Anyone Know What Causes This?

[bscarter46]

I read somewhere I think yesterday about someone with Celiac or maybe just an intolerance that has to read the same paper about five times. I also do this except instead of doing the page a lot I have to re-read most sentences and if I travel with directions I have to read the paper the first 3-4 times I go to make sure I know where I am going. I never use to have to do this and I have been reading books constantly since I was about 12 and I am now 23. All of my symptoms started after I had my first child 2 years ago.

Also starting a couple of months ago my left elbow will hurt and get real sore for days and this past week my right knee has been the same way. I have anemia, weight loss, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pains and cramps, headaches and sometimes in bed at night my left leg will tingle but not like it is going to sleep, and I get the urge to jerk it constantly.

My GI thinks I may have Celiac and after blood work came back both of my gliadin antibodies were both high, not extrememly but high enough for a moderate positive. My antiendomysial came back negative. I think I read I can still be Celiac but if not then with both antibodies high that I more than likely have a gluten intolerance.

Any replies would be greatly appreciated and I hope everyone is feeling well today!

[travelthomas]

Hi Beverly,

I do have to read things over and over, and I still make mistakes. Like yesterday I bought the wrong product even after reading the label 20 times! I

[debmidge]

Thomas, Where do you hail from now? Any of those exotic places? I'm just in New Jersey. Where's your next location? Do you stay anywhere a long time? What place do you like the best? Sorry this isn't relevant to the post subject, but your blurb about places intrigues me.

[travelthomas]

Hi Debmidge,

To someone in India, the Garden State would be an exotic place. I think it is all in how you look at it, and what your perspective is. I travel so much because I just can not stand to be cold, and I really like fresh air (Goa was nice, but getting there is way too hard). I

[wildones]

Thomas

Your lifestyle sounds intriguing to me. What will be bringing you to Colorado Springs ? I live in Boulder, you might like it here, it a fun place and lots of alternative organic, gluten free foods here too . There is a bakery in Colorado Springs called outside the breadbox, owned by the parents of a celiac patient. They also have casein free, gluten free foods.

[neff-terence]

Beverly,

I've heard that there is a link between celiac disease and attention deficit in many cases. I understand what you mean by reading things over and over. I currently take Adderall and have noticed a dramatic improvements in my attention deficit symptoms. I have become sharper and am able to retain information more effectively. This might be something to try.

Take care,

Terence

[lovegrov]

If Beverly or anybody else has untreated celiac disease, the reason for reading things over and over is not ADD (although I guess you could have that, too) but because you're malabsorbing vital nutrients that you need for everything from walking to thinking. You have brain fog, a very common symptom of celiac. IF you have celiac, this will not ever clear -- and in fact will get worse -- until you go gluten-free. By the time I was diagnosed my "brain fog" and fatigue were so extreme I couldn't add simple figures and couldn't think clearly enough to sustain a conversation.

ALL your other symptoms are EXTREMELY typical of celiac and the fact that both tests came back moderate positive makes the case very strong. I've read somewhere that two positives mean there's better than a 95 (maube as high as 98?) percent chance you have it. Gluten intolerance, in my mind, is nothing more than early stages of celiac disease. To make the case even stronger, you said these symptoms started after you had a baby. Childbirth is a known trigger of celiac disease in people (others include stress or a severe illness) who have the genes and are susceptible.

It seems to me you have two choices. One is to keep eating gluten and schedule a biopsy if you feel a need for further proof. Make sure you find somebody with the experience and who knows you have to take several samples, not just a couple. There's also the chance that a biopsy won't show celiac even if you DO have it. The second choice is to go gluten-free and see if it makes a difference, remembering that it will possibly take months to heal. But if you think you want or need the biopsy, now's the time to do it while you're eating gluten.

richard

[bob]

Hi Beverley

It stands to reason that if you suffer some or all of the classic symptoms of celiac disease it's going to affect your concentration. If you go round with gutsache all the time, or feeling nauseous and bloated, you're going to be stressed out, short tempered and your concentration will suffer (this is my experience anyway!) I ended up shouting at the kids and taking twice as long as my colleagues to do things at work and having to work late to finish them. I was gluten-free for 2 years until I learned the lesson not to eat anything that gave me these symptoms. Just because something's gluten free doesn't mean it's OK for you! Unfortunately most of the things I had to give up were things I liked the most, like cheese and Scotch. I'm still trying to get it right, but believe me it IS worth it, life's a whole lot better when you're not muddle-headed all the time!

All the best, Bob