Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Celiacs Who Work In A Hospital/or The Healthcare Field

alamaz

By alamaz
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

alamaz Collaborator
alamaz
Posted

Ugh! I just recently started a new job at a hospital. I was dx'ed with celiac in late February of this year and am just now starting to feel REALLY good so it's taken some time to start to heal. Of course, TB testing is required for this job and I keep reacting positively or "inconclusive" to the tests except my chest x-ray is clear. The Quantiferon Golf test was inconclusive and the skin tests are all coming back positive. They are trying to tell me that they will have to treat me for latent TB which I don't believe is possible that I have latent TB because I have a history of having positive reactions to the TB skin tests all with clear chest x-rays and I've not been out of the country since 1995. In fact, when I lived overseas in the early 90's I was treated for a year for TB even though the chest x-ray was clear but I had reacted to the skin tests. At this rate I will be treated for TB indefinitely because I react positively to the skin tests.

I recall a post a few weeks ago about this same thing and several of you also react positively to the TB tests. What happens next? Is this just a matter of documenting the positive reaction? How does your hospital/workplace handle postive TB reactions?

As a side note, they just did the bubble test and I'm starting to get a severe headache. I'm not sure if it's celiac related or just stress but I never even thought to wonder if the bubble test has to be gluten free also......

Amy

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


blueeyedmanda Community Regular
blueeyedmanda
Posted

Hi Amy,

I work in a Hospital and I get a TB test every year, I always test negative.

Guest j_mommy
Guest j_mommy
Posted

Amy....

I was that poster a few weeks ago!!! Are you getting it read by a nurse or DR????? My nurse thought it was positive but it was not.....raised area is what counts not redness...which was what was happening to me....I had a huge red area,slight bump and itched like crazy!!! So I went to a DR and he said it was negative but wrote me a prescription saying that due to some type of allergic reaction I am to have chest xrays from now on and that I have not had a positive reaction and do not need to be treated!!

I hope this helps!!!

PM me if you have more questions!

little d Enthusiast
little d
Posted

Hi Amy

I work in a hospital and I just got my TB today and mine is just red around the site and I don't think that it had anything to do with it but right after I got really sleepy when I was fine before, but then again i did just work my 12 hr night shift. I will get mine read on thursday morning and I am usually negative but I feel like that this time I am having more of a reaction more redness this time and It itched some today.

donna

Worriedwife Apprentice
Worriedwife
Posted

I work in the healthcare field, and have not had a TB skin test done for about 13 years. I am allergic to the serum they use to test for TB. I only have chest X-rays done now.

I agree with I_Mommy, make sure you have a doctor read the results, not just a nurse. If it just red and/or itchy, that is not necessarily a positive reaction. You have to have a noticable bump from the test for it to be a positive reaction.

Good luck!

uclangel422 Apprentice
uclangel422
Posted

Before I was diagnosed with Celiac, I took a TB test at work in the hospital and it was read as positive. I had to have an X-ray and it came back negative so i was allowed to remain at work. My doctor did end up putting me on INH for TB because he wanted to be on the safe side. I was miserable on that medication.

From now on, tell them that you are prone to false positives on the skin test and just ask for an X-ray of your lungs yearly. My hospital has that option instead of the skin test.

alamaz Collaborator
alamaz
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the responses. The irritating thing is, I told them up front about my history of reacting positively so they did the chest x-ray and the blood test. the chest x-ray was clear, the blood test was "inconclusive". The last thing I want is to be treated for a disease I know I don't have and that's honestly my biggest fear at this point is they will try to tell me i need to go on meds. So far the bubble test is looking okay that i got yesterday afternoon (so i think, it looks like a mosquito bite). i will definitely request that the DR. look at it on Thursday instead of just the nurse who is actually really nice and just doing her job.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Blood tests for thiamine are unreliable. The nutrients from your food get absorbed into the bloodstream and travel around the body. So, a steak dinner can falsely raise thiamine blood levels in the following days. Besides, thiamine is utilized inside cells where stores of thiamine are impossible to measure. A better test to ask for is the Erythrocyte...
    2. lizzie42
      - lizzie42 replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine?
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine. Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine. Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats. Meat, especially organ...
    4. lizzie42
      - lizzie42 replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      6

      Son's legs shaking

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc. Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food....
    5. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Russ H's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

      That is interesting, and it's the first time I heard about the umbilical cord beings used for that test. Thanks for sharing!
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,870
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    KABoston
    Newest Member
    KABoston
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Blood tests for thiamine are unreliable.  The nutrients from your food get absorbed into the bloodstream and travel around the body.  So, a steak dinner can falsely raise thiamine blood levels in the following days.  Besides, thiamine is utilized inside cells where stores of thiamine are impossible to measure. A better test to ask for is the Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test.  But even that test has been questioned as to accuracy.  It is expensive and takes time to do.   Because of the discrepancies with thiamine tests and urgency with correcting thiamine deficiency, the World Health Organization recommends giving thiamine for several weeks and looking for health improvement.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   Many doctors are not given sufficient education in nutrition and deficiency symptoms, and may not be familiar with how often they occur in Celiac disease.  B12 and Vitamin D can be stored for as long as a year in the liver, so not having deficiencies in these two vitamins is not a good indicator of the status of the other seven water soluble B vitamins.  It is possible to have deficiency symptoms BEFORE there's changes in the blood levels.   Ask your doctor about Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine that is better absorbed than Thiamine Mononitrate.  Thiamine Mononitrate is used in many vitamins because it is shelf-stable, a form of thiamine that won't break down sitting around on a store shelf.  This form is difficult for the body to turn into a usable form.  Only thirty percent is absorbed in the intestine, and less is actually used.   Thiamine interacts with all of the other B vitamins, so they should all be supplemented together.  Magnesium is needed to make life sustaining enzymes with thiamine, so a magnesium supplement should be added if magnesium levels are low.   Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  There's no harm in trying.
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Neither of them were anemic 6 months after the Celiac diagnosis. His other vitamin levels (d, B12) were never low. My daughters levels were normal after the first 6 months. Is the thiamine test just called thiamine? 
    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine.  Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine.  Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and  Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats.  Meat, especially organ meats like liver, are the best sources of Thiamine, B12, and the six other B vitamins and important minerals like iron.   Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Thiamine is important to our immune systems.  We need more thiamine when we're physically ill or injured, when we're under stress emotionally, and when we exercise, especially outside in hot weather.  We need thiamine and other B vitamins like Niacin B 3 to keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy.  We can't store thiamine for very long.  We can get low in thiamine within three days.  Symptoms can appear suddenly when a high carbohydrate diet is consumed.  (Rice and beans are high in carbohydrates.)  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so symptoms can wax and wane depending on what one eats.  The earliest symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are easily contributed to other things or life events and dismissed.   Correcting nutritional deficiencies needs to be done quickly, especially in children, so their growth isn't stunted.  Nutritional deficiencies can affect intelligence.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause short stature and poor bone formation.   Is your son taking anything for the anemia?  Is the anemia caused by B12 or iron deficiency?  
    • lizzie42
      Son's legs shaking

      By lizzie42 · Posted

      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
    • Scott Adams
      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      That is interesting, and it's the first time I heard about the umbilical cord beings used for that test. Thanks for sharing!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.