New Here And Self Diagnose

[HopeNFaith]

Hi, This is my first post.

This may sound simplistic.

I am self diagnosed. I don't know if I am intolerant or sensitive to gluten.

My dh has changed insurance carriers for monetary reasons; it's difficult for me to find the best doctors.

I am grateful for the medical insurance. I recently did a detox program of: lemon water, rice, vegetables,

lymph drainage, hydrotherapy, supplements and exercise. I began thinking of the pain in my hip.

I goggled and read somewhere that gluten may cause the inflammation - the arthritis.

When I did this detox program about two years ago, my hip didn't hurt!

But I went off the program and my hip hurt with a vengeance. Then I began to seriously think about the gluten.

I have taken myself off gluten and am feeling better. But I definitely have withdrawal symptoms.

Being quit from cigarettes for four years, I definitely can feel the withdrawal symptoms from the gluten.

Reading from your community has given me sanity. Thank you.

I also have chronic fatigue, IBS, hiatal hernia, I have had PTSD 2x,

Learning from you guys.

Blessings

[ravenwoodglass]

Welcome to the board. I hope you continue to improve. The withdrawl can be tough but it should resolve soon.

[mushroom]

Welcome to our little community. You don't sound simplistic at all. If gluten bothers you it is very smart to eliminate it. I am also self-diagnosed, with a family history of gluten intolerance--self-diagnosed/celiac--diagnosed. My celiac neice also has severe CFS, my intolerant sister has osteoporosis which she is working on correcting, I have psoriatic arthritis which is being stubborn . Gluten has not been kind to any of us. We feel well-rid of it

I did not personally experience the withdrawal symptoms from gluten, although many others have. From cigarettes, well that was another matter. I guess I was more hooked on them than on gluten, although I could eat a whole loaf of sourdough french at one sitting

Hope your hip and withdrawal are better soon.

[serenity0607]

i know how you feel about the self diagnoseing lol... i noticed a change in me when my mom went on a whole grain diet to loose weight !!! man that was fun my mom refuses to accept that i might have an intolerance to gluten now ever since i was younger i had horrible stomach cramps often among other intestinal problems!! but i dont have insurance to go to a doctor to actually properly diagnose this ... so as it stands now i am just saying that i am a self diagnosed celiac/gluten intolerant!! so i totally understand i will though once i get the insurance hopefully will go see a doctor about it !!!!

[digmom1014]

Welcome to the board!! You will learn a lot, there are some very smart/savvy people here to bounce your theories off.

I am also self diagnosed but, I was negative on my blood panel-of course I hadn't had gluten for a month prior so....

I think the best test is how you yourself feel. I could not believe the other things that cleared-up after being off gluten for a year. I didn't think they were gluten related, but I have found so many of them are related to the disease.

Good luck in your pursuit of the truth and don't worry about asking silly questions, we were all new to this once too!

[Mrs. Smith]

Digmom- just curious what other symptoms cleared up that you had no idea were gluten related? I am 4 mos gluten free and trying to be patient, I get frustrated when I have residual symptoms. Just the other day I realised my infertillity and miscarrage were prob. gluten related and just started sobbing. I hope one day I can be free of all of the symptoms.

[digmom1014]

I had the dark circles under my eyes, allergy eyes, and now I don't. My skin is not as dry; you could sand wood with my feet! My eyes became less red looking (irritating make-up) and my tongue actually started to look pink, not patchy and bumpy. I used to get a lot of sores in my mouth and my teeth chipped easily, neither has happened in a long time.

I also found out that my body was "telling" me not to eat or drink certain items like milk. I never liked it and was forced to drink it as a child. After being gluten-free for over a year I can now tolerate it. (After about 6 mo. I was able to do so)

You'll also recognize that other's on this board have some of the same unusual symptoms that you have. They also go to the bathroom way more, are tired, have lost memories, etc. I really like to read what they have to say, it really gives me insight to myself and makes me not feel like I am the only one with these symptoms.