Does This Sound Like Celiac Disease?

[Jedi4ever]

Hi,

My girlfriend has been experiencing a series of weird symptoms which we're starting to think may be Celiac Disease.

The background is she travelled to China last summer and when she returned she started feeling abdominal pain from time to time after eating. Eventually I convinced her to get a parasite test and blastocystis hominis was said to be found. She went through around of Flagyl but that didn't seem to do any good.

Fast forward to this summer. She was away for a school internship for the winter, but when she got back to school in May she started developing this weird itchiness/flakiness/burning around her eyes (very red skin like 'raccoon eyes' sometimes), a couple spots by her chin, and the palms of the hands. She still has pain after eating - but not all the time. Sometimes nothing; often she feels 80%. A handful of times during these summer months the pain has been so bad she's not been able to walk for a few hours, and the inability to eat lasts 48 hours (very consistently).

She doesn't seem to have any bowel movement related problems, just pain and the itchiness. She is also anemic, but she has been since birth (her mother was the same). Sometimes she seems fatigued, especially during the bad attacks.

I guess the thing that is strange is that the pain always starts about 20 minutes after eating, and often a slice of bread causes the worst of it. I'm interested in hearing the timing of your symptoms from some Celiac patients.

I guess what we're wondering is it possible that the blasto infection could damage the intestine or stimulate the underlying celiac condition somehow? Or is it more likely that it's just the blasto and that's it? What do you guys think?

[RiceGuy]

Well, I think what I'd do is try a few gluten-free meals and see if the same reactions occur. Most foods are gluten-free anyway, so it isn't difficult. The anemia, pains, fatigue, and so forth are certainly familiar to many on this board, so I wouldn't be surprised if she is Celiac. If she wants an "official" diagnosis, that can be done of course, but keep in mind that the diet is the best test, and the blood tests and biopsies often give false negatives. Since the best accuracy is obtained while the patient is still eating gluten, she'd either need to get them done right away, or continue eating gluten until after testing. If she feels better on the gluten-free diet, that's really what counts, but she probably won't be too thrilled about the prospect of eating gluten again to get the tests, and reactions are often worse after having bee gluten-free for awhile.

Other foods which tend to be problematic for many celiacs including (but are not limited to) dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, corn, and nightshades. So it would probably be a good idea to avoid those too while trying the gluten-free diet. I'm sure you'll get many delicious meal suggestions from other members, and you can also find many gluten-free recipes here.

Some of my favorites include vegetable stews and casseroles. She could even try something super-simple, like whip up some green peas in the blender to make pea soup. It really isn't necessary to get too elaborate right away. What you really want to do is determine if gluten is what she's reacting too.

HTH

Welcome to the board!

[ShayFL]

Rice Guy has some good ideas. It also wouldnt hurt to do a herbal parasite cleanse (which are generally more effective than Rx). People on this board like Humaworm, but I think Paragone by Lame Advertisement is equally as good.

Def. try gluten-free for awhile and cut out the other known offenders like Rice Guy mentioned.

And then work on "healing" her gut. Intestive or Seacure, PepZin GI, 8 - 10 mg Biotin daily and probiotics.