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Seeing My Doctor Tomorrow


marthacolleen

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marthacolleen Newbie

Hello. I just found this forum after spending most of the day looking at celiac sprue information. Here's my story, if any of you can help.

A friend of mine with sprue has talked me into getting tested. I see my family doctor tomorrow (she has a daughter with sprue) and this is what I'm going to tell her:

I don't think I could tell you what a 'normal' bowel movement is supposed to look like. I remember in college being constipated all the time and, for the last fifteen years or so, I've had bouts of violent diarrhea. I nearly killed my daughter trying to get home in time to make the stool. When my friend with sprue told me to get checked I did some research and dismissed it because celiacs were supposed to be short statured (I'm 5'7"...not incredibly tall but certainly not short) and thin (I weigh about 200 pounds). Anyway, four years ago, I went on Sugar Busters eating plan. It's not one of the low carb plans but I ended up eating a lot less bread and pasta and felt much better. I still had diarrhea but it wasn't as painful or as sudden. I went off the plan for awhile, gained a little weight back and decided to start back up again awhile back. Last month, I decided to eliminate starchy carbs, more as an experiment than anything else. I expected to feel dizzy and weak but I can't remember ever feeling better. This is what leads me to believe I might be gluten intolerent. I know I can't be eating entirely gluten free because I haven't been reading labels for gluten and I'm not the only one who cooks in my household. Still, I've been mostly eating lean protein, veggies and fruits. My energy level is up, and I don't have this 'muddiness' in my head.

I'm wondering...does quantity affect how you feel? Since I'm not eating as much gluten, is it possible for me to be feeling much better even though I'm not entirely gluten free?

To my knowledge, no one in my family has ever been diagnosed with sprue. However, I'm starting to wonder if some of the health problems they've experienced (paget's disease, depression, pancreatic cancer) were somehow related. Any ideas?

Thanks.

Martha


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