Yes cooking everything from scratch has helped vanquish my symptoms. As for tips on managing a busy schedule and preparing fresh food -- I try to steam a lot of fresh vegetables most evenings so I have food in the fridge for a day or two. But I still have to do a lot of shopping since I buy so much fresh fruits and vegetables. Still, no matter how much you plan or set up a routine, food preparation to cope with my celiac still requires a serious time commitment. 

@cristiana, I'm glad your A1Cs have come back as normal!   Penicillin based antibiotics like flucloxacillin can deplete thiamine, but low thiamine won't cause high mchc.  But SIBO bacteria will take advantage of low thiamine and all those oats to become overgrown.  SIBO bacteria can interfere with iron and B12 absorption and may cause high mchc.   Certainly a head scratcher!  Hope the test results come soon so you can get this figured out! Keep us posted!

Dear Community, I hope this won't get too long, but I'd like to share a bit of my Celiac story to see if anyone can relate or has any input from personal experience, because I have been struggling for awhile now.  I was diagnosed at 28 with Celiac. I had been having gut problems for years but it took me awhile to take the step to get medical support. At the point of my diagnosis, my antibodies were at 1,118. The doctor said that I must have had Celiac since childhood.  Upon starting the gluten-free diet, it seemed, at least at first, like my problems exacerbated instead of getting better. Throughout the course of the last 4.5 years, I have struggled immensely with food. In addition to the transition to the gluten-free diet, I began having numerous other problems, including dairy, histamine, and potentially more: I am not so sure. I have struggled with fatigue, headaches, nausea, gut problems, extreme brain fog, and more. After about two years of eating gluten-free, I got a follow up endocsopy. My antibodies were still a bit higher than they should have been, but my villi had healed. So, the structural damage had gotten better, but my symptoms continued. To this day, I eat strictly gluten-free (of course), dairy free, and low histamine. Bloodwork has shown that my DAO and histamine liberator levels are actually normal which should normally indicate not having a histamine intolerance, but my body reactions to histamine when I eat it, and even eating low histamine I feel a constantly feeling of allergy/inflammation, even though I don't have seasonal allergies. I mostly eat rice products, low histamine nuts, potatoes and sweet potatoes, low histamine fruits and vegetables, eggs, chicken, and simple spices and oils.  I have struggled with brain fog, fatigue, rosacea, and headaches. The headaches have improved some. The doctor also found some deficiencies like Iron, Omega 3, and coenzyme Q10, so I am taking supplements fot those now.  Another doctor found mold toxicity and I have been trying to take measures to detoxify as well.  The last time my antibodies were checked, they were at 8, though I eat very strictly gluten-free.  Stool tests have shown a slight gut imbalance, but they haven't shown anything extremely drastic.  I feel like I react to products, even certified gluten-free ones, with symptoms quite often.  My doctor suggested that I switch to grain-free earlier this week with the exception of rice and quinoa. I replaced my gluten-free oats with gluten-free quinoa flakes, and I reacted horribly, as if there were gluten in the product. The product comes from a very reputable brand known for their strict procedures and producing gluten-free products in a separate building, with consequent testing before sending out products. Why, then, I wonder am I reacting this way? I know it was the flakes because they're the only new thing I ate. After three days of eating them, I had several itchy bumps on my body, fatigue, diarrhea, gut pain, gas, instant neuropathy in my legs, and all the other things that go along with a glutening for me. I am curious if I am one of those people who reacts to products that have more than 10 ppm, since the product only guarantees being below 20 or if it is a cross-reaction with grains. I am not sure how to make this determination. At this point, I am not trying to figure out what the best is for me. Grain-free? Paleo? Just avoid these specific flakes? I think it is encouraging that my villi look better, but I simply don't FEEL better.  I have started working with a nutrionist who suggested that I do grain-free (with the exception of rice) for two weeks and focus on starchy fruits and veggies and after another week try and add back in a few fats like avocado or hemp seeds.  I follow instagram accounts of people with Celiac claiming how now that they are eating gluten-free they've never felt better, are traveling the entire world, etc. It is so easy to feel isolated and alone, especially when reading that most people feel remarkably better within 6 months to a year. This is not my story, though of course I sometimes wish it were. I don't need to travel the world, but I do travel a few times a year overseas to visit my family in the US (I live in Europe), and it's tiring. I would just love to have my energy, health, and life back. If anyone has any practical ideas or would like to share part of his/her/their story, I would be really grateful and happy to read it. Wishing everyone well on the Celiac journey, L 

Has this approach helped your symptoms to improve? Any tips for preparing food fresh and also managing a busy work schedule?

Hi @knitty kitty  Thank you, Kitty, and lovely to hear from you as well as trents on this one, I do appreciate your knowledgeable replies.  Haemoglobin A1C and HBA1c have both come back as normal, so I think I am OK there - although I'll freely admit that I love sweet things and if they ever design a test which shows consumption of carbs over time that would be very incriminating: I do need to cut back. The only fairly significant factor that has impacted my gut health recently was being stung badly by a wasp about about six weeks ago and  having to take flucloxacillin for a week - it gave me such a sore stomach and gut issues, and with the recent Oat Fest I haven't really been right since.  I seem to be a bit lactose intolerant again.  But I spoke to my husband this morning and he too thinks that we've radically cut back our red meat consumption, so I would think that might explain why I'm low on ferritin, at least to some extent. But the gradually increasing MCHC levels really ought to be looked at so I am very grateful that either my gastroenterologist or the lab have suggested the holocolbomin test as I understand it is much better at detecting the true B12 situation going on, maybe there has been a deficiency all along? Cristiana