Bad Stomach Pains

[simply]

Hi...

I've not yet been diagnosed with Celiac, although I'm pretty sure that I have it. I had no idea what it was until my doctor ran a blood tests for gluten antibodies a few weeks ago thinking that it may be the cause of a wide variety of poo problems.

Anyway, he let me know that one of the tests cam back as a weak positive, that I might have gluten sensitive enteropathy, and that I should see a gastroenterologist. (Note: I chose the two weeks before the blood test to do atkins...as a result, I had NO gluten during those two weeks - with the exception of a small amount of soy sauce.)

Anyway, while my doctor is out of town, I've been eating a lot of bread and pasta because everything I've read says that you should be eating gluten while they try to diagnose you...otherwise, everything comes up false negative.

Right now, I'm having unbelievable stomach pains....they are not really localized...instead they're pretty much all over. Also, my bones hurt, my hair is falling out, blah, blah, blah. The weird thing is that my symptoms are different before going gluten-free for those two weeks than they are now.

My questions:

1. Is it normal to have different symptoms after going gluten-free for two weeks.

2. How much gluten must I eat on a daily basis to make sure I don't get a false negative (couple crackers or a plateful of pasta plus a few slices of garlic bread)?

3. For how many weeks before the blood test must I be eating gluten? Before the biopsy?

4. Is it normal to be obese and have this thing? If it is possible, HOW?

5. Must you fast before taking the gluten anti-bodies blood test (the first time I took it, I had to because of some other blood work that was being done.)

6. Do you have to stay in the hospital to have the tube slid down your throat for the biopsy...or do you have to be in the hospital at all...do they give you drugs if you have a nasty gag reflux.

Yeah, I have lots of other questions, but that should be enough for now.

Thank you all so much...

Simply

[angel-jd1]

4. Is it normal to be obese and have this thing? If it is possible, HOW?

I would like to answer essay question number 4 please

Your body goes into a survival mode. Seeing as your body isn't getting nutrients(due to the villi flattening) your body starts storing fat. Thus you become obese over time. This doesn't happen to every Celiac, but does to some.

Hope that helps ya!!

-Jessica

[Aimee]

From my understanding, gluten is found in alot more items than just bread and pasta, so even though you may have been adhering to an Atkins diet, you probably were ingesting *some* gluten of some sort. Its amazing the kinds of things I've already found that contain gluten... I'm new to this, but I've found it to be true so far... So you may not have been as free from it as it would seem, but maybe so.

To answer your questions as well as I can. I have had unbelievable stomach pains as well, even after going gluten free, they are still there. I have read it can take weeks to rid yourself of the side effects once on a gluten free diet. My symptoms dont always stay the same... like, my bones ached for months, then I became really gasey, etc etc. The abdominal pains seem to be the flavor of the month =) So I don't know if things would change in 2 weeks or not...

I don't really know how much you should eat to not get a false negative, to be honest. My doctor told me 2 weeks ago that I could begin the gluten free diet even though I was having my biopsy two weeks later, and he said the damage would not reverse that quickly. He told me he even found enough damage to confirm a patient of his 6 full months after they went gluten free. Your doctor can answer these questions for you when you go see them.

I am slightly overweight (15-20 pounds?), I suppose, though in the last month and half when things really got bad (to the point of not eating anything), I began to lose weight (25 pounds and counting). I have read that some people don't react by losing weight. I suppose because some people don't get diarrhea and flush things (I dont), and even though the nutrients may not be being absorbed, doesn't mean the fat is? Good question. Ask your doc and let me know what s/he says =)

I didn't have to do anything before having the blood test done. Matter of fact, I didn't know what he was testing for... he just told me he wanted to do more labs.

I just had my upper endoscopy done on Monday. I have had one done before to find an ulcer, and both experiences were the same (diff doctors, hospitals, etc). I went to the GI Lab at my hospital, they hooked up an IV, put me to sleep just using sedation (keeps you out about 30 minutes or so), and they did the procedure. I felt nothing, remember nothing. I do know they spray your throat with something to numb it in order to combat that gag reflux =) My docs office had me watch an information video on the whole thing before going through with it. There are people who opt not to be sedated, I didn't take that route (though my insurance co believes it to be elective and doesn't pay for it. Money worth spending as far as I'm concerned). Once you're back awake, they let you go home. I went home and slept another 6 hours or so. Piece of cake =)

I hope that helps some... My best advice is to see a doc. Do some research yourself, arm yourself with questions, and see a doc about it all. =)

[simply]

Well, I was able to see the gastroenterologist today. She was very friendly (what a relief) and she seemed to know what she is doing. She is a faculty member at the University of Michigan medical school, so I'm hoping she's clued in.

Anyway, she said that I probably didn't have celiac despite my symptoms because most people with Celiac are underweight, and I'm 100 pounds over. However, she ordered the proper tests anyway just to be on the safe side - it is an easy test to run, and if that is the problem, we really ought to know now.

So, now I have a week to wait. That's fine. I'm patient.

If I don't have it, I'll need to get a colonoscopy to find out whether I have micro ... colonitis or something like that. I'm not sure if I caught the name quite right.

Later.