Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Back From First Gastro Doc Appt

MrsC

Recommended Posts

MrsC Rookie
MrsC
Posted

Hi! Well some of you know I had my first appt today with the Gastroenterologist. It went really well I think. He took time to look over my chart, bloodwork, CT scans, etc. and then he started by asking me what medical problems I have that I think are unrelated to my digestive issues.

I explained the thyroid stuff and neurological symptoms. Then he asked me about family history of colon cancer, etc. Then he finally got to the what brings you here today to see me question. I thought he was very thorough. I shared my "gastro issues". He examined my belly (you know tap tap, knock knock, listen with the stethoscope...)

Then, he ordered at stool sample for parasites, and called the nurse in to schedule me for a "double". Sounded like he was ordering a drink, LOL.

I go in for an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy on June 26th at 10am.

In the meantime, he told me to use the word WHEAT instead of the word EAT. Basically, eat as much gluten as possible before the test.

Tonight, I had pasta, and I am already in such gas pain it is unbelievable! How far until the 26th? Geez.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
Hi! Well some of you know I had my first appt today with the Gastroenterologist. It went really well I think. He took time to look over my chart, bloodwork, CT scans, etc. and then he started by asking me what medical problems I have that I think are unrelated to my digestive issues.

I explained the thyroid stuff and neurological symptoms. Then he asked me about family history of colon cancer, etc. Then he finally got to the what brings you here today to see me question. I thought he was very thorough. I shared my "gastro issues". He examined my belly (you know tap tap, knock knock, listen with the stethoscope...)

Then, he ordered at stool sample for parasites, and called the nurse in to schedule me for a "double". Sounded like he was ordering a drink, LOL.

I go in for an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy on June 26th at 10am.

In the meantime, he told me to use the word WHEAT instead of the word EAT. Basically, eat as much gluten as possible before the test.

Tonight, I had pasta, and I am already in such gas pain it is unbelievable! How far until the 26th? Geez.

If you have been gluten free for a while make sure you let him know if you get really sick. Call and tell him whats going on and ask for an emergency opening. If you have been gluten free he may be able to make the diagnosis on your symptoms. After being gluten-free for a month my GI made me gluten overload. I was so sick we had to cancell my scope and he 'officially' diagnosed me without it. Pepto Bismal is gluten free and helps me a lot with the gas and heartburn. Don't take Tums though some of those are not gluten-free. I hope you get through this and get a definitive diagnosis soon.

MrsC Rookie
MrsC
Posted
  • Author
If you have been gluten free for a while make sure you let him know if you get really sick. Call and tell him whats going on and ask for an emergency opening. If you have been gluten free he may be able to make the diagnosis on your symptoms. After being gluten-free for a month my GI made me gluten overload. I was so sick we had to cancell my scope and he 'officially' diagnosed me without it. Pepto Bismal is gluten free and helps me a lot with the gas and heartburn. Don't take Tums though some of those are not gluten-free. I hope you get through this and get a definitive diagnosis soon.

Thanks for the reply. I will keep an eye on things as I ramp up the gluten. I was only gluten-free for about 2 weeks, and then the GI medical assistant told me to go back to a regular diet when this appointment was made 2 weeks ago.

I have been having other symptoms that are causing the doctor to want to do the colonoscopy at the same time - and now of course, I have it in my head that I could have cancer. I am trying to keep a sunny outlook, but man, sometimes it is tough!

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
Thanks for the reply. I will keep an eye on things as I ramp up the gluten. I was only gluten-free for about 2 weeks, and then the GI medical assistant told me to go back to a regular diet when this appointment was made 2 weeks ago.

I have been having other symptoms that are causing the doctor to want to do the colonoscopy at the same time - and now of course, I have it in my head that I could have cancer. I am trying to keep a sunny outlook, but man, sometimes it is tough!

The colonoscopy is pretty routine. Doing both at one time is really the way to go. Be sure to write "take lots of biopsies" on your forehead and your butt. :P If they are going to be in there they might as well be through. Were you getting any relief from the diet yet? I noticed a difference in D in just a week. I was actually scared cause I didn't go for 3 days. I had had constant D for 15 years though so I was really lucky it was so obvious and it took much longer for everything else to go away.

penguin Community Regular
penguin
Posted

I am 3 weeks into gluten overload and I'm pretty much a stoned monster. That's bloated. And 10 lbs. fatter than 3 weeks ago.

I'm going to try to make it the whole three months, since I was gluten-free four months before deciding I wanted a biopsy (I'm so smart :rolleyes: ).

In my case, it seems like my body is just so overwhelmed it doesn't know what to do with itself. D, C, normal, it can't decide!

Hang in there and do what you can! I highly reccommend phazyme, and also ask your doc for bentyl or another antispasmodic if you get stomach cramps from the gluten.

Godspeed :)

dlp252 Apprentice
dlp252
Posted

I had a "double" myself, lol. I agree, having them at the same time is really the way to go. I have lovely pictures of my digestive tract too. :lol:

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

I had both done the same day, too--the nurse called it a two-fer! I was just as glad to only have to be put out once--it was not bad at all, try not to be nervous :)

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


queenofhearts Explorer
queenofhearts
Posted

I too had both done on the same day. If you need both that is definitely the way to go.

To be honest, the day before was the hard part-- I am one who normally eats small nibbles basically all day long, & a day's fast was really tough for me (even with all the juice). The Fleet was really unpleasant to choke down on an empty stomach. And since diarrhea was one of my main symptoms, it was kind of overkill. I was supposed to take a pill on top of it & after 2 doses of enema I just couldn't. I was very weak & shaky by the next day, & I went in feeling frightened & spacey. The nurse was a little mad at me for skipping the laxative & made me worry I'd wrecked everything.

But from the moment they gave me the anesthetic I was completely out, & before I knew it the whole thing was over.

When I was more or less awake, the doctor went over the procedure & showed me pictures of my eroded villi & said he was pretty sure that it was Celiac but would wait for the biopsies to confirm.

I had virtually no discomfort afterward, though had a bad headache all that day & the next, but since I get headaches from not eating & from stress, I'm not sure I can blame it on the actual procedure!

Anyway I don't think any of the unpleasant part would change from having only one procedure. I say get the whole blame thing overwith!!!

Good luck. It's worth all this to know for sure!

Leah

MrsC Rookie
MrsC
Posted
  • Author

The day before is definitely going to be hard for me...it's my son's first birthday party.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
The day before is definitely going to be hard for me...it's my son's first birthday party.

First happy b day to the little guy. My doctor gave me something that I didn't have to start taking till after dinner time. Try to enjoy the day and try not to worry too much about the prep. I was expecting a great deal of pain but there was no cramping just hard to get the 'go lightly' (what a misnomer) down. Keeping it real, real cold helps. Good luck and just eat lightly, or however your doctor tells you, during the day.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Wheatwacked
      - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium. A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake. With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones. Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 1...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it. Gluten is the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part. Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein. Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3. Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C. Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine. Weight...
    4. Florence Lillian
      - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free. I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree...
    5. catnapt
      - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      highly unlikely NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,356
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    JAGAPG
    Newest Member
    JAGAPG
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By catnapt · Posted

      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.