My Symptoms

[blahtom123]

Hi all, I'm new here.

I just wanted to share my situation with you all, I'd love to get some opinions on whether I have Celiac disease or perhaps something else.

I'm Male, 22 years old.

For the past 5 years I have been suffering from unexplained bloating, gas, and tiredness, occurring on most days. The only explanation I found for the GI problems was lactose intolerance. Following a lactose free diet helped only very slightly, and more recently I started noticing that eating almost anything would make me gassy. I have also had seborrheic dermatitis, mainly on the sides of my nose and under my eyes. Work colleagues also noted that I seem to be very pasty looking, my eyes usually looking sore and red, and rings under my eyes - noting that I could take an iron supplement maybe. I noticed that I was getting mild headaches on the weekends especially.

Most recently, I have begun experiencing more symptoms, which may or may not be related - but most of which seem very close to celiac disease. A few weeks ago I experienced a migraine headache, something which I've never had before, or by any of my family. This has been followed immediately by intermittent dull aching headaches, very mild, but occurring almost every day at random points. I've had very occasional tingling in my fingers, usually while I'm in bed for some reason. I've been much more tired than usual, I get tired more easily in the evening and in the afternoon. I've also felt quite 'warm' at times, especially the afternoon, my forehead being rather hot - but not quite 'flushed'. My dermatitis has also flared up quite significantly, also in the evening. My hands get quite cold at times, and I also get slight chills. My muscles especially in my arms have been aching now and again, and my neck has been very tense at times (not stiff).

I've seen my doctor who has said its probably just a mix of the migraine postdrome and stress, I doubt this is the case. I've had an MRI which I'm awaiting results, and am seeing a neurologist next week to discuss my headaches.

What do you all think? I'd love to hear your opinions.

Thanks.

[Mother of Jibril]

Are you a woman? How old are you?

[blahtom123]

Sorry, I forgot to add those details.

I'm Male, 22 years old.

Thanks.

[chatycady]

Sorry, I forgot to add those details.

I'm Male, 22 years old.

Thanks.

Have you had any blood work done? Are you iron anemic? B-12 anemic? Is your thyroid functioning properly? Adrenal glands ok? Any autoimmune diseases?

It's possible it is some digestive disorder, could be gluten, could be yeast infection, could be, could be. I would suggest you start with some blood work.

Migraines may be food related, also the skin problems too.

[blahtom123]

Thanks for your reply. I'm not currently diagnosed with any sort of blood deficiencies, no autoimmune diseases or known adrenal gland problems.

I'll have some blood work done and let you know the outcome.

[Mother of Jibril]

The flushing, migraines, and red eyes make me think of allergies... could be environmental (pollen, dust mites, mold) or food-related (MSG, sulfites, histamines, etc...).

Have you ever had allergy testing?

It's good to explore a lot of different possibilities... celiac, neurological, allergies, etc... It's possible that your problems are connected. It's also possible that they're not.

[blahtom123]

I haven't had any allergy testing, but that's in interesting thought. I doubt it though because many of the typical allergy symptoms aren't present. I have mild hayfever and the eye soreness is very different to what I'm experiencing now.

[happygirl]

Your neurologist can run the Celiac bloodwork for you -

total IgA

AGA IgA

AGA IgG

tTG IgA

EMA IgA

[Mother of Jibril]

I haven't had any allergy testing, but that's in interesting thought. I doubt it though because many of the typical allergy symptoms aren't present. I have mild hayfever and the eye soreness is very different to what I'm experiencing now.

In October my eyes became really sore... bloodshot, blurry vision (especially in the evening), feeling gritty... worse than anything I'd ever experienced. The opthamologist said my corneas were scratched from being too dry... here's a prescription for eye drops (which helped a LOT). I was worried that I might be developing Sjogren's Syndrome. It took me several months to find a doctor who would test for it, but the upside is... I don't have Sjogren's. The dry eyes seem to be connected to my allergies (which were never that bad, just mild hay fever). The downside is that all of a sudden I'm wildly allergic to a bunch of things... peanuts, almonds, celery, mold, fungus... I've even had two anaphylactic reactions. Dry eyes were just the tip of the iceberg.

Allergies can produce sooooo many different symptoms. Here's one link about allergies and migraines:

Open Original Shared Link

[blahtom123]

Ok so heres the latest.

Saw the neurologist today. He carried out some tests and looked at my MRI results, everything was normal, and he referred me back to my general doctor to get a diagnosis. He was sure it wasnt a neurological problem. He also said that my general blood work was normal, hemoglobin being at an entirely average level.

So this evening I did a home Celiac test, in a haste to get a diagnosis. It came out negative. And I have been eating the usual gluten rich diet - multiple sources every day (pasta, bread, etc).

So... I suppose I'm going back to the beginning again, to try and find a diagnosis. I wont entirely rule out Celiac - since the blood tests aren't 100%, but the odds of me still having celiac are quite unlikely.

Today I started getting more mild symptoms - random pains across my face. Which could be anything, but happens to be a common symptom of B12 deficiency.