So I Have A Twin Brother Right....

[JerryK]

Probably some of you remember my discussion about my tooth enamel loss. Brother has that also and had to have all his teeth capped. His gums and teeth were in terrible shape.

Now I've had a difficult time convincing my brother that our tooth enamel loss, is clearly something genetic and could be consistent with Celiac. He complains frequently that he hurts all over, is tired all the time..he's on an antidepressant, he takes Xanax...etc....AND he weighs about 30 lbs more than my

170.

Now I think, just because he doesn't have glaring gastro symptoms, he's still displaying a lot of

symptoms of Celiac and it could well be the cause of his pain/fatigue/depression.

I sent him a list of symptoms and he mentioned that he gets mouth ulcers all the time....

Any thoughts on this....

[Rusla]

Yup, it sounds like some of my symptoms and yes Celiac can cause all of that and more.

Now some people don't want to know because they believe if they hide their head in the sand and they can't see you then you can't see them. So he figures if he ignores it and does nothing about it then it will go away. He is so wrong, it will only get worse. He should get tested because not just being your brother but your twin makes him highly probable to being Celiac.

Tell him not to be such a chicken and get something done before this disease leaves him with as little teeth as I have or worse, kills him.

[covsooze]

I feel for you - me and my sister both have coeliac and we are convinced our father does because of his symptoms, but he had a negative blood test (he didn't have the full panel) and is not willing to take it any further, despite us telling him he could end up feeling so much better. it's a really difficult one.

[Guhlia]

Jerry, perhaps when you get a positive diagnosis it will motivate him to seek help. If not, just make sure he KNOWS exactly how GREAT you feel after going gluten free. You could mention that you're much less tired, have more energy, etc... Focus on his symptoms that you share... Perhaps this will motivate him.

[mommida]

My sister has some obvious symptoms of celiac disease. i.e. vomiting after some meals and always anemic.

She is very happy to be thin and be able to eat anything she wants and will not get tested until..... Well I really don't know what would make her ever get tested.

L.

If your brother is at least looking at the information, listening to you, and asking questions he is doing more than any of my siblings.

[eleep]

I also have a twin brother! He's also got symptoms that look a lot like celiac -- worse anxiety than I've ever experienced, however, and also a tendency to be pigheaded (okay -- I do that too sometimes). He's actually been to the hospital a number of times for what they thought were thyroid issues, but no clear diagnosis ever seems to have surfaced from that.

I sent him my Enterolab results and talked with him about what they meant a couple of times, but I don't think I got anywhere -- as my other brother pointed out, we don't know how my twin could ever handle going gluten free since he seems not to know how to cook at all and lives off of hot pocket-type things.

Frustrating, but all I can do is provide the information, discuss the risks of being an untreated, undiagnosed celiac, and strongly recommend that he see a doctor about this. It's nice to hear about people with siblings who are a little more able to accept their influence!

[Kody]

Probably some of you remember my discussion about my tooth enamel loss. Brother has that also and had to have all his teeth capped. His gums and teeth were in terrible shape.

Now I've had a difficult time convincing my brother that our tooth enamel loss, is clearly something genetic and could be consistent with Celiac. He complains frequently that he hurts all over, is tired all the time..he's on an antidepressant, he takes Xanax...etc....AND he weighs about 30 lbs more than my

170.

Now I think, just because he doesn't have glaring gastro symptoms, he's still displaying a lot of

symptoms of Celiac and it could well be the cause of his pain/fatigue/depression.

I sent him a list of symptoms and he mentioned that he gets mouth ulcers all the time....

Any thoughts on this....

Sounds like me... err, except the denial part.

Uh oh, typo... I mean to say sounds like he could be a Celiac (Celiac causes all of those symptoms).