Wondering If Its Okay.

[Ericka]

I have been on a gluten-free diet for quite awhile now but i was never diagnosed by a doctor. We can't really afford to do that so we looked on the internet and i had many of the symptoms so i stopped eating gluten and felt much better. Every where i look says its not safe or something to self diagnose and i dont really understand why if it really did make me feel better to stop eating gluten. I feel like i really should get diagnosed but now that i have been off it they wouldnt be able to tell but i know that if i eat gluten again so i can get properly diagnosed i would feel so bad and i just dont wanna do that! ah! sorry frustrating.. What do you suggest i do?? any ideas?

oh and is anyone else allergic to dairy as well?

~Ericka

[Ursa Major]

Hi Ericka, and welcome to these forums. As far as I am concerned it is nobody's business but your own what you eat or don't eat. And it is definitely perfectly safe to determine that gluten makes you ill, and that you are better off without it.

Many people here (including myself) are self-diagnosed, mainly because our doctors have failed us and diagnosed us with everything from IBS, depression etc., rather than actually taking us seriously and testing for celiac disease.

So, you can't be sure if you have officially celiac disease with destroyed villi or 'only' have a gluten sensitivity. Really, who cares, the treatment is the same, which is to be on a gluten-free diet.

You will find that here you will find the help and support you need, and nobody will question your decision to be gluten-free without a formal diagnosis.

I would never suggest for anybody to go back to eating gluten for tests that may or may not be accurate, I think that is an insane thing to do.

I firmly believe that you would do well to just stick with the gluten-free diet, and dismiss anybody who argues otherwise.

[Ericka]

Thanks for that! i think i just needed to hear that! Im glad i found this support group here!

[home-based-mom]

Hi, Ericka

There are lots of people here who do not have an official diagnosis, including me. I just know what happens when I eat anything containing gluten and although it is not drastic, it is not pretty, either! I do also have a blood relative with a confirmed celiac diagnosis.

Ursa is right. It is nobody's business what you eat or do not eat. If you repeatedly feel sick after eating a particular food, gluten or otherwise, it's really kind of stupid to keep eating it, so give yourself credit for figuring it out on your own (cheaper than paying a doctor to do it for you!) and adjust your own diet to what works for you.

Many people here have other food allergies and/or intolerances. Soy and dairy are the most common. Sometimes after your intestines heal you may be able to add them back and sometimes not. Experiment and see what works for you.

Spend a lot of time reading posts here. This place is really a gold mine of information. You will learn *so* much!

[GlutenGalAZ]

Ericka -- Im self-diagnosed. I grew up having terrible stomach problems where I would be curled up on my bed crying from the pain and having to go to the restroom a lot. My mom at one time thought I had an eating disorder b/c I would have to go to the bathroom pretty much right after dinner. I was miss diagnosed for about 16 years. Last year my mom thankfully heard about gluten intolerance and mentioned it to me so I decided to give it a try after reading about it and thinking hey maybe this is the missing link to my problems. OH MY GOSH I feel sooooooo much better than I ever have. I know what I can eat and don't worry about where the closest bathroom is all the time.

I agree with the other posts...if you feel better on the gluten free diet then stick with it.

The beginning is the hardest -- it does get better and easier

GOOD LUCK

[ljb]

Although, I completely agree that you don't need a diagnosis to know that being off gluten makes you feel better, there is another side to a Dx.

My son (25 mos) was recently diagnosed. I have not been (still waiting blood test results - both gene and

antibodies). My main reason for having the tests was for knowledge. DH and myself are NOT currently gluten-free. We don't want to kill ourselves either, in case we do have a silent form of the disease. We are each being tested because we have nieces and nephews and sisters and brothers that we love and want them to be prepared for the potential. If I have it (or am a carrier) and DS doesn't, his sister and her children do not worry as much about the potential. The reverse is also true. We are just trying to watch out for those we love.

I don't want anyone that I love to go thru terrible intestinal cancers and threats of starving to death due to malnutrition, if it is avoidable with a simple test.

If we do have another child, I will have the genetic test done as early as the doctors allow!