Gluten Sensitivity?

[Karolina78]

Hello everyone

I'm new to this, and have come here to try to get some answers/guidance. I have an ongoing history of digestive issues and joint issues, going on since after the birth of my first child 9 years ago. That is when it all started with constipation/gas issues. Back then I put it down to stress. Then as time went on I noticed mucus in stool. I suspected these issues were coming from something I was eating, as it would go and then come back. Around the same time, I noticed a swelling of fluid on my knee cap. This swelling was like a sponge, and stayed there for a couple of years before disappearing. I didn't connect this with digestive troubles at the time but looking back can see that these things coincided, and marked the beginning of joint and digestive problems. After a while, I started getting looser stools on and off, which seemed to coincided with joint pain, in particular lower back, knee pain, and foot/heel pain. I noticed in particular that if I ate pasta, I almost always get loose stools 1 to 2 days later, accompanied by these joint pains. I also started suffering from aura migraines which were very frightening. I decided enough was enough and the doctor did blood tests, and stool tests, which tested for calprotectin, and blood. All tests came back fine, and I'm left wondering what on earth is going on. I even did a home test for caeliac disease which came back negative.  I'm still getting issues, I ate pasta 2 days ago, and have loose stools, sore back, sore knees and heel and foot pain.  All symptoms start to get better once stool is eliminated from my body which can take a few days. But every time, the joint pains etc go away....until next time. And because Iv tested negative for caeliac etc, I don't cut out wheat as I'm also a vegetarian and cutting out anything would be quite a challenge. In saying this, I have minimised wheat from my diet after what I can only describe as flare ups....and noticed an improvement. 

So what do I do now? Can anyone suggest the next course of action, since doctors seem reluctant to do anything further since all tests have come back fine. 

Any advise greatly appreciated!

Karolina

[trents]

You could be suffering from NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) which produces many of the same symptoms as celiac disease but does not damage the villi of the small bowel, which is the defining characteristic of celiac disease. The antidote is the same for both, however, and that the complete elimination of wheat, barely and rye from the diet. There currently is no test for NCGS. It is a diagnosis arrived at by first eliminating celiac disease as the culprit for symptoms. There are definitive tests for celiac disease.

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum. If you would like to get tested for celiac disease again, you would need to eat gluten again, specifically a couple of slices of wheat bread per day for 6 to 8 weeks until you take another blood test. If not, it’s likely gluten sensitivity and the outcome is the same—a gluten-free diet, as @trents mentioned.