Looking For Some Help?

[lradtke]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this site and now sure if I am posting in the correct area, however here is my story, hope someone can help?

I have never had any health problems except the one surgery to remove my tonsils and adnoids when I was in the 5th grade. Over the course of the past 10 years (I am 39) I have had Vertigo, which came out of nowhere, severe bouts of "food poisening" or so the Dr.'s thought. And ongoing severe cramping, diahrea (sp?), loose stool and with this comes a seizure like reaction which I end up fainting. It only happens when I am going to the bathroom and after writing down everything I ate for a month there was never any one thing we could pinpoint this reaction coming from. One time I passed out and broke the front teeth out of my mouth (2 months before my wedding, nice) another time I was home alone with my 4 year old and passed out off the toilet face first onto the ceramic tile floor and looked like I had been in a bar fight. I also get lightheaded and dizzy if I sit too long getting up and walking around seems to help. I have no other pain, no joint pain, a little arthritus in my knees and the occassionaly achy bones feeling but it goes away and isn't occuring enough to cause me any issues.

I recently changed Dr.'s and my new Dr. found that I have tested positive for an auto - immune disease. Which one is the question. I had a positive ANA blood test which led him to this conclusion. Now I have been referred out to a Rhuematologist. We live in a small town and we only have one Rhuematologist and I can't get in to see him until the end of September. I have had a CAT SCAN, MRI, EEG, EKG, and loads of bloodwork. The positive ANA blood test was the only thing to turn up. My Dr. said I am in for a load of more tests because it is so difficult to diagnose auto immune diseases. A friend suggested I check into Celiac Disease or having an allergy to wheat. My symptoms sounded similar so as I have researched online it does seem to have similarities. I was hoping someone out there might have some of the same symptoms or be able to tell me how to get tested for Celiac Disease and do I have to wait for the Rhuematologist or is this something my family practioner can handle? Would love any input anyone could offer, thanks for listening.

Northern Michigander

[CarlaB]

You can get a celiac panel done by your general practitioner. Be sure he does the whole panel, not just the IgA.

Also, you may want to get a Lyme test (because of the knee pain and vertigo). Be sure it's done by IGeneX. I had the test kit sent to my house, then took it to my doctor so that I was sure it was done by this particular lab (www.igenex.com).

I'd also have them test your B12 levels.

Have you had your iron levels checked?

[darkangel]

Crohn's or ulcerative colitis are also a possibility. Have you had a colonoscopy done?