Can't Tell If I Really Have Celiac

[ncz-nate]

Ok i've been diagnosed with "IBS" for about 2 years now. It all first started with 6 months of nausea, then right after that went into bad abdominal pains starting with diahhrea. and since it's been intestinal pain, the feeling of my intestines being squeezed and the urge to have a bowel movement often accompanying it. I've been to just about every M.D. and a natural health expert in pittsburgh. The closest they came to saying what i had was Candida infection. So i did the treatment and it didn't really work.

But just the other week i thought of the possibility of celiac and figured i'd try a no-gluten diet. The first day of doing it produced something.. later on at night i had this weird feeling in my stomach and had some diahhrea and most of the stool looked black. All the days after that though up till tonight i've had less pain.

I also did blood tests and they came back "normal". So could i have celiac? i'm hoping so, so i know what to do. This will be my 7th day on the diet and after day 3, the changes aren't really that drastic anymore.. should i give it more time? approx. how long?

thanks

[little d]

Hi, and welcome

I am not an expert but yes I would give a little more time, but if you feel better already then it is possible you might even feel better in 3 weeks if not then it could be something else, but like I said I am not and expert I "offically" don't have Celiacs but respond great on Gluten free. I tested last year while being on the diet and all my test were negative and they say the ones here that If you are going to be tested do it while still on gluten you will have a better chance of getting positive results if you have any damage intestional wise. You could also have gall stones so my mom says for me. It was hard diagnosing her back in the 70's for her she almost died, but anyway if your stools are black then it could be gallstones or something else if they start looking like coffee grounds then I would really get your intestines checked out. But like I said I'm not an expert, I know someone else can give you better advise than me, I hope that you find your answers.

donna

[hathor]

I would seem to be rare for people to have complete recovery in a week. At least that is the impression I get from comments on this forum. Perhaps those who immediately get completely better don't bother to post It often seems like one's body has to adjust to not having gluten anymore. I know my system was rather, er, manic depressive I'll call it, for the first month or two.

I went gluten-free for several weeks, seemed to be better, but wasn't sure. Then I did Enterolab testing to help confirm I was on the right track. (They diagnose gluten intolerance, not celiac.)

Have you checked here to see if all the right blood tests were performed? Doctors apparently mess this up sometimes. Also it can be that one has a problem but it hasn't progressed to the point that it shows up in blood work. The Enterolab tests are supposed to be more sensitive and capable of finding problems earlier.

If you do go with Enterolab, you can test for several other food intolerances at the same time. You may have a problem with something in addition to gluten. This seems to be common among those who continue to have some problems even once they are gluten free. Of course, as I said before, one week isn't much at all. (I'm sure it seems like it to you, though ) The most common second intolerance seems to be dairy, either to casein (which seems to be a permanent one for most) or lactose (which people eliminate, but may be able to reintroduce dairy without problems after their guts have healed for six months or so). The third most common I would say is soy.

I trust you have read up on going gluten free and carefully read all labels? Often items contain gluten that newbies aren't aware of (most soy sauce, practically all cereal, beer, items thickened with wheat, etc., as well as supplements or drugs -- which don't have to list all ingredients, if you are taking something that doesn't say gluten-free you have to find out either from us or the manufacturer), or they don't know about the potential for cross-contamination from previously used kitchen equipment (the gluelike gluten is seemingly impossible to wash out of wood, it seems), crumbs in the peanut butter, etc. You may be sensitive to items processed on the same equipment or facilities as gluten containing items (which manufacturers don't have to report -- folks here often ask whether others react to particular foods or contact manufacturers. There are recent posts about corn chips, for instance.) Have you cut out oats -- usually cross contaminated with wheat and contain a protein similar to gluten to boot. Are you licking envelopes -- that glue can have gluten in it.

I think that is all the unpredicted sources of gluten I can think of ...

Also check your personal care items. I'll confess I missed the wheat protein I was putting on my hair. I only realized this 10 days ago, cut it out, and now my gastro system is functioning better than I can remember in my entire life.

Slip ups are not unusual, particularly in the beginning. For instance, I happily ordered some soba noodles in a restaurant (my understanding at the time was that they were buckwheat and this is what the menu said too). Uh, turns out most soba noodles in this country contain wheat too. You can find 100% buckwheat soba in some stores.

I'm afraid I'm making this whole process seem overwhelming. But you do learn in time ... and feeling great is very motivating. I certainly hope you can find the answers you are searching for and get feeling better.

[Guest andie]

Ok i've been diagnosed with "IBS" for about 2 years now. It all first started with 6 months of nausea, then right after that went into bad abdominal pains starting with diahhrea. and since it's been intestinal pain, the feeling of my intestines being squeezed and the urge to have a bowel movement often accompanying it. I've been to just about every M.D. and a natural health expert in pittsburgh. The closest they came to saying what i had was Candida infection. So i did the treatment and it didn't really work.

But just the other week i thought of the possibility of celiac and figured i'd try a no-gluten diet. The first day of doing it produced something.. later on at night i had this weird feeling in my stomach and had some diahhrea and most of the stool looked black. All the days after that though up till tonight i've had less pain.

I also did blood tests and they came back "normal". So could i have celiac? i'm hoping so, so i know what to do. This will be my 7th day on the diet and after day 3, the changes aren't really that drastic anymore.. should i give it more time? approx. how long?

thanks

Hi

the literature suggests that the diet may take up to 18 months to show any real improvement. So I would think a few days would be pushing it for results.

Just a word of caution. Black stools are indicative of blood. When blood hits the gut it immediately turns black due to the bile used to digest food. Blood in the gut also causes cramping. An excess of bile (depending on the kind, there are several) can turn the stools dark. However when flushing, the black will turn a dark green or yellow. Blood will not. It stays black or may even take on a reddish hugh. In that case a diagnosis of Crohn's or ulcerative colitis is more likely. Have you had a colonoscopy? Sounds like you need one.

Certainly a gluten free diet won't hurt you, its just more difficult.

I also saw a program recently that suggested that the human body is not designed to digest wheat and that it should be eliminated from all diets. Interesting!

Hope this helps. Be cautious.