article on why fats needs to be emusified for good absorption to take place.

Open Original Shared Link

dr.heaney's blog simply illustrates (with graphs) for evaluating nutrient's affect see. figure 2.

Open Original Shared Link

By changing the PH of you stomach you shift the curve of absorption limiting your fat intake or lack there of passing the fat along to areas of the GI not equipped to absorb fat int he first place thus it passes out into your colon.... and finally your stool.

Nutrient's and fats in this case go through undigested/metabolised because they are not being digested properly.

there are two drugs I run away from when I get the chance statins and PPI's.

the news on PPI"s keep getting wore and worse.

Here is a great summary article on their long term (more than 2 months use) when people often take them for years and years.

Open Original Shared Link

subtitled "Is your antiacid making you sick?".

they can cause chronic kidney issues (latest news), dementia in the long term, increase your chance of Diff C. (like your H. Pylori only worse in the colon) etc.

quoting another site discussing the health affects on the heart.

Open Original Shared Link

"PPIs are commonly used to prevent or treat these GI complications, but PPI use may lead to pneumonia, micronutrient deficiencies, and osteoporosis-related fractures." not counting low magnesium Levels.

Read the label or listen to the  fine print/read the next TV add for acid reducers.

You need magnesium to make energy.  Find a Magnesium Citrate and you body will thank you for it.

3/day will help your energy levels.

Going low carb can help some of these GI symptom's you might be having because carbs ferment and splatter stomach acid onto your uncoated esophagus wall.

sorry to go on a tirade. go back and read chris kresser link and the 20somethingallergy link and it will tell you how to take powdered stomach acid to get off PPI's for good.

***this is not medical advice.

I hope this is helpful.

posterboy,

 

 

I will be seeing my GI in three weeks and my PCP tomorrow so I will ask them about their input. I will have to wait for my h. pylori treatment to end though i think before I can stop PPI.

Thank you!

hersheygirl9 Explorer
8 hours ago, Jmg said:

There are two contrasting approaches here and I understand where your roommates mother and nurse are coming from. The TTG is considered the most accurate of the serological tests: Open Original Shared Link  It's also cheaper to run. 

However, there are some people that test negative on that test but who do show up on one of the others. That's why the preference here is for the full panel to be run. There are diagnosed celiacs on this board who DO NOT TEST POSITIVE for TTG so the decision not to run the other tests may be as much related to resource management as clinical best practice.

 

It's very difficult to even question medical professionals. They're doing their day job and see lot's of different people in a day, you're incredibly personally invested. They have knowledge and experience. You have some alternative viewpoints you've researched but little way to validate them. They have the terminology. etc etc. It's a very stressful experience and no-one could blame you for feeling stressed out by it. I do and I've had a lot of experience over the past few years. 

Try writing some short notes for yourself before you see the dr. Just some bullet points that you want to convey and maybe one sentence outlining the outcome you want to see. The more concise and punchy you are, the better chance you'll be listened to. 

I think I will do that when I see my GI in a few weeks. My only concern is that I don't want the GI to assume that I'm undermining his knowledge which is most definitely not what I'm trying to do but so many outlets have given me so much different information I'm not sure what to do with it. I know he won't do another endoscopy to retake a biopsy but hopefully another full celiac panel and maybe a gene test? To completely rule out celiac or keep it as an option. Any suggestion on how to approach the doctor about my concerns? Thank you!

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    • lmemsm
      This may make you feel better about cross-contamination: https://nationalceliac.org/celiac-disease-questions/do-i-need-new-designated-pans-plates-and-utensils/ https://theceliacscene.com/rethinking-cross-contamination-no-need-to-be-so-careful/ I use Tom's of Maine or a toothpaste that states it's gluten free.  I have allergic reactions to some toothpastes so some of the toothpastes in health food stores are usually safer for me. They're typically gluten free as well. Spices can contain cross-contamination from gluten.  There are a few lists online of spices that are safe for celiacs.  I also grow my own herbs and use them in place of store bought when I can.  I think Badia lists their spices as gluten free and Spice Lab has some gluten free too. Knitty Kitty has a great point about nutritional deficiencies and B vitamins.  I got a lot of aches and pains when I got off gluten.  I tried to replace wheat with other healthy grains like teff, buckwheat and sorghum.  Limiting one's diet too much and not getting enough vitamins, can make someone feel worse.  A lot of the gluten free foods in the stores are made with lower quality ingredients than the wheat varieties.  I try to replace all my foods with homemade options.  Then I know the quality of the ingredients and which vitamins I may be high or low in.  Probiotics or prebiotics can help with bathroom issues.  Better to get them in foods if possible and not pill form.  My doctors keep recommending magnesium too.  It's not supposed to be taken alone, but they don't seem to care about that.  It's easy for vitamin D to be low too.  That was another thing doctors told me to take.  Unfortunately, they didn't monitor it and it went too high.  Again, better from natural sources like food and sunlight.  However, supplementing can help if you're not getting enough.  Some sources say to take D with K2.  You may want to have iodine levels checked.  If you add iodine, make sure to get sufficient selenium for thyroid.  You can get iodine naturally in most seaweed.  Nori may also be one of the few non-animal sources for B12.  Brazil nuts are a good source of selenium and you only need a few a day to meet RDA.  Some brands of nuts specifically say gluten free.  Unfortunately, there are issues with Brazil nut production and they're much harder to find this year. The more you can vary your diet the better.  One study said aim for at least 30 different foods in a week.  You might want to try kiwi fruit.  There were some studies that said eating kiwi improved mood.  It also has a covering which most people don't eat, so that should protect what's inside from contamination. I've limited my diet quite a bit over the years because of migraines, so I know how uncomfortable it can be finding safe foods.  However, I'm afraid limiting diets like that may actually be causing more harm than good.  It's something I'm trying to work on.  I keep trying to expand the number of foods I eat and my recipe repertoire.  I made a list of brands of foods that I've found that are gluten free so I have a guide when I'm shopping.  
    • knitty kitty
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    • Dora77
      Sorry for the long post. I’m 18, and I was diagnosed with celiac disease and type 1 diabetes (T1D). My transglutaminase IgA was >128 U/mL, EMA IgA positive twice, and I’m HLA-DQ2 and DQ8 positive. I’ve been completely asymptomatic since diagnosis, even when I cheated with gluten sometimes in the past and used to eat out(2-5 years ago) I don’t get the typical celiac reactions, which makes it really hard to know when (or if) I’ve been glutened. But for the past year, I’ve been the most strict with my diet, and that’s also when a bunch of new issues started. I eat completely glutenfree, never eat out, dont eat food that says „may contain gluten“.   Current Health Problems • Floating, undigested stools for over a year now. Dont think its related to celiac as it was like this since im 17 and not 13-16( i got diagnosed at 13). • Chronic back pain started gradually, worsens with movement, lots of cracking/popping sounds. Been ongoing for a year now. First noticed in the gym. • Abdominal bulge on the right side, not painful but seems to be getting slightly bigger. Doctor didn’t find a hernia on ultrasound, but it was done lying down (I’ve read those can miss hernias). Noticed it like 6 months ago, couldve been there longer. • extremely dry and mildly swollen hands (this started before I started excessive hand-washing), and bloated face. • Signs of inattentive ADHD (noticed over the past 3 years), now combined with severe OCD focused on contamination and cross-contact. • Growth/puberty seemed to started after going gluten-free. Before that I was not developing. Dont know if any of these are because of celiac as my dad doesnt have those and he is a lot less strict gluten-free then me. I also had pancreatic elastase tested four times: values were 46 (very low), 236, 158, and 306 (normal). Gastroenterologist said one normal value is enough and I don’t have EPI. Family doctor prescribed Kreon anyway (after I pushed for it), and I just started taking 1 capsule (10,000 units) with meals 2 days ago, but couldn‘t see effects yet because I’ve been constipated the last few days. Maybe because of thyroid. I don’t have Hashimoto’s. No thyroid antibodies. But I took levothyroxine for slightly low FT4 levels. My thyroid levels fluctuated between borderline low and low-normal. And recently lowered my dose so that may have caused the constipating. I probably didn’t need it in the first place, and am thinking about stopping it soon.   Current Diet Right now, I only eat a very limited set of “safe” foods I prepare myself: • Gluten-free bread with tuna or cheese • Milk and cornflakes • gluten-free cookies/snacks • Bananas (the only fruit I trust right now) I rarely eat other fruits or vegetables, because I’m scared of contamination. My dad, who also has celiac but doesn’t care about CC, buys fruits, and he might’ve picked them up right after handling gluten bread. That makes me feel unsafe eating them. Even fruit at stores or markets feels risky because so many people with gluten on their hands touch them.   My Home Situation (Shared Kitchen) We’re a family of 5. Only my dad and I have celiac. He eats glutenfree but doesn’t care about CC and sometimes (but rarely) cheats. My mom and siblings eat gluten bread at every meal. My mom is honest (so if i ask her to be cautious, she most likely would try to), but doesn’t seem to understand how serious celiac is. She: • Stopped using gluten flour • only cooks gluten-free meals (but they still heat up gluten bread and also cook gluten noodles) • Keeps separate butter/jam/jars for me • Bought me a stainless steel pan Bu we didn’t replace old wooden utensils, cutting boards, or other pans. The new they bought me pan was even carried home in a shopping bag with gluten bread in it, which triggered my OCD. It also has a rubber handle and I’m scared it might still hold onto gluten. Even if it’s washed well, it’s stored next to other pans that were used for gluten food/bread. Our kitchen table is used for eating gluten bread daily. My mom wipes it but not with soap. I’m scared tiny particles remain. If she made gluten-free bread dough on a board at the table, I’d still worry about cross contmaination contamination even with something under the dough and on the table as at one point the dough would probably touch the table. So I stopped eating anything she makes.   I know OCD is making it worse, but I can’t tell how much of my fear is real and how much is anxiety. Examples: • I wash my hands 20–30 times a day — before eating, after touching anything at home or outside, after using my phone/laptop. • I don’t let others touch my phone, and I’m scared to use my laptop because friends at school or my brother (who eat gluten) have touched it. And it annoys me a lot when others touch my stuff and feels like it got contaminated and is unsafe instantly. • I stopped eating while using my phone or laptop, afraid of invisible gluten being on them. • I wash my hands after opening food packaging (since it was on store cashier belts where gluten food is placed). • I avoid sitting anywhere except my bed or one clean chair. • I won’t shake hands with anyone or walk past people eating gluten. • At school, when switching classes, I wash my hands before getting out my laptop, again before opening it, etc. • I open door knobs with my elbows instead my hands   Job Concerns (Powder Coating, Sandblasting, Etc.) I’m working a temporary job right now that involves: • Powder coating • Sandblasting • Wet spray painting • Anodizing There’s also a laboratory. I don’t need this job, and my OCD makes me believe that dust or air particles there might contain gluten somehow. Should I quit?   Doctors Haven’t Helped My family doctor told me: “Asymptomatic celiac isn’t serious, if you have no symptoms, your intestines won’t get damaged, so you don’t need a gluten-free diet.” I knew that was wrong, but he wasn’t open to listening. I just nodded and didn‘t argue. My gastroenterologist (who’s also a dietitian) said: „If your antibodies are negative, there’s no damage. It might even be okay to try small amounts of gluten later if antibodies stay negative.“ Also said, pepper that says “may contain gluten” is fine if it only contains pepper. She was more informed than my family doctor but didn’t seem to fully understand celiac either.   Questions I Need Help With 1. Is it realistically safe to eat food my mom cooks, if we get separate pans/ and boards even if gluten is still used in the same kitchen? There will always be low risk of cc chances like that she will still touch stuff that was touched by her and my siblings after they ate gluten. And as there are gluten eaters in the house and she also prepares and eats gluten. So would opening the fridge then getting the food and touching the food be okay? So basically what i am doing, washing my hands multiple times while preparing food, she would only wash it once before, then touch anything else (for example water tap or handles) that were touched with gluteny hands, then also touch the food. I dont know if I ever could feel safe, I could try telling her how important cc really is. And I trust her so she wouldnt lie to me then be careless about cc, but idk how safe it really can be if she and everyone else keeps eating gluten and touching stuff in the house after eating. 2. Do I need to worry about touching doorknobs, fridge handles, light switches, etc. that family members touched after eating gluten? What about public places like bus handles or school desks? Or like if i went to the gym, I would be touching stuff all the time, so there will be small amounts of gluten and those would get transferred on my phone if I touch my phone while in the gym. But I want to knos if it would be enough to do damage. 3. Is an endoscopy (without biopsy) enough to tell if my intestines are healed? I’d pay privately if it could help and if i dont get a refferal. Or do i need a biopsy? 4. Could my job (powder coating, sandblasting, etc.) expose me to gluten or damage my intestines through air/dust? 5. Do I need certified gluten-free toothpaste, hand soap, shampoo, or moisturizer? (For example: Vaseline and Colgate don’t contain gluten ingredients but say they can’t guarantee it’s gluten-free.) 6. Is spices like pepper with “may contain traces of gluten” safe if no gluten ingredients are listed? Or does everything need to be labeled gluten-free?  7. Is continuing to only eat my own food the better choice, or could I eventually go back to eating what my mom cooks if she’s careful? 8. is cutlery from dishwasher safe if there are stains? Stuff like knives is used for cutting gluten bread or fork for noodles etc. I often see stains which i dont know if its gluten or something else but our dish washer doesnt seem to make it completely clean. 9. I wash my hands multiple times while preparing food. Do i need to do the same when touching my phone. Like if i touch the fridge handle, I wash my hands then touch the phone. I dont eat while using my phone but i leave it on my bed and pillow and my face could come in contact with where it was.  10. Do i need to clean my phone or laptop if theyve been used by people who eat gluten? Even if no crumbs fall onto my keybaord, i mean because of invisible gluten on their fingers. 11. Does medication/supplements have to be strictly glutenfree? One company said they couldn‘t guarantee if their probiotics don’t contain traces of gluten.  12. I had bought supplements in the past, some of them say glutenfree and some of them dont(like the brand „NOW“ from iherb). I bought them and used them when i wasnt washing my hands so often, are they still safe? As I touched and opened them after touching door knobs, water taps etc. It was like a year ago when i bought those and even though i was eating gluten-free, I never worried about what i touch etc. I know this post is long. I’m just extremely overwhelmed. I’m trying to protect myself from long-term health damage, but the OCD is destroying my quality of life, and I honestly don’t know what’s a reasonable level of caution anymore. Thanks for reading.
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