Is This Celiac?

[PamelaR]

I have not been diagnosed with Celiac, in fact was told a blood test was negative. I have many symptoms - bloating, diarrhea, cramping, stomach pain, etc - which doctors can find no explanation for. I have had a heart arythmia that some people feel is the result of malabsorbtion of nutrients. I have had CT scans, blood work, upper GI series, you name it, all negative. I had my gallbladder removed 20 years ago. I took myself off wheat and dairy for a week; felt a bit better but still have some significant symptoms. I guess I have several questions: Could this be Celiac? How long do you have to be wheat/dairy free to see results? I am still eating nuts and eggs; if I give those up, what the heck do I eat?? Also, I am drinking decaf coffee: could that be exacerbating Celiac symptoms? I would appreciate any input here.

[curlyfries]

Hi Pamela

It still could be Celiac...or gluten intolerance. As far as still having symptoms........Are you off wheat only or all gluten? Even if it was all gluten, one week is not enough time to feel a significant improvement for many people.

And sometimes coffee can be hard on a fragile digestive system.....until you've had more time to heal.

[GFinDC]

Yep, 1 week is just a start. I eat a lot of rice dishes or quinoa myself. There are lots of ways to make rice! Are you familiar with elimination diets? They can be helpful to identify problem foods. Did your blood work show any vitamin levels low? You might want to ask your doctor about taking supplements if they did.

[PamelaR]

Yep, 1 week is just a start. I eat a lot of rice dishes or quinoa myself. There are lots of ways to make rice! Are you familiar with elimination diets? They can be helpful to identify problem foods. Did your blood work show any vitamin levels low? You might want to ask your doctor about taking supplements if they did.

[PamelaR]

I am not familiar with elimination diets. Does that mean I should eliminate additional things that might be adding to the problem: eggs, coffee, nuts, etc? I am willing to try anything. I am noticing that people use nutritionists: can anybody recommend one in the area north of NYC: Westchester/Putnam counties?

Thanks

[Amyleigh0007]

Don't give up after only one week! It will take longer to feel the benefits of a gluten free diet. Keep a food diary and record what you eat and how you feel after you eat it. You may notice a trend with certain foods. Try eliminating one food at a time so if you feel better you will know you have a problem with that food.

[GFinDC]

Hi Pamela,

There are plenty of versions of elimination diets around. My own thinking is to decide on a group of 5 basic food items that you think will be ok for you to eat. You wouldn't want to include any of the major food allergens in that starting 5. Lets say you decided on rice, bananas, , apples, lima beans and chicken or beef or fish. All plain foods, not processed. You would eat those 5 items only for a while and see if your digestion settles down. If it does then you have a good starting group of foods. If not then you could look at those 5 and decide on 1 to replace with another food. You would want to be sure and take a good multi-vitamin (without yeast, soy, corn, dairy, casein, oats, eggs, nuts, or gluten from wheat rye or barley in it) during the diet. If you can get a good basic diet going then you can add other food items, one every 2 or 3 days. When you run into one that causes you problems scratch it off your list and keep going. If you find a problem food it may take few days or more for your system to settle down before you can start adding again. It wouldn't hurt to start some pro-biotics a few weeks ahead of time also. And avoid sugar and sugary foods. The thing is to identify a good starting, basic diet that works for you. Some people can't do rice so quinoa might work instead. Then add slowly so you can detect changes. If you search the web you can find lots of elimination diet ideas with various ways of doing them. Some of them might start wit 20 foods and rotate out one food every so often. I think that is way too many to start with as it would take a long time to rotate through all 20 and find a problem/s.

If you find a problem food eliminate it and keep going, as there could be more than one. It's all kind of a detective game investigating your own bodies reactions to foods. It is a good idea to keep a dairy / record of the foods as you go too.

[PamelaR]

In looking at elimination diets, I ran across one called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet that has you start with just a couple of foods and add from there. Does anyone have experience with this particular diet (Recommended for IBS and Celiac.)

[mushroom]

There is an extensive thread on this site on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Do a google search and you will find a wealth of information.