In Desperation I Went To A Herbologist...

[TracyB]

Hi everybody -

I've only read a few topics here but am a bit stunned by some of the information.

I was diagnosed with IBS at age 3 (hospitalized). Of course, at the time they called it "nervous stomach", then "spastic colon" and now IBS.

What amazed me was that after a lifetime of feeling unwell, and chronic diarrhea as well as years of constipation with diarrhea I read here about gallbladder problems.

My mother had her gallbladder taken out many years ago (I would say she'd have been in her 40's maybe). I recently went to a herbologist since I preferred not to go the traditional medicine route and she thinks I have gallbladder problems. (I said absolutely nothing to her about celiac or my mom - nothing. I'm not sure how she came to that conclusion).

I have frequent headaches, bloating, gas along with the diarrhea and fatigue. It's not easy to work in a small office when you feel this way!

The biggest thing is: I am NOT underweight. In fact, I've struggled a lot of my life with being overweight - never really obese though, although after my 3rd child 3 years ago, I haven't done well with weight loss!

I come from a family of very trim people - my mom, dad and sister and 2 brothers are very slender. I'm the black sheep. They all have allergies (my siblings I mean), I don't - except for a more recently diagnosed asthma allergy (mold apparently) in the Fall.

Does any of this sound like celiac? I have been told by my husband many times to get checked for it - my girlfriend yesterday said it sure sounds like celiac disease as she knows a woman who suffered for years, was overweight, found out a year ago she has celiac and is now in excellent health and has lost weight and looks really well.

My neighbour was diagnosed with IBS like me, at a young age. Her mom was recently diagnosed with Celiac so my neighbour was tested and sure enough, she has celiac disease. She is VERY thin, as is her mom.

I'm now 46 and I think I've had it - it's a very long time to feel this crummy and I just hate to complain. I rarely go to my doctor and I vaguely remember mentioning celiac to her at one time. I think she may be of the belief that people with celiac disease are always underweight. That isn't really true though is it? Oh, yes. About 3 years ago my doctor found out I was lactose intolerant - that makes sense - I never liked milk or ice cream - even as a small child - I guess I kind of "knew".

Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Do I ask to be tested? What if she refuses based on her beliefs I don't have it because I'm not underweight?

Thanks to all!

TracyB

[CathyM]

Hi everybody -

I've only read a few topics here but am a bit stunned by some of the information.

I was diagnosed with IBS at age 3 (hospitalized). Of course, at the time they called it "nervous stomach", then "spastic colon" and now IBS.

What amazed me was that after a lifetime of feeling unwell, and chronic diarrhea as well as years of constipation with diarrhea I read here about gallbladder problems.

My mother had her gallbladder taken out many years ago (I would say she'd have been in her 40's maybe). I recently went to a herbologist since I preferred not to go the traditional medicine route and she thinks I have gallbladder problems. (I said absolutely nothing to her about celiac or my mom - nothing. I'm not sure how she came to that conclusion).

I have frequent headaches, bloating, gas along with the diarrhea and fatigue. It's not easy to work in a small office when you feel this way!

The biggest thing is: I am NOT underweight. In fact, I've struggled a lot of my life with being overweight - never really obese though, although after my 3rd child 3 years ago, I haven't done well with weight loss!

I come from a family of very trim people - my mom, dad and sister and 2 brothers are very slender. I'm the black sheep. They all have allergies (my siblings I mean), I don't - except for a more recently diagnosed asthma allergy (mold apparently) in the Fall.

Does any of this sound like celiac? I have been told by my husband many times to get checked for it - my girlfriend yesterday said it sure sounds like celiac disease as she knows a woman who suffered for years, was overweight, found out a year ago she has celiac and is now in excellent health and has lost weight and looks really well.

My neighbour was diagnosed with IBS like me, at a young age. Her mom was recently diagnosed with Celiac so my neighbour was tested and sure enough, she has celiac disease. She is VERY thin, as is her mom.

I'm now 46 and I think I've had it - it's a very long time to feel this crummy and I just hate to complain. I rarely go to my doctor and I vaguely remember mentioning celiac to her at one time. I think she may be of the belief that people with celiac disease are always underweight. That isn't really true though is it? Oh, yes. About 3 years ago my doctor found out I was lactose intolerant - that makes sense - I never liked milk or ice cream - even as a small child - I guess I kind of "knew".

Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Do I ask to be tested? What if she refuses based on her beliefs I don't have it because I'm not underweight?

Thanks to all!

TracyB

[ShayFL]

Tracy, it doesnt hurt to ask your doctor if you can have a Celiac panel run. I really hope you get to the bottom of your health woes soon.

[MyMississippi]

Yes, of course ask to be tested based on your symptoms. A reasonable doctor should be willing to do this. You may want to arm yourself with information from another doctor like Dr. Peter Green to share with him. I'm always recommending that people read the book "Celiac Disease, a Hidden Epidemic" by Dr. Peter Green.

Celiacs do not have to be thin. In fact, Celiacs sometimes have NO symptoms at all and only find out they have the disease when other health issues crop up in their lives.

I assume you avoid dairy since you are lactose intolerant. ( And many celiacs are lactose intolerant also.)

Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

[CathyM]

Hi everybody -

I've only read a few topics here but am a bit stunned by some of the information.

I was diagnosed with IBS at age 3 (hospitalized). Of course, at the time they called it "nervous stomach", then "spastic colon" and now IBS.

What amazed me was that after a lifetime of feeling unwell, and chronic diarrhea as well as years of constipation with diarrhea I read here about gallbladder problems.

My mother had her gallbladder taken out many years ago (I would say she'd have been in her 40's maybe). I recently went to a herbologist since I preferred not to go the traditional medicine route and she thinks I have gallbladder problems. (I said absolutely nothing to her about celiac or my mom - nothing. I'm not sure how she came to that conclusion).

I have frequent headaches, bloating, gas along with the diarrhea and fatigue. It's not easy to work in a small office when you feel this way!

The biggest thing is: I am NOT underweight. In fact, I've struggled a lot of my life with being overweight - never really obese though, although after my 3rd child 3 years ago, I haven't done well with weight loss!

I come from a family of very trim people - my mom, dad and sister and 2 brothers are very slender. I'm the black sheep. They all have allergies (my siblings I mean), I don't - except for a more recently diagnosed asthma allergy (mold apparently) in the Fall.

Does any of this sound like celiac? I have been told by my husband many times to get checked for it - my girlfriend yesterday said it sure sounds like celiac disease as she knows a woman who suffered for years, was overweight, found out a year ago she has celiac and is now in excellent health and has lost weight and looks really well.

My neighbour was diagnosed with IBS like me, at a young age. Her mom was recently diagnosed with Celiac so my neighbour was tested and sure enough, she has celiac disease. She is VERY thin, as is her mom.

I'm now 46 and I think I've had it - it's a very long time to feel this crummy and I just hate to complain. I rarely go to my doctor and I vaguely remember mentioning celiac to her at one time. I think she may be of the belief that people with celiac disease are always underweight. That isn't really true though is it? Oh, yes. About 3 years ago my doctor found out I was lactose intolerant - that makes sense - I never liked milk or ice cream - even as a small child - I guess I kind of "knew".

Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Do I ask to be tested? What if she refuses based on her beliefs I don't have it because I'm not underweight?

Thanks to all!

TracyB

TracyB,

I'm new to this also but have an autistic child that has been wf/gluten-free, dairy free for 10 years. I was told years ago by a naturapathic doctor that when you eat something your body is allergic to/unable to break down (wheat/gluten), it stores it as fat, plus you have allergic reactions, which can vary. I had symptoms similar to yours and was unable to lose weight and had horrible sinus problems. I was recently diagnosed with hyperactive thyroid, lost 48 pounds and got off of wheat. Since eliminating wheat/gluten from my diet, I have not gained any weight back and have absolutely no sinus or other health problems. The thyroid is controlled wonderfully with Tapezol. Chose not to go the radioactive iodine route because I did not want to mutate any cells in my body.

You could read "Eat Right 4 your Type" and "The Food Allergy Cure," which explains toxic overload and why I should not have been eating wheat/gluten.

Good luck

[TracyB]

TracyB,

I'm new to this also but have an autistic child that has been wf/gluten-free, dairy free for 10 years. I was told years ago by a naturapathic doctor that when you eat something your body is allergic to/unable to break down (wheat/gluten), it stores it as fat, plus you have allergic reactions, which can vary. I had symptoms similar to yours and was unable to lose weight and had horrible sinus problems. I was recently diagnosed with hyperactive thyroid, lost 48 pounds and got off of wheat. Since eliminating wheat/gluten from my diet, I have not gained any weight back and have absolutely no sinus or other health problems. The thyroid is controlled wonderfully with Tapezol. Chose not to go the radioactive iodine route because I did not want to mutate any cells in my body.

You could read "Eat Right 4 your Type" and "The Food Allergy Cure," which explains toxic overload and why I should not have been eating wheat/gluten.

Good luck

Thanks CathyM - I have heard of the book Eat Right 4 your Type - I will pick it up. I have had my thyroid tested before - everything is fine there thank goodness. What you said about storing fat from foods you are intolerant too makes sense. It goes against normal thinking though doesn't it? It would certainly support the way celiac is known to work now, but goes against what doctors normally think - i.e. if you have celiac you must be thin because you are excreting fat and not absorbing vitamins and minerals well - or something along those lines.

I have often thought of eliminating gluten - but think I ought to be tested for celiac first - fully. It would be a relief just to know one way or the other.

Thanks for the reply!

[ShayFL]

I was told my thyroid was "good" for 12 years when I was severely hypo. With a print out of the new TSH ranges in hand, my doctor conceded that I had in fact needed treatment for those 12 years of hell.

Visit:

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

before you just accept that all is well in that area.

[TracyB]

I was told my thyroid was "good" for 12 years when I was severely hypo. With a print out of the new TSH ranges in hand, my doctor conceded that I had in fact needed treatment for those 12 years of hell.

Visit:

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

before you just accept that all is well in that area.

I checked the site - interesting. You mentioned the "new" TSH ranges - where do I find those and who sets the ranges?

Thanks!

[ShayFL]

This tells you everything you need to know. You can even print out the press release. Often labs are the last to change their reference ranges. So even though it has been 5 years, some labs still use the old range.

Open Original Shared Link

[nora-n]

In this thread here there is apubmed reference where it says that only 17% of adults are under-weight Open Original Shared Link and if you look for the celiac articles in www.bmj.com one article even says taht only 5% are under-weight. Open Original Shared Link

[Mtndog]

Tracy- You do NOT have to be thin to have celiac or gluten intolerance. That is a myth. You can have celiac and be underweight, normal weight or overweight. I would definitely ask to get tested along with your thyroid and ultrasound for your gall bladder. Even if it's any of those, you can continue to see your herbologist or combine traditional and herbology- whatever works for you and gets you feeling better!

You can always try eliminating gluten for a week or two and see what happens.

Welcome!

[TracyB]

This tells you everything you need to know. You can even print out the press release. Often labs are the last to change their reference ranges. So even though it has been 5 years, some labs still use the old range.

Open Original Shared Link

I looked up a lab locally and the range they state is .2-6.0 TSH - still not even close to what was in the article you sent!

[ShayFL]

And since doctors just scan the lab sheet looking for anything out of range, there are likely thousands of people who use that lab who are suffering needlessly. G-d it makes me just sick.

The new range is up to 3, but I was severely hypo at 2.88. My doctor agreed it was close enough to warrant a trial of thyroid meds. I knew within 48 hours I was on the right track. And within a few months I knew I had hit pay dirt. I have had to titer up my meds over the last year and a half, but am at a good level now. I get muscle twitches if I need more meds. When that happens we add in a very small amount and they go away.

I was a "skinny" hypothyroid. One Doc said...."You cant be hypothyroid because you are skinny and have diarrhea."

Well he didnt account for a gluten intolerance on top of my thyroid problem.

I hope you get the help you need.