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Hi, New Here From Canada :)


kds0

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kds0 Newbie

Hi,

My name is Kim. I've been suffering with various symptoms for about 10 years. Back then I was diagnosed as having fibromyalgia. Each new symptom I got no matter how unusual my doctor would attribute to the fibro and say no other testing was needed. I've had doctors suggest I lose a few pounds, get a hobby, find a man (before I got married) and oh maybe I was depressed so here are some antidepressants. arg!@

The last year I've had symptoms of diarhea, bloating, abdominal pain, joint/muscle pain, headaches. I went to a naturopath last year and was told I have food intolerances of: eggs, casein, peanuts and yeast. So I followed a restricted diet and while most symptoms improved some still remained. Last fall I went back to my regular doctor who sent me for an abdominal ultrasound. It found several smallish polyps in my gallbladder. He said they should not cause the symptoms I was having so he referred me to a general surgeon. The surgeon did a endoscopy last month. Before the endoscopy I started reading up on celiacs and seemed to have a lot of the symptoms they were noting. The day of the endoscopy I asked the surgeon if he could do a biopsy for celiacs since he was there anyways.

I got my results last week and much to my disappointment he said the sample looked completely normal but he only took 1 sample. He said I had a few stomach polyps and was confused as to why I still have symptoms. I asked him if he would consider doing a blood test for celiacs. He said it wasn't needed because the biopsy was normal. His only other suggestion was to schedule me for a colonscopy and stool sample analysis (for c-diff, parasites) next month. Other than that he can't do anything else for me. I just need to go home and "live my life."

To me this appalling and unacceptable. *sigh* Last week I order the gluten sensitivity/gene panel and the stool test for acute/chronic colitis. Just waiting for my test kit to arrive. I guess being in Canada it takes a bit longer to get here.

I should add here that for the last 15 years my thyroid slowly got bigger and bigger. Every year I would go through the usual TSH test and antibody test. Everything always normal. Finally late 2005 I was having troubles with the thyroid compressing on my windpipe so my dr. referred me to an ENT who decided it should definately come out. After the surgery he said he had only planned to remove one lobe but ended up removing 90% of it. He said that was the biggest, nastiest thyroid he ever saw and my antibody tests kept coming back normal because there was nothing left of it to attack. The pathology found I have Hashimoto's disease; dx in 2006.

Just hope I can find some answers and get on the path to feeling better. Stupid doctors.


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kept coming back normal because there was nothing left of it to attack. The pathology found I have Hashimoto's disease;

This EXACT thing happened to my Mom. Only she had already developed cancer. :( But they took out her entire thyroid and so far....so good.

You may have to self Dx like a lot of us. See what your self ordered tests reveal. But be prepared to try the gluten free diet. You will not know unless you do.

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    • Shining My Light
      Thank you @trents! This is all sound advice. In 2022 I did have a biopsy done with the EGD: SPECIMEN: (A) DUODENUM, BIOPSY (B) GASTRIC BIOPSY(C) GASTRIC POLYP, BIOPSY(D) ESOPHAGUS BIOPSY (E) ESOPHAGUS BIOPSY This would have been when the candida was found.  If I understand right it’s the duodenum they take a biopsy of. Nothing was mentioned about Villous atrophy however they were not looking for that particularly.    Something that stumps me is the correlation between symptoms and damage. One seems to equal the other. I have yet to see damage with “silent celiac”. Not saying it doesn’t exist.  Also super curious on other symptoms that would improve based on a gluten free diet. Obviously silent celiac wouldn’t have an improvement in GI symptoms but that is all I have read any data for. No one saying things like my anxiety went away or my headaches and joint pain are gone.    I see why it would be a “gluten challenge” since eating 4-6 slices of bread daily is a challenge to do. 😳 I would replace that with cake 🍰😉 
    • xxnonamexx
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    • trents
      All that is exactly why you should have an endoscopy with a biopsy of the small bowel lining done. It's a very simple procedure and in the US they put you under for it so there is no discomfort. You don't even have to do a cleanout like you do for a colonoscopy.  It might also be wise to wait a few months and get the tTG-IGA checked again if nothing else. If it elevated now due to some temporary infectious process, it should not remain elevated. But a biopsy would distinguish between IBD and celiac disease. And remember, the diagnosing of diseases is often not a black and white, cut and dry process. You often have to weigh all the evidence and just go with what is most likely the cause. When tTG-IGA is elevated, the most likely cause is celiac disease. And the gold standard test for diagnosing celiac disease is still the endoscopy with biopsy. But if you decide to go for further testing for celiac disease of any kind, you must not first embark on the gluten free diet.
    • knitty kitty
      I understand your exasperation.  My doctors were totally clueless.  Me?  I couldn't believe it was so simple.  I had studied nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology because I was curious about what the vitamins were doing inside the body.  It's about giving the body the nutrients it needs to heal.  Read my blog for more of my journey...  Do take the time now to make some changes.  It's a matter of putting on your own oxygen mask first before you do anything else.  I regret I didn't do more to take care of myself first.  It's amazing how quickly ones life can unravel if in poor health. Simple things you can do immediately that will help are: Stop consuming oats, dairy, and corn. Keep a food-mood-poo'd journal so pinpointing problematic foods is easier. No alcohol. Avoid nightshades.  Do cut back on or eliminate processed gluten free facsimile foods.  These are not nutritious.  They are not enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts.  They contain saturated fats and excess fiber that can be irritating to the digestive tract.   They are high in simple carbohydrates that promote Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Do focus on meat, veggies, fruit and healthy Omega 3 fats (olive oil, avocado oil).   Do make stews and roasts overnight in a crockpot.  Make small batches.  Leftovers increase in histamine the longer they are left.   Do talk to your doctor about supplementing with a B Complex and Benfotiamine (a form of thiamine shown to promote intestinal healing).  There are eight essential B vitamins.  They work in concert together like an orchestra, so they need to be supplemented together.  Taking extra thiamine and Benfotiamine have been shown to be beneficial.  Weight loss can be a symptom of insufficient thiamine. I believe you mentioned you were low in some vitamins. Can you tell me  which ones?  
    • Shining My Light
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