Bloating Came Back And What Kind Of Followup Recommended

[Cheret]

I was diagnosed last Feb. and have been really good staying gluten-free, but all of a sudden I am getting the bloated stomach and gas after eating again (I just ate my usual salad with the same dressing). Some people mentioned a Complete Celiac Blood Panel in their messages. What is that? Neither my General Dr. or Gastro Dr. said anything about follow up. My Gastro Dr. just said see you in 10 years for another colonoscopy. Am I supposed to go back for a followup? I had extreme anemia --that's how they found the celiac, but the Dr.s never told me to followup. (I thought that was odd.) I am not so tired like I was so I feel the anemia is better, but the bloating is back this week.

My question is two-fold I guess. What kind of followup are you supoosed to do after diagnosis and is it unusual to go back to bloating if you are staying gluten-free? Or could there something else wrong now?

thanks!

[jenvan]

Whoa, your GI is too hands-off. IMO, from what I've read and experience, I think its best to have follow-up blood work (full panel) yearly. And at 6 mos or so after going gluten-free. Follow-up biopsy isn't a necessity, its debated here, but I did one a year after going gluten-free to check progress. These are helpful to check your progress, and a good back-up safety measure. Go here and read this--great overview on follow-up testing, when, what etc, should answer your question: Open Original Shared Link

Follow-up blood work:

Serologic Tests

EMA (Immunoglobulin A anti-endomysium antibodies)

AGA (IgA anti-gliadin antibodies)

AGG (IgG anti-gliadin antibodies)

tTGA (IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase)

[par18]

I was diagnosed last Feb. and have been really good staying gluten-free, but all of a sudden I am getting the bloated stomach and gas after eating again (I just ate my usual salad with the same dressing). Some people mentioned a Complete Celiac Blood Panel in their messages. What is that? Neither my General Dr. or Gastro Dr. said anything about follow up. My Gastro Dr. just said see you in 10 years for another colonoscopy. Am I supposed to go back for a followup? I had extreme anemia --that's how they found the celiac, but the Dr.s never told me to followup. (I thought that was odd.) I am not so tired like I was so I feel the anemia is better, but the bloating is back this week.

My question is two-fold I guess. What kind of followup are you supoosed to do after diagnosis and is it unusual to go back to bloating if you are staying gluten-free? Or could there something else wrong now?

thanks!

Hi,

I went to a seminar a couple of months ago and asked the follow-up question. The response I got from Dr. Fasano from the University of Maryland was that the celiac panel blood tests need to be run (how often probably depends on how you feel) in order to see if you are accidentally getting any gluten in your diet. Basically this panel of tests checks the anti-body levels to see if they are elevated. Different labs have different values. Because I had been feeling good all my levels were normal (low). While I was at it I had a gene test run since I did not have any blood tests prior to my Dx through biopsy. The gene test is optional but it let me know after testing my mother that it probably came from her side of the family. We notified her relatives to let them know it exists. My family doctor took the blood andl sent it to the lab for testing. In order to ensure we selected the correct tests he looked it up in a manual with me present. One thing I found out in reference to insurance is that a certain diagnostic code needs to be sent from the Dr's office with the blood sample. I think if a random screening code is sent as opposed to the code specific for Celiac then the insurance company may not pay. Hope this helps.

Tom

[emcmaster]

Are you just gluten-free or do you abstain from other food groups? If you've been gluten-free for a few months, you may have developed other intolerances which could be causing the bloating. I know how frustrating and painful the bloating is - I'm sorry that you're having to deal with it again.

[ravenwoodglass]

I was diagnosed last Feb. and have been really good staying gluten-free, but all of a sudden I am getting the bloated stomach and gas after eating again (I just ate my usual salad with the same dressing). Some people mentioned a Complete Celiac Blood Panel in their messages. What is that? Neither my General Dr. or Gastro Dr. said anything about follow up. My Gastro Dr. just said see you in 10 years for another colonoscopy. Am I supposed to go back for a followup? I had extreme anemia --that's how they found the celiac, but the Dr.s never told me to followup. (I thought that was odd.) I am not so tired like I was so I feel the anemia is better, but the bloating is back this week.

My question is two-fold I guess. What kind of followup are you supoosed to do after diagnosis and is it unusual to go back to bloating if you are staying gluten-free? Or could there something else wrong now?

thanks!

Have you eliminated gluten from non food items as well? Things like shampoos and conditioners, lipsticks, lotions, playdoh, craft glues and pastes, drywall and compounds, paints, sharing a kitchen and utensils, pet foods and much more can get you. Many find that as they heal they become more sensitive to CC and as much of a pain as this is it shows you that your body is recovering and able to better sense that it is being poisoned.

I agree with calling your doctor and insisting that they do a follow up full panel to verify that gluten is not creeping in somewhere. Did your doctor check your B12 levels as well as iron? Are you supplementing with a certified gluten-free vitamin? He should check to make sure your levels are rising.

Also as others have pointed out it is common to start to react to other foods, dairy and soy in particular, especially when you are early into the healing process. I do hope you get some relief soon and if you do take anything for the gas make sure to call the company to verify that it is gluten free first, many antiacids and antigas preperations like beano etc. are not.