What Should My Next Step Be ?

[ChrisH]

Hope it's Ok to ramble a bit, but I'm sitting up at 4 in the morning, wishing this abdomonal pain would go away :-(

To cut a long story short, I'm not quite sure what I've got, and I need some advice on what to ask the Doctor to do next.

Aged 51, Male, I have had an intolerance for eggs for some time, but also been diagnosed with IBS many years ago.

Motions have always been solid and heavy until recently when they have been freer and lighter.

I have been suffering from very bloated abdomen, excessive wind and general abdominal discomfort for years.

A couple of months ago, I had several days in a row where the pain was such that I got no sleep at all..

It got so bad that one morning I rang the emergency healthcare service and they advised a visit to the Emergency Hospital.

They took a look and did a simple blood test which showed a high ESR.

I decided to try and get to the bottom of the problem and saw my doctor..

I was sent for a Gastroscopy, and assumed they would take a biopsy to what was going on.

However, they discovered a Hiatus Hernia and stopped at that point without taking any biopsies.

When I returned to the Doc, she presribed Lansoprazole to help with Acid Reflux due to the hernia.

Unsurprisingly, that has made no difference at all, the pain is generally lower than the position of the hernia, and happens several hours afer eating.

several days I ate very little, some cheese, nuts and potato, and I was fine..

a couple of days I ate normal foods, but only light meals and the symptoms came back with a vengeance!

I have a suspicion that it is at least Gluten intolerance if not Celiac, just from a general feeling about what I have eaten when the symptoms occur,

I am due to go back to the doc in a couple of weeks and need advice on what I should ask for..

should I experiment to see if it is Gluten that is causing the problem ? How strict do I need to be..

Is it worth me buying a test .. which one should I go for, a general food intolerance test, or something more specific.

Chris

[gfgypsyqueen]

Hi and welcome,

Since you mentioned problems with eggs, you may want to have some food tests and allergy tests just to rule food allergies out.

Next I would request Celiac blood work and biopsy from the Dr. Do not go Gluten free if you plan on being tested for Celiacs. The results will be skewed if you are gluten-free at the time of the tests. As a fun perk to the disease, once you go gluten-free, you're reactions to gluten will be worse! So it is not fun to be told to start eating gluten again for a biopsy.

If you are going to buy a test, get the gene test for Celiacs too. The tests from Entero lab do not require you to be gluten-free at the time of tests.

When you go on the gluten-free diet, you need to be 100% gluten-free always. No cheating, no accidents (best as you can to avoid them). You should see improvement within a few weeks and see a big difference within a few months, if you have Celiacs. A lot of us can't digest dairy easily when first diagnoised, so look into going gluten-free/CF - at least to start.

It does sound like you are likely a Celiac. Hopefully you will get a diagnosis soon and start feeling better.

[ChrisH]

Hi and welcome,

Since you mentioned problems with eggs, you may want to have some food tests and allergy tests just to rule food allergies out.

Next I would request Celiac blood work and biopsy from the Dr. Do not go Gluten free if you plan on being tested for Celiacs. The results will be skewed if you are gluten-free at the time of the tests. As a fun perk to the disease, once you go gluten-free, you're reactions to gluten will be worse! So it is not fun to be told to start eating gluten again for a biopsy.

If you are going to buy a test, get the gene test for Celiacs too. The tests from Entero lab do not require you to be gluten-free at the time of tests.

When you go on the gluten-free diet, you need to be 100% gluten-free always. No cheating, no accidents (best as you can to avoid them). You should see improvement within a few weeks and see a big difference within a few months, if you have Celiacs. A lot of us can't digest dairy easily when first diagnoised, so look into going gluten-free/CF - at least to start.

It does sound like you are likely a Celiac. Hopefully you will get a diagnosis soon and start feeling better.

Thanks, its going to be hard putting up with the sleepless nights for a couple of weeks when I think theres a chance I can fix it :-( but I'll stay with a fairly normal diet, but probably less food, as that seems to help a little.

I'll order the tests in the morning, The Doc will likely want to do them also.. but at least thats one positive step..

and it also helps just having someone to talk to !

I'm going to go for a walk and see if that helps get my mind off it !

Cheers

Chris