Is coeliac disease likely?

[kittycat94]

Hi guys.

Since 2016, I’ve had a lot of stomach problems and have been feeling really tired. The main issue with my stomach is that it’s really noisy after I eat and it hurts. I feel nauseous after eating, especially these days. I’ve vomited quite a few times in the past due to intense nausea. I also tend to be quite gassy - I assume this is what is causing the noise. I’m a uni student so I eat a lot of gluten. I have mainly dealt with constipation but sometimes I get loose stools after eating (just one episode though after a meal). There’s no real rhyme or reason to my abdominal pain or my bowel habits if I’m honest.

 

I’ve been to the doctor who checked for antibodies but they were negative at the time. I dunno if I was supposed to eat a ton of gluten in the weeks leading up to it though. I’ve also had blood tests for tiredness. My vitamin D has been very very low in the past but that time happened to be winter. I’ve just had blood tests due to feeling absolutely shattered recently and apparently my vitamin D is a bit low again. I’m pretty tanned and have been out in the sun a lot this summer so that surprised me however I assume it’s dietary vitamin D that actually matters? The only other thing that’s ever been a bit low in the past is my folate. But that was recently checked with everything else and apparently it’s normal this time. However, I did not fast for my recent folate, ferritin and B12 blood tests - would this have made a difference? I am seeing the doctor and will ask in person but I was wondering if anyone here knows.

 

The reason I’m exploring coeliac again is because I recently did 23andme which was given to me as a birthday present and found I have both copies of the gene most people with coeliac have. However I do know that something like a 1/3 of people without coeliac also have this gene so I’m not sure what to make of it.

 

I guess I’m finding it hard to ignore the abdominal pain now after seeing that gene result. What should I do? Nobody’s ever done a colonoscopy or an endoscopy on me. A colonoscopy won’t help with coeliac I realise but I wonder if maybe someone ought to look inside me just to be sure both my intestines are okay.

 

Should I drop it or look into this some more? I did get referred to a gastroenterologist but he said I had sectional dysmotility which sounds basically like IBS. I tried everything he suggested and nothing has helped. I haven’t gone gluten free yet but wondering if I should try just to see if I feel better. It’s so hard to commit to it though without a diagnosis.

 

If it turns out I should’ve been fasting for the blood tests, is it worth repeating them privately? Or paying for a coeliac panel privately after 6 weeks of gluten? How much gluten should I eat to get a reliable result?

 

Thanks everyone, sorry this ended up being so long 

Edited September 17, 2018 by kittycat94
Clarification

[cyclinglady]

  On 9/17/2018 at 8:56 PM, kittycat94 said:

Hi guys.

Since 2016, I’ve had a lot of stomach problems and have been feeling really tired. The main issue with my stomach is that it’s really noisy after I eat and it hurts. I feel nauseous after eating, especially these days. I’ve vomited quite a few times in the past due to intense nausea. I also tend to be quite gassy - I assume this is what is causing the noise. I’m a uni student so I eat a lot of gluten. I have mainly dealt with constipation but sometimes I get loose stools after eating (just one episode though after a meal). There’s no real rhyme or reason to my abdominal pain or my bowel habits if I’m honest.

 

I’ve been to the doctor who checked for antibodies but they were negative at the time. I dunno if I was supposed to eat a ton of gluten in the weeks leading up to it though. I’ve also had blood tests for tiredness. My vitamin D has been very very low in the past but that time happened to be winter. I’ve just had blood tests due to feeling absolutely shattered recently and apparently my vitamin D is a bit low again. I’m pretty tanned and have been out in the sun a lot this summer so that surprised me however I assume it’s dietary vitamin D that actually matters? The only other thing that’s ever been a bit low in the past is my folate. But that was recently checked with everything else and apparently it’s normal this time. However, I did not fast for my recent folate, ferritin and B12 blood tests - would this have made a difference? I am seeing the doctor and will ask in person but I was wondering if anyone here knows.

 

The reason I’m exploring coeliac again is because I recently did 23andme which was given to me as a birthday present and found I have both copies of the gene most people with coeliac have. However I do know that something like a 1/3 of people without coeliac also have this gene so I’m not sure what to make of it.

 

I guess I’m finding it hard to ignore the abdominal pain now after seeing that gene result. What should I do? Nobody’s ever done a colonoscopy or an endoscopy on me. A colonoscopy won’t help with coeliac I realise but I wonder if maybe someone ought to look inside me just to be sure both my intestines are okay.

 

Should I drop it or look into this some more? I did get referred to a gastroenterologist but he said I had sectional dysmotility which sounds basically like IBS. I tried everything he suggested and nothing has helped. I haven’t gone gluten free yet but wondering if I should try just to see if I feel better. It’s so hard to commit to it though without a diagnosis.

 

If it turns out I should’ve been fasting for the blood tests, is it worth repeating them privately? Or paying for a coeliac panel privately after 6 weeks of gluten? How much gluten should I eat to get a reliable result?

 

Thanks everyone, sorry this ended up being so long 

Expand Quote  

Hi! 

Celiac disease can develop at any time during your life if you have the genes and the environmental trigger.  When were you last tested?  Did you get the complete panel?  Know that some celiacs are seronegative.  

Fasting should not impact the tests you mentioned.  

You do have to be on a full gluten diet (about 1 to 2 slices of bread a day) for 8 to 12 weeks prior to a blood draw.  

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Learn more about testing:

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I hope you feel better soon.