I'm New! Any Help Greatly Appreciated

[BadTummy]

Hi!

I have been looking at this site for a few days now and think that I have a gluten problem. I have been having symptoms since I had my gall bladder out a 2 yrs ago and my problems seem to be escaltaing.

Pretty much my symptoms are: severe diahrea and stomach cramps sometimes asscoiated with nausea and also some vommiting about 3-5 hrs after eating (sometimes it happens a lot earlier, but usually 3- 5hrs). Now, it doesn't happen after I eat a salad, but if I eat anything else, I get sick. IE: Today I had a ham sandwhich and like clockwork, I just got sick!

Any info and help is much appreciated since I am brand new to all of this!

[amybeth]

It depends how confident you are that this is you....if you're pretty confident (over 50%), you should probably consult your dr. and at least have the bloodwork done.

If you're still not that sure...you could keep a food log for a couple of days....My reaction to gluten is pretty immediate (usually within 20 min after the fact)...some people's symptoms aren't realized until much later. If your body's pattern is 3 - 5 hours, then I would keep track of what I ate and then not eat again until that time window has passed. It may be a reaction to another food, too - like dairy? - the log would help you eliminate possibilities and target the culprit.

The log would be helpful if and when you did consult a dr. , too.

I am sorry you are feeling badly. It can be so frustrating - but once you have narrowed it down you can take the positive steps toward making sure it doesn't happen again - or at least not as often.

Good luck!

[BadTummy]

As of right now, I have no health insurance, so going to my Dr is out... I am almost positive that I am intolerant to gluten. I will just have to wait to be tested. I am highly considering eliminating gluten for 2 weeks to see what happens...

[par18]

Hi,

Well going gluten free to see what happens is certainly an option. Have you ever tried the diet before? This can be tricky as gluten could slip in your diet without you knowing and mess up your results. Also if this does work you will then have to make a decision whether or not to get any further testing done. Say you try the diet and your symptoms disappear. Would that be reason enough for you to stay on this diet from now on? If the answer is yes then nothing else would be needed. If it is no or you are not sure you may have to go back on gluten to see what happens. It can be simple or complicated based on what result you desire and how you obtain that result. If I had no health insurance then I think I would give the diet an honest effort and see what happens. Hope this helps.

Tom

[BadTummy]

Hi,

Well going gluten free to see what happens is certainly an option. Have you ever tried the diet before? This can be tricky as gluten could slip in your diet without you knowing and mess up your results. Also if this does work you will then have to make a decision whether or not to get any further testing done. Say you try the diet and your symptoms disappear. Would that be reason enough for you to stay on this diet from now on? If the answer is yes then nothing else would be needed. If it is no or you are not sure you may have to go back on gluten to see what happens. It can be simple or complicated based on what result you desire and how you obtain that result. If I had no health insurance then I think I would give the diet an honest effort and see what happens. Hope this helps.

Tom

No, I have not tried it before. I am new to this with the exception of a child I know is on the diet due to possible Autism... I don't really even know where to start! That is why I joined this place so I could get more info, help and encouragement! At this point I am willing to try the diet though b/c I am tired of being sick to my stomach pretty much daily...

[tarnalberry]

Pretty much my symptoms are: severe diahrea and stomach cramps sometimes asscoiated with nausea and also some vommiting about 3-5 hrs after eating (sometimes it happens a lot earlier, but usually 3- 5hrs). Now, it doesn't happen after I eat a salad, but if I eat anything else, I get sick. IE: Today I had a ham sandwhich and like clockwork, I just got sick!

Welcome! Your symtpoms could be celiac related, and do sound food related. The reason why a food log would be so helpful is that you say it "doesn't happen if you eat a salad" - what was on that all of those salads that didn't bother you; did it include croutons? And you say that it does happen if you eat anything else? Is that *REALLY* anything else? An apple? A steak without seasonings? A breaded chicken? These are the sort of seemingly pedantic, but actually vital, questions that a food log can help answer.

That said, your responses, and response time, do fit within the classification of food intolerance symptoms.

As of right now, I have no health insurance, so going to my Dr is out... I am almost positive that I am intolerant to gluten. I will just have to wait to be tested. I am highly considering eliminating gluten for 2 weeks to see what happens...

If you choose to wait to be tested, there are two issues: the first is if you don't go gluten free if you are celiac - you continue to damage to your intestines and the rest of your system and increase your risks for long term serious complications, the second is if you do go gluten free - you will have to go back on gluten for at least three months prior to laboratory testing to get accurate results when you decide you do want to go that route.

Either choice is a valid one. The majority of doctors could not in all good conscious advise you to do anything but the first one (because the diet is "so difficult" - they're wrong on that front). Many of us on the board could not in all good conscious advise you to do anything but the later, if laboratory testing isn't an option.

Don't forget, however, that the dietary challenge - going gluten free for a good length of time (2-4 weeks, at least) then challenging with gluten (for 1-7 days), is a valid diagnostic test as well.

No, I have not tried it before. I am new to this with the exception of a child I know is on the diet due to possible Autism... I don't really even know where to start! That is why I joined this place so I could get more info, help and encouragement! At this point I am willing to try the diet though b/c I am tired of being sick to my stomach pretty much daily...

You've found a helpful resource! The diet isn't that hard once you get past the learning curve and adapt, but it's full of pitfalls that make the learning curve steep, and the adaptation a challenging process. The safest way to get started is to stick with naturally gluten free whole foods - produce, meats, eggs, beans, and naturally gluten-free whole grains (corn, rice, quinoa). Keep on reading - you'll find a lot of help!

[Nantzie]

I always suggest that people go to the doctor and get tested mostly because you want to make sure it's not something else more scary.

But if that's out of the question anyway, I don't see any reason you shouldn't try the diet. There isn't a prescription the doctor could give you if you got an official diagnosis. There are a lot of people here who don't have an official diagnosis, so it certainly won't be a big deal here. A lot of people end up figuring it out for themselves for one reason or another. Testing isn't very reliable, doctors are misinformed, family is unsupportive, funds aren't available...

I agree with keeping a food diary. It may not end up being gluten, but another common food. Gluten is as good of a place to start as any.

Take some time though to really do some research on this message board. Read the archives. Read, read, read and read some more. It's a steep learning curve, but once you've got it, you've got it.

When I first found out about gluten, I ended up having to wait for several months for a biopsy (from September to February!). I pretty much understood most of the diet after about a month or so of being on this message board. So it's not that hard to figure out. By the time Christmas was over, I was so sick, and was so certain by my own trial and error that gluten was the issue that I went gluten-free right after Christmas. I'm never going to know for sure if I would have had a positive biopsy, and by that time I couldn't have cared less anymore. I just wanted to stop hurting.

I would say that you should spend some time on the message board learning as much as you can about the diet. One of the things about being gluten-free is that you really should try to be 100% or it's hard to tell if gluten is the issue.

I hope you feel better soon.

Nancy

[mn farm gal]

I personally chose not to get test. I have been doctoring since 1998. I started the diet after coming across this board and someone I met that had Celiac. I then tried the diet instead of getting tested. I don't want that in my chart if I do ever come self employeed like I want to it would make it harder to get insurance at that time. It is a preference on what an offical diagnosis would do for you. I tried the diet and have not turned back once. Everyday gets better!!