Feeling Horrible So I Went To Doctor....read

[Guest ldeverhart]

Im a 25 year old male, I exercise and have had a balanced diet and good health all my life. Good health runs in my family, although my mother does have IBS. One week ago I went to the doctor after experiencing very uncomfortable bloating with a loss of appetite and sensitivity in my abdomen. The doctor ordered a blood test; normal gluten levels should be <20, mine are 60.

A) For the last year, I have noticed small red dry spots on my elbows and groin along with flaking itchy scalp. My lips get a burning dry feeling as well. One doctor said dermatitis, the other psoriasis.

B.) I have also had a lifelong battle with constipation.

C) My freshmen year of college my joints became swollen and I broke out in an intense itchy rash, which was never properly diagnosed at the doctors office.

D) When I was a senior in high school the skin on my hands peeled off, and I always had D.

I stopped eating gluten, and I am noticing the bloating is slowly going away along with the red spots and flaky scalp.

1) Has any one heard of all of this symptoms direclty involved with Celiac?

2) What is my next step in diagnosis?

3) It seems dairy is affecting me as well, should I delete that from my diet also?

[penguin]

Hello and welcome! You'll find lots of great information and great people, too. I'm 22 and was diagnosed in February. Did your doctor say you have Celiac, then? Did he run the whole panel? I run through your bullet points:

A) I get those red dry spots, too. I also get them behind my ears and neck. As for the burning lips, I have that too! They're always doing something wierd, it seems. Do you get red bumps on yours when they burn? I think it's gluten related for me, but not sure yet.

B.) Constipation happens almost as much as D in celiac.

C) Gluten definitely affects joints, and the rash could have been Dermatitis Hepa...someone else spell that for me...

D) I seem to "molt" every spring or so, I get little non-red bumps and then they peel. D is more of a problem for me, also.

1. Yes. There are over 200 symptoms associated with celiac.

2. Either get a biopsy or go gluten-free. If you're going to have further testing, you have to be on gluten for them to be anywhere near accurate.

3. Some people with celiac disease have to be off dairy permanantly, but that's another intolerance. Many celiac's give up dairy while their intestines heal. Lactose is digested by lactase produced at the tips of the villi, and if the villi are blunted, they can't produce lactase.

Welcome again!

[Guest ldeverhart]

Hello, thanks for replying and nice to meet you.

My doctor didnt come out and say I have celiac, he only ran a few tests and one of them was for gluten. Whats the whole panel? He had me get an appointment with a GI, unfortunaltely I have to wait a month and a half to see one; I dont think i want to wait that long when I know I could just go on a gluten free diet. What made you see a doctor?

[penguin]

The celiac blood panel includes:

tTG-IgA or tissue transglutaminase-IgA

AGA-IgG or Antigliadin IgG

AGA-IgA or Antigliadin IGA

Total IGA

I think there's one more? Maybe?

I went to the doctor because my stomach hurt unbearably for no apparent reason. They did a battery of tests and didn't find anything, just said it was IBS. Gave me antispasmodics, which helped the stomach pain but not the daily D. I mentioned food things to my dr and she did the celiac panel. My IgG came back positive, but nothing else did. Actually, I scored as low as you could score on anything else. I was diagnosed based on dietary response, but I was lucky. Now, I think my unbearable stomach pain happens when I accidentally eat gluten. I think I have other problems going on, but I'm trying to approach this as ONE CRISIS AT A TIME!

[DonnaD]

Just to add that the sore hot dry lips (do the corners of your mouth crack too?) seems to be caused by a lack of B vits caused by the malnutrition that goes with celiac . This and mouth ulcers affected my little girl for years and we never knew why. she takes 100mg fish oil and a Berocca (high dose multi vit) and hasn't had either problem since being gluten-free except when staying with her dad who forgets to give her the vits. very small red spots can be a sign of a lack of vit c, early scurvy! she used to get them on her legs.

Not much I know but hope it helps!

D