I Could Cry - Hubby Didnt Test Positive

[girlfromclare]

I am so shocked. My son is a celiac - not an official diagnosis as I didnt want to put him through the biopsy but celiac specialist is in agreement and his response to diet is phenomenal. So my hubby has always had terrible stomach - lots of celiac symptoms. He would vomit most days, has reccurent diahorrea, bloating, really bad gas, sore back, sore joints, fatigue etc etc. I have been pushing him and pushing him to get tested and so he did - blood tests didnt show anything - he was delighted but I wasnt convinced... so pushed him to get the biopsy - now the biopsy hasnt shown anything either... I am so surprised - again he is delighted of course. I dont want him to be diagnosed as having anything of course but I do want his miserable symptoms to stop and I thought that this was the answer esp considering our son. I also know that one of his sisters has extreme celiac symptoms and although I have said it to her I am worried that she wont pursue it. I am worrying about her health and that of her son who also displays signs.. but its hard to get them (inc my husband) to take this seriously without an official diagnosis. thats what I thought we would have.. I feel so sorry for my husband who will have to continue his life spent 'on the toilet bowl' as he is stubborn and loves his breads etc too much to take that leap of faith. I dont want to push this anymore with any

of them but I only hope that they will take it upon themselves to look into things further before it gets very serious.

They all mean so much to me,

Sorry, I guess I just needed to rant.

[Kaycee]

I feel for you, and I think most of us has a relation or two with symptoms who will do nothing about it, they are scared and don't want to go there. At least your husband got tested, and it was negative for coeliac, so really I guess it is his choice whether he eats his bread or not and to feel miserable with it. Unfortunately, not all test results are accurate and he does sound like he has coeliac symptoms. Maybe he will listen to his body eventually.

Cathy

[Fiddle-Faddle]

If you spend a week or so making great gluten-free meals for him, including really good gluten-free breads (there are some wonderful recipes here), and gluten-free pastas, maybe he might notice that he is feeling better (especially if you don't tell him that they are gluten-free)????

The other option is to have the celiac specialist talk to your husband about a trial gluten-free diet.

[JerryK]

He would vomit most days, has reccurent diahorrea, bloating, really bad gas, sore back, sore joints, fatigue etc etc.

I can understand your husband's apprehension, especially being a man and having had the same symptoms. The good news is it's likely your husbands symptoms will get worse to the point where

he simply cannot ignore them.

I tested positive at Enterolab had a negative blood test and do not appear to have the genes associated with Celiac. Nevertheless, I eventually saw the light when I could no longer go for my daily run without getting the "runs". It took me 9 months of gluten-free trials and challanges before I finally got past the denial mode.

The pervasive belief that wheat is good for you is a paradigm, so engrained in our culture, it is tough to get past.

Once I got past denial and started speaking to my family about it....to my surprise I learned my two brothers also have the exact same symptoms.

If you could just get him gluten-free for a couple weeks and then re-introduce gluten, the shock would be so severe that he would understand. j

[nora-n]

My daughter never had any postitive blood test of biopsy, but she did get a diagnosis, based on her very distinct symptoms. She only has a posotive casein test (antibodies against cow's milk) , which many celiacs have.

Some people never have positive tests, and with some it takes years and some reported needing three biopsies.

There is something in the www.bmj.com too about that.

nora

[girlfromclare]

Thanks everyone,.. a few months back, when I first put our son on the diet, my husband decided to try it for a few days... while my sons symptoms (which were more physical i.e. weight, anemia etc and behavioural than relating to bowl movements) dramatically improved almost straight away, my husbands gastro symptoms seemed to get drastically worse for those few days... i tried to explain to him that perhaps this was normal i.e. that things might have to be worse before they can get better... but he took it as something not being right and went back onto his own diet again. Thing is, he is incredibly supportive of my sons diet and does see the benefits there... but if he tested positive things would be a lot easier... and then his sister and their kid might also get tested on the strength of it.

Oh well!!

Thanks ever so much everyone...

regards

Liz.