Could This Be Celiac Disease/gluten Allergy?

[Guest Eagle]

Maybe someone can help me. I have been very ill for a long time. I have been going to doctors for a long time but all they want to see is depression because that was what manifested first. I have the following problems: hypothyroid (treated), bipolar disorder, ADD symptoms, malabsorption, B12 deficiency, skin problems, damaged gums, numbness and peripheral neuropathy, migraines, occasional blackouts. First I was told I had conversion disorder and actually put in a psychiatric ward. No one would believe me that I was ill. Finally the anemia was obvious and I was left with some nervous system damage from the B12 deficiency. Now I am distrustful of the medical system and feel that I have been mentally abused. Has anything like this happened to you?

[CarlaB]

Welcome!

Yes, it has happened. My doc told me my illness was psychosomatic. Apparently I am a basket case and it's making me sick.

I recently got tested for Lyme Disease and finally got my answer. Have you been tested for Lyme? Igenex (Open Original Shared Link) is the most trusted lab, so if you get tested, call them and have them send you a test kit to take to your doctor.

Were you tested for celiac?

The problem with a systemic illness and docs who are "specialized" is that no one sees the whole picture and we fall through the cracks.

[nmw]

Hi Eagle -

You may very well have celiac disease/GI, as your symptoms can be associated with it. My presenting symptoms were almost all neurological, plus the accompanying weight loss and vitamin deficiencies caused by malabsorption, and have all responded unbelievably to the gluten-free diet. I was literally days away from giving in and going on anti-depressants when I was fortunate enough to self-diagnose.

I urge you to find a doc who will run the Celiac blood panel on you asap. Even with the possibility of false negatives, it's worth a try. There are other avenues to take, as you will find if you do enough reading on this and other celiac disease/gltuen free forums and sites.

What kind of skin problems? Could be DH (dermatitis herpetafomis) which is correlated w/ celiac disease.

Good luck and keep pushing!

[Lisa]

Welcome to the Board:

Celiac Disease take an average of 11 years to diagnosed. So it is highly likely that your doctors could have missed it.

It can be diagnosed through a blood test, and endoscopy exam with biopsies or some eliminate gluten from their diet and see a positive result.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, malt and oat may also be a problem.

If your course of action is to pursue testing, you must remain on a gluten diet until testing is completed. Should you decide to try gluten free, you have to go back to the basics. Chicken, beef, fish, potatoes, rice, fresh veggies. Eliminate seasoning except salt and pepper.

There is tremendous information on this site and I would encourage you to read, read and read some more. There are so many very informed people here who are willing to answer the simplest of questions.

I do hope that you can find the solution to your illness soon. If we can help in any way, please feel free to ask away.

Lisa

[jerseyangel]

Hi Eagle, and welcome!

Yes, unfortunately, there are many of us who were dismissed by doctors, told it was all in our head, or my personal favorite--you'll just have to learn to live with it.

There are many, many symptoms associated with Celiac--close to 200 in fact! If you're currently eating a gluten-containing diet, I would suggest you start by telling your doctor that you want the Celiac Blood Panel done. Make sure they do all of the tests, not just one or two. Here is what the test consists of:

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Total Serum IgA

That's a good place to start--if you have any intention of being tested, please do not try going gluten-free or even gluten lite, as doing that will skew the results.

If not, you can always try the gluten-free diet and see how you feel after a couple of months.