Unsure How To Proceed

[and-h]

I wondered if anyone could give me a little advice and am sorry if this gets a little gross but i'm kind of worried about it all...

I went to my dr regarding a few things lately grey looking stools being one of them and my dr said it sounds like your having trouble absorbing fat properly the other thing was a back ache i have been getting a lot but she just sugested an appointment with a physio for it. Me being me i am naturally curious about things i do not understand especially if it has been something that has been worrying me.

So i came home and googled fat malabsorption which gave me amongst many others a page with celiacs symptoms on it. I read through the symptoms and well a lot of it that was on there i could associate with myself ie: grey stools, bad gas, back ache, dry skin, fatigue and either i'm constipated or i have diarrhea never inbetween it's either one or the other.

I did have a test for it a couple of years ago but it came back negative but before i had the test my doctor did suggest i tried a gluten free diet for a little while and see if it helped at all then after a couple of weeks like that i was given a blood test.

Is it worth going back and asking for them to test again or do further tests or something or am i just being silly?

[HAK1031]

Not silly at all. In fact, it sounds like a very high possibility. Just be warned that testing isn't very accurate and false negatives are common. The best diagnosis is improvement on a gluten-free diet- but if you do want testing, going gluten-free with mess up your results. But definitely mention celiac, there aren't many conditions associated with fat malabsorbtion, and it sounds like celiac is a match for you.

[lizard00]

Welcome to the Forum!!

So, did you try the gluten-free diet? If you did, how did it go and are you still gluten-free?

If you are currently consuming gluten, then now is the time to be tested. The tests are not known for their accuracy, but if you cut out gluten, you will significantly reduce your chance at getting an accurate answer.

It's never silly to want to know what's wrong so you can start feeling better.

[Lisa]

Hi and welcome:

Here is the Celiac Panel you should request from your doctor:

Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) both IgA and IgG

Anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA) - IgA

Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) - IgA

Total IgA level

You should not begin the diet until after you have been tested. As others have said, the blood test can rule Celiac in, but it can't rule it out. It would be good to be tested and if needed it can be followed up with an endoscopy/biopsy exam.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[and-h]

I'm not following a gluten free diet now no but when my dr tested me for it previously which was just over 2 years ago he put me on a gluten free diet to see if things improved BEFORE he did the tests it was only about 2 or 3 weeks before but even so if it can affect the results i don't understand why he did it. Then because i got a negative result and my dr said it wasn't that i just ditched the gluten free diet.

[ravenwoodglass]

I'm not following a gluten free diet now no but when my dr tested me for it previously which was just over 2 years ago he put me on a gluten free diet to see if things improved BEFORE he did the tests it was only about 2 or 3 weeks before but even so if it can affect the results i don't understand why he did it. Then because i got a negative result and my dr said it wasn't that i just ditched the gluten free diet.

You had another celiac stupid doctor who virtually guarenteed you would show up negative in the tests by having you go gluten-free for 3 weeks before the test. The tests are notorious for false negatives even when we are actively consuming gluten, having you cut it our before testing made this almost a certainty.

You could try Enterolab for stool testing for antibodies or you can do a good strict trial of the gluten free diet for a couple of months. The diet and your response to it is the best test there is. Welcome to the board and read, read, read. Ask any query you need to.

[and-h]

Ok well thanks for the advice i think i will go and see my dr again on monday and ask for them to test again. Hey you never know maybe this is a partial cause of the depression i have had for the last 12 years that they decided to pump me full of allsorts of pills powders and potions for that didn't help in the slightest.

[ravenwoodglass]

Hey you never know maybe this is a partial cause of the depression i have had for the last 12 years that they decided to pump me full of allsorts of pills powders and potions for that didn't help in the slightest.

Hey you never know, it may be the only cause. For some of us, like myself and others in my family that has been shown to be the case.

[and-h]

Just thaught i would give a quick update...

I went to my GP and had to see a locum at least i think that's what there called.

After a long talk with them i said to her i would like you to do some tests please to find out if this is the cause i was then told by her there are no tests for this we usually just ask you to stay away from it and see how you go from that.

Well i found this very very odd and responded with well not to sound like i am being funny but i know there are tests you can do and would like you to do them after saying that i was told that she couldn't authorise any tests and i would need to bring in any info about said tests that i can because as far as she is concerned there are no tests for it.

I must say i am losing confidence in my doctors surgery at the minute i mean they are supposed to be there to deal with any health issues people may have and be trained to do what they do and they do not know about something as simple as a test for this..... or am i just blowing this out of proportion.

[and-h]

YAY i'm getting somewhere.... I managed to get to speak to my own dr on the phone ( couldn't go see him they have a stupid appointment system that if you don't ring before 10am you can't have an appointment and you cannot book an appoinment in advance ).

I explained the situation to him and what the other dr had said, he said that's not strictly true the 1st step is to get some blood tests done if nothing comes from that the 2nd step is a biopsy and has booked me in for the blood tests doing on friday.

[lizard00]

Congratulations!!! Stick with your regular GP... he sounds much more informed. Keep asking... eventually you will find your answer.