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Symptoms


Bro90

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Bro90 Newbie

I’ve been sick for the past 6/7 months with stomach cramps at the bottom of my ribs, in between them. The best way to describe them is a wave then squeeze and it can keep me up all night. I’ve also had heartburn and indigestion almost constantly, even without food - it’s there. Ive had some bloating where my stomach goes rock hard and I look pregnant when this happens. As well as this nausea. I’ve not had any bowl issues except for one day where I was in agony all night but I put that down to having spicy food after cutting it out months previous due to doctors orders, to have no acidic food, spicy or alcohol.

another weird thing, Ives found exercise really hard, I get cramps in my stomach after a few minutes.

I’ve had blood tests, tried heartburn remedies, IBS things, had an ultrasound found had no issues. My doctor is now concerned it may be Celiac, this is the first I’ve heard of it. The main symptom is diarrhea which I don’t have, can you have celiac without that symptom?  


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Scott Adams Grand Master

I agree with your doctor and your symptoms sound very typical of celiac disease symptoms. Be sure to keep eating gluten daily until all of your testing is completed, otherwise you may end up with false negative results. Also many celiacs don’t have any symptoms so the fact that you do have classic symptoms definitely means you should get a blood screening for it. This link has the standard protocol testing so you may want to show it to your doctor: 

 

  • 2 weeks later...
Mandz Newbie

Hi, I am similar to the initial post, back in June 2020 started with  digestive / stomach issues. Was tested for helicobacter pylori.. was positive..got ppi’s and and antibiotics.. still had issues… got different course of meds… they didn’t work ..eventually got put for an endoscopy in sept  this year to take biopsies.. (they were still convinced it was helicobacter) .. results 5 weeks later was negative for helicobacter but no mention of any other findings. So they then suggested coeliac disease. Did not tell me to continue with gluten, and I stopped it..for about 7 days.. I could feel a start to relief. But saw on here I needed gluten in my system for an accurate result. So now have to eat x2 gluten daily for blood tests in January. 
my symptoms are  all day non stop severe bloating,a fuzzy feeling in stomach,  (below my ribs)a cramping/ tight feeling and if my tummy is flipping upside down/ sideways. Indigestion, severe flatulence, headaches, fatigue, and apathy..I have no motivation for anything I used to enjoy, and anxiety. No diarrhoea as such , but soft fluffy bowel movements . 
im not sure I can cope eating food until January as the pain and discomfort is increasing and usually worse after eating a meal . Does it sound familiar to coeliac disease symptoms? 

Scott Adams Grand Master

Welcome to the forum @Mandz. Your symptoms definitely sound consistent with celiac disease. Is there any way you could get your doctor to do your blood test sooner? 

I fully understand how you feel, but keep in mind that once you go gluten-free you can’t be tested for celiac disease.

Mandz Newbie

Cannot get a test sooner, getting GP or nurse appointments right now are 3-4 weeks from calling surgery, it’s terrible hence suffering so long 🤦‍♀️ I’ll do my best to persevere but omg it’s going to be difficult . I am convinced it’s coeliac or an intolerance .

trents Grand Master
1 hour ago, Scott Adams said:

Welcome to the forum @Mandz. Your symptoms definitely sound consistent with celiac disease. Is there any way you could get your doctor to do your blood test sooner? 

I fully understand how you feel, but keep in mind that once you go gluten-free you can be tested for celiac disease.

Scott, I think you have a typo here and meant to say "one you go gluten-free you cannot be tested for celiac disease."

  • 4 months later...
KKMom Newbie

I was diagnosed with celiac a couple weeks ago.I have felt  sick for a long time.The nausea ,fatigue, weight loss ,anxiety,depression and just feel strange overall. I am going to see a dietician on Tuesday. So I understand the feeling of not enjoying anything and just feeling sick.I have always been very active and  at 64 I could run circles around most people.l just feel unsteady and just weird and shaky. How long does it take to feel better? I have stopped eating gluten.


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trents Grand Master
(edited)

Welcome to the forum, KKmom!

You should start feeling better soon if you are truly avoiding gluten but complete healing of the small bowel villi often takes around 2 years. Studies show that most people who believe they are eating gluten free are really practicing a lower gluten diet. Chief among the risk scenarios seems to be eating out. Mostly, it's because they aren't aware of the ways gluten is hidden in the food supply and they aren't careful about CC (cross contamination). There is actually more of a learning curve than most beginners realize. This may help:

 

Edited by trents
Scott Adams Grand Master
On 12/3/2021 at 4:00 PM, trents said:

Scott, I think you have a typo here and meant to say "one you go gluten-free you cannot be tested for celiac disease."

Once you go GF…

knitty kitty Grand Master

@KKMom,

Welcome to the forum!  

So sorry you feel poorly.  It's good that you are seeing a dietician soon.  

Gluten can act as an opioid.  Once gluten free, you can feel really run through the wringer.   While you're healing, you may benefit from eating easy to digest foods, soups and stews.  You might find dairy causes problems.  Some of us suffer lactose intolerance and find the undigested lactose is fermented by intestinal bacteria causing bloating, gas, and diarrhea.  Some of us develop a reaction to a protein in dairy, casein.  Casein can sometimes cause a reaction like gluten does.  Our bodies can confuse casein and gluten because they have similar shapes.  Eating Dairy Free is beneficial in the early months of healing.  Going grain free may be beneficial as well.

I've found going on the Autoimmune Protocol diet very helpful.  The AIP diet was developed by a doctor (Dr. Sarah Ballantyne) with Celiac and Celiac children.  Her book is called"The Paleo Approach."  It's been scientifically proven to help reduce inflammation and promote healing in the intestines.  

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/aip-diet-autoimmune-protocol-diet

And...

https://www.thepaleomom.com/start-here/the-autoimmune-protocol/

Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!

KKMom Newbie

Thank you for all of the information on dairy and the Paleo Approach and more.I have not eaten any gluten for nine days now and still feel really bad. I am not eating much at all.My bloodwork came back good concerning vitamins. I am trying to be positive and will do what I need to do to feel good again but what is funny is I can’t really remember when I felt good

knitty kitty Grand Master
(edited)

Doctors routinely check only Vitamins D and B12.  Because these are exceptional vitamins in that they can be stored for years in the liver, testing for only these two vitamins don't accurately reflect deficiencies in the other vitamins. 

Blood work doesn't reflect actual vitamin levels inside tissues and organs where vitamins are actually used. 

Many vitamin deficiency symptoms can appear BEFORE deficiency symptoms appear in the blood. 

The eight essential B vitamins are water soluble and easily lost with diarrhea and vomiting.  They cannot be stored for very long in the body, so we need to consume them every day.  We need more of them when we're sick or under emotional and physical stress.  

Thiamine, Vitamin B1, can occur in as little as nine days.  Every cell in our bodies utilize Thiamine for energy and enzymes.  

Our bodies will confiscate vitamins from our tissues and organs in order to keep a constant level in the bloodstream to supply important organs like the brain and heart while the tissues and organs go without.    

A gluten free B Complex will ensure that our bodies get the vitamins we need.  Celiac Disease damages the small intestine where vitamins are usually absorbed.  Supplementing in the early stages of healing provides what our bodies need.  

Keep in mind that gluten containing products are required by law to be enriched with vitamins lost in processing.  Another way to say this is...Wheat products have vitamins supplements added to them! Since cutting gluten out of your diet, you are no longer getting these vitamin supplements.

Do discuss supplementation with your doctor or nutritionist.  

Hope you feel better soon.  Keep us posted on your progress.

P.S. these symptoms you mentioned are symptoms of vitamin deficiencies....

"nausea, fatigue, weight loss, anxiety, depression and just feel strange overall"

The earliest symptoms of Thiamine deficiency is nausea, fatigue, anxiety, weight loss and depression.  These are symptoms I had, too, when I was trying to recover.  As a microbiologist, I recognized them before my doctors did.  

Edited by knitty kitty
Added post script
KKMom Newbie
57 minutes ago, knitty kitty said:

Doctors routinely check only Vitamins D and B12.  Because these are exceptional vitamins in that they can be stored for years in the liver, testing for only these two vitamins don't accurately reflect deficiencies in the other vitamins. 

Blood work doesn't reflect actual vitamin levels inside tissues and organs where vitamins are actually used. 

Many vitamin deficiency symptoms can appear BEFORE deficiency symptoms appear in the blood. 

The eight essential B vitamins are water soluble and easily lost with diarrhea and vomiting.  They cannot be stored for very long in the body, so we need to consume them every day.  We need more of them when we're sick or under emotional and physical stress.  

Thiamine, Vitamin B1, can occur in as little as nine days.  Every cell in our bodies utilize Thiamine for energy and enzymes.  

Our bodies will confiscate vitamins from our tissues and organs in order to keep a constant level in the bloodstream to supply important organs like the brain and heart while the tissues and organs go without.    

A gluten free B Complex will ensure that our bodies get the vitamins we need.  Celiac Disease damages the small intestine where vitamins are usually absorbed.  Supplementing in the early stages of healing provides what our bodies need.  

Keep in mind that gluten containing products are required by law to be enriched with vitamins lost in processing.  Another way to say this is...Wheat products have vitamins supplements added to them! Since cutting gluten out of your diet, you are no longer getting these vitamin supplements.

Do discuss supplementation with your doctor or nutritionist.  

Hope you feel better soon.  Keep us posted on your progress.

P.S. these symptoms you mentioned are symptoms of vitamin deficiencies....

"nausea, fatigue, weight loss, anxiety, depression and just feel strange overall"

The earliest symptoms of Thiamine deficiency is nausea, fatigue, anxiety, weight loss and depression.  These are symptoms I had, too, when I was trying to recover.  As a microbiologist, I recognized them before my doctors did.  

 

57 minutes ago, knitty kitty said:

Doctors routinely check only Vitamins D and B12.  Because these are exceptional vitamins in that they can be stored for years in the liver, testing for only these two vitamins don't accurately reflect deficiencies in the other vitamins. 

Blood work doesn't reflect actual vitamin levels inside tissues and organs where vitamins are actually used. 

Many vitamin deficiency symptoms can appear BEFORE deficiency symptoms appear in the blood. 

The eight essential B vitamins are water soluble and easily lost with diarrhea and vomiting.  They cannot be stored for very long in the body, so we need to consume them every day.  We need more of them when we're sick or under emotional and physical stress.  

Thiamine, Vitamin B1, can occur in as little as nine days.  Every cell in our bodies utilize Thiamine for energy and enzymes.  

Our bodies will confiscate vitamins from our tissues and organs in order to keep a constant level in the bloodstream to supply important organs like the brain and heart while the tissues and organs go without.    

A gluten free B Complex will ensure that our bodies get the vitamins we need.  Celiac Disease damages the small intestine where vitamins are usually absorbed.  Supplementing in the early stages of healing provides what our bodies need.  

Keep in mind that gluten containing products are required by law to be enriched with vitamins lost in processing.  Another way to say this is...Wheat products have vitamins supplements added to them! Since cutting gluten out of your diet, you are no longer getting these vitamin supplements.

Do discuss supplementation with your doctor or nutritionist.  

Hope you feel better soon.  Keep us posted on your progress.

P.S. these symptoms you mentioned are symptoms of vitamin deficiencies....

"nausea, fatigue, weight loss, anxiety, depression and just feel strange overall"

The earliest symptoms of Thiamine deficiency is nausea, fatigue, anxiety, weight loss and depression.  These are symptoms I had, too, when I was trying to recover.  As a microbiologist, I recognized them before my doctors did.  

Thanks again.I also should mention I have had IBS for over 30 years and IC for many years and hip joint bursitis. It seems my joint issues are bad right now also. I am going to see a rheumatologist in May.My GI doctor is great and will discuss all of your information with him.I have no doubt my vitamins are off.You are so helpful and kind and I feel like finally someone is understanding what I am feeling.Last summer when I was in the emergency room so sick they did blood work and said it was all normal and gave me chips and cookies.They said if I could eat I could go home. Well I ate alittle and went home still sick,what a journey!

knitty kitty Grand Master

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a field test for Thiamine deficiency.  If a person cannot rise from a squat, thiamine deficiency is probable.  If one has difficulty rising from a squat, there is likely a thiamine insufficiency.  Thiamine is given (300-1500 mg/day).  If health improvements are seen, a diagnosis of Thiamine deficiency is made.  Thiamine is given for several months.  

 

knitty kitty Grand Master

@KKMom,

I've had ER doctors elbowing each other in the ribs, rolling their eyes and saying "What a hypochondriac!" 

One doctor agreed to check my Vitamin D level only after he had double checked that my insurance would cover it.  He was stunned by the test results, saying "Dead people have higher levels than that!"  And yet he refused to test any other vitamins or minerals saying, "I can't make money prescribing vitamins!" and stormed out of the exam room.  

Yes, I understand completely.  I've written more of my experiences (and research articles) in a thread I'll link below.  

Oh, healthy fats, Omega 3 threes should help with your joint pain.

I'm glad you found a home here.

 

 

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    • fritz2
      So what relieves the joint pain?
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @Nikki03! What was the other result from the other physician's lab work? The test result you report in your post is not a celiac disease diagnostic test. It is a test for IGA deficiency. It is also known as "total IGA". There are other IGA antibody tests that are used to diagnose celiac disease but if you are IGA deficient, their scores will be artificially low. Obviously, you are not IGA deficient so if there were other IGA antibody tests run they should be trusted as accurate unless you had been on a gluten free or reduced gluten diet before the blood sample was taken. So, if you have other test results, please post them along with (this is important) their reference ranges. Raw test scores without reference ranges are not necessarily helpful as different labs used different reference ranges. Here is an article that describes the various antibody tests that can be ordered when checking for celiac disease: As you can see, there are IGA tests and there are IGG tests. What are your symptoms? There is another gluten disorder known as Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) that shares many GI symptoms with celiac disease and is 10x more common than celiac disease. There are no tests for NCGS so celiac disease must first be ruled out by formal testing.
    • Nikki03
      I had celiac labs done and got two different result from two physicians. I have tons of celiac symptoms and suspected it for a while now but this has me so confused can you help?    my labs results read as follows  immunoglobulin A QN =419 which was off the chart high but everything but that was in normal range.               Thanks sincerely confused!   
    • trents
      As I mentioned above, NCGS stands for Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. Celiac disease and NCGS share many of the same GI distress symptoms but NCGS does not damage the lining of the small bowel as does celiac disease and is not an autoimmune condition, as is celiac disease. NCGS is 10x more common than celiac disease but there are no tests for it. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. We actually know much more about celiac disease than we do about NCGS. Some experts believe NCGS can be a precursor to celiac disease. The only known antidote for either is total abstinence from gluten. Joint pain is a well-established symptom of celiac disease, one of the more than 200 symptoms on a growing list. And many of them present as non-GI related.
    • fritz2
      Well, as much pain as gluten has caused in the past, there's no way in hell I'm taking gluten on purpose.  What is NCGS?  And are there any remedies to quickly get over the swollen joints? My joints are swollen and hot to the touch and hurt.  For about two weeks they were too painful to even think about using them.  Six weeks later, I still can barely use my hands.  I struggle to get a bottle cap unscrewed they hurt so badly.  Edema in my legs and the knees hurt to walk.  And that was probably a minor exposure as the wheat was listed towards the end of the "contains" list in very fine print we couldn't read without a magnifying glass.
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