Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com!
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Lori HC

Recommended Posts

Lori HC Newbie

Hello everyone,

I am new to join this forum, though I have been look at your posts since I was diagnosed in September (it's now end of October). Just wanted to introduce myself. 

My name is Lori. I'm 43, female,  and have had stomach issues for my whole life. As a child, I was ALWAYS tired. My doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and just told my mom to get me into sports to help tire me out at night. I missed a lot of school because I was sick quite a bit, but got good grades so no one seemed to be bothered by it. Over the past 2 years my symptoms were consistently getting worse. Just before I had my gallbladder removed (gall bladder attacks that were getting longer), I started vomiting on a regular basis. Didn't seem to matter if I had an empty or full stomach or if I felt okay. I would be vomiting at least 2 times a week and chewing on ginger tablets constantly. Diarrhea also got worse but I didn't think much of it because I had been diagnosed with IBS when I was 20 and the celiac biopsies came back negative. I was taking 2 to 4 Immodium gel pills every day just to get through work. My doctor did numerous tests to find out why I was so sick all the time but no positive results for anything. She decided to send me for another gastroscopy and colonoscopy since it had been over 20 years since my last one. There, the doctor found out that I have a sliding hiatus hernia, ulcers, and bile reflux. He also did some biopsies which came back "blunted villi" so he recommended that my doctor send me for celiac blood tests. Sure enough, they both came back positive. This after a psychiatrist told me I should be tested again - years ago when the depression medication didn't work and my inflammation levels were through the roof.

Today I also found out I have osteopenia. I thought I had worked through the anger that I hadn't been diagnosed years ago (when it wasn't too late to prevent a lot of the issues I have now), but it has raised it's ugly head again. 

My question to all of you is, how did you get past the anger at all the missed/wrong diagnoses over the years? I would have gone back and insisted on the doctor doing something if I hadn't assumed I had IBS for over 20 years. Maybe I could have had children. Maybe I could have prevented the bone loss and hair loss. 

Also, did anyone find that their hair grew back? How long did it take?

Happy to have found all of you!

Lori

Here are my symptoms/related illnesses:

  • Depression (diagnosed at 19 with intermittent success with medication combinations)
  • Chronic inflammation
  • Joint pain
  • Skin rashes
  • Chronic fatigue
  • B12 and Iron deficiency anemia for years - I have had to take strong supplements for over 20 years.
  • Hair loss
  • PCOS (but I still ovulate so I'm wondering if this is true)
  • Insulin resistant/pre-diabetic
  • Very overweight beginning in 20s with difficulty losing weight for years (except the time I eliminated ALL grains)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Ennis-TX Grand Master

Welcome to the forums, glad you finally figured it out. I can relate on the anger and weight issues. In high school college I was huge, and had very little energy. That came off mostly before going 100% gluten free and when I  thought I was going to die right before diagnosis.
Anger wise I refereed to it as Mr. Hyde, diet and supplements kept it under control to some degree, but removal of gluten and my other 2 triggers got rid of him. I found the artificial sweeteners Asputame, and Asuflame  triggered him also. I found grain free diet, with plenty of happy foods like pumpkin seeds and cocoa nibs worked wonders with who I feel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jmg Mentor

Hi Lori and welcome :)

1 hour ago, Lori HC said:

My question to all of you is, how did you get past the anger at all the missed/wrong diagnoses over the years?

Yikes, this is the hardest question to answer. I think there's stuff you can do by yourself, but I found seeing a counsellor very helpful. One thing I did was write the world's longest rambling rant which you're welcome to try to get through. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
celiacsojourness Rookie

It's been years since my celiac diagnoses and I still get the occasional surge of anger, though more for the fact that celiac is continuing to be misdiagnosed in others than for my own personal experience (I had to badger for a celiac test when they were trying to test for stomach cancer instead - I was terrified!). It helps me a lot to write posts on this forum to help others find their own diagnoses and offer help when I can. I still have trouble trusting doctors, however :mellow:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      121,090
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Nicole K
    Newest Member
    Nicole K
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cristiana
      Hi @trents Just seen this - Boot's is a chain of pharmacies in the UK, originally founded in the 19th Century by a chap with the surname, Boot.  It's a household name here in the UK and if you say you are going to Boot's everyone knows you are off to the pharmacist! Cristiana
    • Denise I
      I am looking to find a Celiac Dietician who is affiliated with the Celiac Disease Foundation who I can set up an appointment with.  Can you possibly give some guidance on this?  Thank you!
    • Posterboy
      Nacina, Knitty Kitty has given you good advice. But I would say/add find a Fat Soluble B-1 like Benfotiamine for best results.  The kind found in most Multivitamins have a very low absorption rate. This article shows how taking a Fat Soluble B-1 can effectively help absorption by 6x to7x times. https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/thiamine-deficiency-and-diabetic-polyneuropathy quoting from the article.... "The group ingesting benfotiamine had maximum plasma thiamine levels that were 6.7 times higher than the group ingesting thiamine mononitrate.32" Also, frequency is much more important than amount when it comes to B-Vitamin. These are best taken with meals because they provide the fat for better absorption. You will know your B-Vitamin is working properly when your urine becomes bright yellow all the time. This may take two or three months to achieve this.......maybe even longer depending on how low he/you are. The Yellow color is from excess Riboflavin bypassing the Kidneys....... Don't stop them until when 2x a day with meals they start producing a bright yellow urine with in 2 or 3 hours after the ingesting the B-Complex...... You will be able to see the color of your urine change as the hours go by and bounce back up after you take them in the evening. When this happens quickly......you are now bypassing all the Riboflavin that is in the supplement. The body won't absorb more than it needs! This can be taken as a "proxy" for your other B-Vitamin levels (if taken a B-Complex) ...... at least at a quick and dirty level......this will only be so for the B-1 Thiamine levels if you are taking the Fat Soluble forms with the Magnesium as Knitty Kitty mentioned. Magnesium is a Co-Factor is a Co-factor for both Thiamine and Vitamin D and your sons levels won't improve unless he also takes Magnesium with his Thiamine and B-Complex. You will notice his energy levels really pick up.  His sleeping will improve and his muscle cramps will get better from the Magnesium! Here is nice blog post that can help you Thiamine and it's many benefits. I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advice God speed on your son's continued journey I used to be him. There is hope! 2 Tim 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” this included. Posterboy by the grace of God,  
    • trents
      I'll answer your second question first. The single best antibody test for monitoring celiac blood antibody levels is the tTG-IGA and it is very cost effective. For this reason, it is the most popular and often the only test ordered by physicians when checking for celiac disease. There are some people who actually do have celiac disease who will score negatives on this test anyway because of anomalies in their immune system but your wife is not one of them. So for her, the tTG-IGA should be sufficient. It is highly sensitive and highly specific for celiac disease. If your wife gets serious about eating gluten free and stays on a gluten free diet for the duration, she should experience healing in her villous lining, normalization in her antibody numbers and avoid reaching a celiac health crisis tipping point. I am attaching an article that will provide guidance for getting serious about gluten free living. It really is an advantage if all wheat products are taken out of the house and other household members adopt gluten free eating in order to avoid cross contamination and mistakes.  
    • Anmol
      Thanks this is helpful. Couple of follow -ups- that critical point till it stays silent is age dependent or dependent on continuing to eat gluten. In other words if she is on gluten-free diet can she stay on silent celiac disease forever?    what are the most cost effective yet efficient test to track the inflammation/antibodies and see if gluten-free is working . 
×
×
  • Create New...