Is This Celiac's?

[lizzy21]

Hi, I'm new to the boards. Could my symptoms be Celiac's disease? I almost constantly feel gassy and bloated, and I have diarrhea almost on a daily basis, combined with bouts of constipation. I have also been feeling nauseated after everything I eat lately. For years I believed I had lactose intolerance, but I have been dairy free for several days and I still feel ill. I am constantly fatigued, I can sleep for 12 hours a day and still feel tired. A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Celiac's, and my symptoms seem similar. Could this be my problem? It would be wonderful to finally figure out why I have been feeling terrible for years. Thanks!

[Rikki Tikki]

It sounds like it could be. You can either go gluten free and see if you feel better or go to the doctor and have the blood test. Just don't go gluten free and then see the doctor, it could cause a false negative.

Hope you feel better soon and welcome

[Guest nini]

it sure sounds like it could be, like Rikki Tikki says, you can either go get tests done or just try the diet and see if it helps. Ultimately how you do on the diet is your best diagnostic tool as the blood tests and biopsies have a high rate of false negatives. NO false positives though so if the testing came back positive you could be assured you have it. However, as I said, the diet is your best indicator and if you are comfortable with self diagnosis you can simply try the diet and see if it helps you, but if you do want to pursue official testing do not start the diet until testing is complete and then regardless of the results you could try the diet then. (so see why you could just avoid the delay and try the diet now?) Ultimately it's your decision if you need official proof or if you just want to see if the diet helps you.

If you do not improve on the diet that will not affect further testing, you can still be tested for other things (not celiac) once on the gluten-free diet. Keep in mind most of us take an average of 2 years to heal (not the 6 months most Dr.s will tell you) and some people even if they do have celiac, still don't get better. Either from refractory sprue or other intolerances or other health conditions.

[Mayflowers]

It could be celiac but I wouldn't base all your symptoms on that. I went gluten free and I'm still tired. I have a lot of allergies and other intolerances too.