New Here, Need Advice On Symptoms

[rose810]

Hi. I used to be a healthy, energetic person up until almost two years ago and was wondering if my symptoms might be related to celiac? I started having almost daily migraines following a sinus infection in October 2005 when my son was 4 months old. Then after Christmas 2006 my teeth and gums have been hurting every day and I have seen my dentist twice about this so it's not a dental problem. I am constantly tired and have no energy. Lastly, my appetite has also increased and I eat at least 8 times a day which is really frustrating. I have tried to modify my diet to eat more fiber (lots of Kashi cereal) to fill me up but that doesn't seem to work.

I have not been able to identify the majority of the migraine triggers, but I do know that if I do not eat in time I will get one. Over time, the length of time that I have to eat once I get hungry to the time the migraine starts has decreased to the point of being ridiculous. Now I have anywhere from 5-10 minutes to eat, which means I'm always taking sandwiches with me wherever I go.

I have seen several doctors for the tooth pain and nobody can figure it out. Some seem to not believe me. I did get the blood test for celiac done and it came back negative. Do my symptoms sound like celiac? I know from reading some other posts that the blood tests sometimes can be wrong. Thanks in advance.

[ravenwoodglass]

With your symptoms starting after the birth of your child and an infection it is possible.

There are a couple ways to find out other than the blood work. You could check out Enterolab, they do fecal and gene testing. They can't diagnose you celiac but they can tell you if you are forming antibodies to gluten, casein and other foods.

You could also do a dietary exclusion and, if needed, a challenge. The best way to do that is by eating whole, unprocessed naturally gluten free foods for a couple of months. If you have doubt you could then challenge.

[Guest andie]

Hi. I used to be a healthy, energetic person up until almost two years ago and was wondering if my symptoms might be related to celiac? I started having almost daily migraines following a sinus infection in October 2005 when my son was 4 months old. Then after Christmas 2006 my teeth and gums have been hurting every day and I have seen my dentist twice about this so it's not a dental problem. I am constantly tired and have no energy. Lastly, my appetite has also increased and I eat at least 8 times a day which is really frustrating. I have tried to modify my diet to eat more fiber (lots of Kashi cereal) to fill me up but that doesn't seem to work.

I have not been able to identify the majority of the migraine triggers, but I do know that if I do not eat in time I will get one. Over time, the length of time that I have to eat once I get hungry to the time the migraine starts has decreased to the point of being ridiculous. Now I have anywhere from 5-10 minutes to eat, which means I'm always taking sandwiches with me wherever I go.

I have seen several doctors for the tooth pain and nobody can figure it out. Some seem to not believe me. I did get the blood test for celiac done and it came back negative. Do my symptoms sound like celiac? I know from reading some other posts that the blood tests sometimes can be wrong. Thanks in advance.

Hi

I started the gluten free diet for my 10 year old son for a variety of reasons, but the final straw was when he started getting headaches. He has unexplained anemia, low B12, low folate. We were told he had a malabsorption syndrome when he was 2. Negative blood results for celiac when he was 8.

My husband has suffered migraine headaches for years. He has a variety of other health issues as well. He had gotten to the point where he slept at least 16 hours/day. No energy. He and my son went through a supersized bottle of tums a month.

Since going gluten free neither have touched a tums or had a headache. Not even a twinge! My husbands psorasis is virtually gone. He comes home from work, cuts wood, cuts the grass etc. etc.

until bed at about 11pm. His mood has altered to being able to sustain cohabitation with other living beings. My son borders on hyperactivity. (Maybe I'll introduce just a little gluten back in the diet. Ha! Ha!)

My point being that although some of the symptoms are standard, there are many variations to this theme. After reading many entries here the symptoms of celiac seem to attack the weakest point of each individual. My husband and sons symptoms vary like milk and cheese. The source is the same but they are two completely different things.

Put yourself on the diet. It will not be so easy with small children because that is a full time job in itself. There is more cooking involved. More shopping time. More research time. But if it makes you feel better (and you'll know it when you feel it!) then you will have more energy to spend on the kids, less pain and answers to your questions. If it works for you, start the kids off early. Don't wait until they show symptoms. My son has gone 10 years without an answer and now his body is not playing catch up anymore. I wish I had thought of this earlier. It may have saved him alot of grief.

The literature suggests the diet for up to 18 months.

Good luck

Andie

[gfpaperdoll]

Andie, I am not sure what you are talking about when you say "the literature suggests the diet for 18 months". It is a LIFELONG diet, you never can ever eat gluten again & for some of us dairy. Your insides might heal in 18 months, but if you eat gluten again, they will get damaged again & also worse things might happen like getting cancer or another auto immune illness. Not a pretty picture...

[cyberprof]

Andie, I am not sure what you are talking about when you say "the literature suggests the diet for 18 months". It is a LIFELONG diet, you never can ever eat gluten again & for some of us dairy. Your insides might heal in 18 months, but if you eat gluten again, they will get damaged again & also worse things might happen like getting cancer or another auto immune illness. Not a pretty picture...

Gfpaperdoll, I think she means that it may take 18 months to feel better or "normal" on the gluten-free diet.

OP, I get tooth pain from sinus headaches/sinus infections. All the rest of your symptoms could be celiac.

Try eliminating gluten and see if it helps.

[Guest andie]

Andie, I am not sure what you are talking about when you say "the literature suggests the diet for 18 months". It is a LIFELONG diet, you never can ever eat gluten again & for some of us dairy. Your insides might heal in 18 months, but if you eat gluten again, they will get damaged again & also worse things might happen like getting cancer or another auto immune illness. Not a pretty picture...

Hi

Sorry I'm not making myself clear enough. Thanks for pointing this out. I shudder to think someone might think 18 months leads to a life long cure.

What I meant was that it can take up to 18 months for whatever symptoms to disappear and a difference in the way you feel noted. If after 18 months no improvement has been noted, then it is not celiac disease. The first weeks we were on the diet seemed like a waste of time, but at 2 months there was almost daily improvement.

I will point out that my sons symptoms were vague and if not for the dangerously low iron levels with no answers from Doctors I would never have started it in the first place. My husband suffers from an autoimmune disease and since I put my son on it I got him to try it too.

The biggest difference is in my husband. Because iron is so hard to absorb we are pending on blood work to see if there is a difference in my son. However I have recently heard him tell his friends 'I can't have that!'. If you knew my son, that speaks volumes in itself.

Hope this clears things up!

Andie