Diagnosed with multiple food intolerances

[Welshexport]

In Feb 2019 I was diagnosed with food intolerances after being on Omeprazol for 25 years . 

Wheat, Gluten, Gliadin, yeast, eggs, and milk protein casein.

I live in Germany and am getting no help after years of complaining I applied for a testing kit from York Lavatories UK. After asking for years here in Germany I had to do something the Doctors just kept telling me that all my problems were caused by a Hiatus Hernia and Herd. I had stopped eating all dairy products 10 years earlier 2009 and this helped but in 2013/I felt that wheat was a big issue. But nothing was done about it I had an gastroscopy in 2013 and 2016 for the hiatus hernia I told the Doctor about the intolerances but I was ignored. I have lost 16kg in the last 18 months now on weigh 67kg. I don't know what to do I am on a very strict diet but it hasn't helped with the symptoms if anything the intolerances are worse.

I don't know if this is relevant but I have intolerances to most artificial sweeteners.

Ant advice would be appreciated

Thank you

Richard

 

[cristiana]

Hello Welshexport and welcome to the forum!  

Just one question first, are you a diagnosed coeliac?

Cristiana

[trents]

Welcome, Richard!

Yes, I agree with Cristiana. You need to have specific testing done for celiac disease. Celiac disease is not an allergy or an intolerance per se. It is an autoimmune disorder where inflammation in the small bowel lining is triggered by the ingestion of wheat.

There are two kinds of testing for celiac disease. The first is a blood antibody test: https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/screening-and-diagnosis/screening/ If the blood antibody testing produces strong positives then you can stop there and conclude that you have celiac disease. 

If the blood antibody testing in inconclusive then you should move onto the gold standard test which is an endoscopy (upper GI scoping) with a biopsy of the small bowel lining. Celiac disease damages the lining of the small bowel and this prevents efficient absorption of nutrients from the food we eat and often a host of bowel-related discomfort and effects such as gas, bloating and diarrhea. 

By the way, celiac blood antibody home test kits are available for purchase but I'm not sure what is available in Europe: https://www.testing.com/celiac-test/at-home/

Celiac disease typically results in the development of other food intolerances over time and there is a strong association between celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders such as thyroid disease and diabetes. 

And you must be eating regular amounts of gluten before any of the testing methods outlined above or the tests will be rendered invalid. Many make the mistake of going gluten free before testing.

Edited August 4, 2021 by trents

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum. I also wonder, were you gluten-free when you took the York test? What were the results? You do need to eat gluten daily until the celiac disease tests are completed.

[Welshexport]

  On 8/4/2021 at 4:36 PM, cristiana said:

Hello Welshexport and welcome to the forum!  

Just one question first, are you a diagnosed coeliac?

Cristiana

Expand Quote  

Hello Christiana

No not diagnosed I took my results to my Doctor and she just said I should see a Nutritionist.

I then spoke to my medical insurance here in Germany and they said that food intolerances were not an illness because they can be controlled through diet.

Richard

[Welshexport]

  On 8/4/2021 at 5:27 PM, Scott Adams said:

Welcome to the forum. I also wonder, were you gluten-free when you did the York test? What were the results? You do need to eat gluten daily until the celiac disease tests are completed.

Expand Quote  

Hi Scott

I wasn't gluten free I suspected I had problems with eating bread I stopped the dairy years ago. The York Test came back with the following intolerances scoring high in the red

Wheat gluten gliadin yeast egg yokes and casein milk protein. In the yellow were egg whites Buckwheat beef and some shell fish.

I honestly think that being on Omeprazol 40mg for 25years was disguising the fact that I had food intolerances. In 2013 I had an endoscopy and specifically asked to check for wheat intolerances but it wasn't done. 

I am fed up with my Doctor but I know that medical insurance has something to do with it.

So now I would like to have a blood test to check for celiac disease and to confirm the York Test results I don't know how reliable the company is but I do know that gluten and milk products make me ill I am off the Omeprazol 18months now as I was getting acid rebound.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks Richard

 

[cristiana]

Hi Richard

I think that because you have been on omeprazole for a while it would be a really good idea to rule out coeliac disease.   Here in the UK I have a couple of friends with gastric issues and coeliac wasn't even looked into initially - it took some time before they were offered endoscopies.  I know of one person who I believe just had their stomach looked at for ulcers and the scope went no further.  No samples of the villi were taken which to me is a great pity, because having gone to all the trouble to do an endoscopy, why not go the extra mile to rule out coeliac and take some samples of the villi?  Some of my coeliac symptoms are gastritis type pain, and might have been so easily written off with a gastritis diagnosis without looking any further.

I am attaching here a very important link from Coeliac UK which will talk you through how to get a coeliac diagnosis in the UK.   I realise you are in Germany, but I would imagine the system is pretty similar there. Unfortunately in order to test positive you will need to eat gluten containing foods for about six weeks prior to having the blood test.  It used to be said the equivalent of two slices of normal bread every day.   But, even if you have a negative blood test result after all that time, some people will opt to still have an endoscopy where  samples of the villi are taken, because a small number of coeliacs have negative blood tests, despite doing a gluten trial.   And even if all those tests are negative, you may still have a problem with gluten - it's called Non Coeliac Gluten Intolerance.  If the system is anything like that in the UK, a coeliac diagnosis in Germany should qualify you for annual blood tests, bone density tests etc as it is a medical condition - not a food intolerance.

https://www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/coeliac-disease/getting-diagnosed/?&&type=rfst&set=true#cookie-widget

Do come back to me if you need any further info.

Cristiana