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Diagnosed Based On Gluten-free Improvement

jshelton999

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jshelton999 Apprentice
jshelton999
Posted

Just got back from my doctor appt. Although we're still waiting for the biopsies to come back she diagnosed me with Celiac disease. She said the colonoscopy rules out any other possible explanation and said that my dramatic improvement after 3 days on a gluten-free diet is conclusive enough to make the diagnosis.

This would explain the rollercoaster ride of the last 13 years and why even when my thyroid and pituitary issues appeared to be under control I would still have problems.

I've got more follow-up testing to do and frankly, with all the surprises I've had over the years, it's gonna take a while for this to sink in enough for me to truly believe that it is Celiac.

After months of being so sick, I've improved dramatically after only 3 days on a gluten-free diet. Does this sound like a well-founded diagnosis?

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samcarter Contributor
samcarter
Posted

That's how I was diagnosed. I suspected gluten might be a problem for me; I was starting to literally fall asleep almost right after eating things like pizza or pasta, and I was sleepy all day long. Plus I was having serious digestive issues. I cut gluten out of my diet for a week and improved radically. My energy level shot up, it was crazy.

I went back on gluten and asked my doctor for a celiac blood panel. All he would do was the EMA; he said it was the most specific for celiac. It came back negative (I have since learned that up to 20% of celiacs have negative EMA, they are called "seronegative" celiacs), but my doctor said that as I had improved so much on the diet, that I should stay on it.

I'm glad you're feeling so much better! Some people have a longer healing time. I found that while my energy felt better right away, it took a bit longer for my digestion to improve, and I have since been able to uncover other food intolerances and allergies that were previously "masked" by my celiac symptoms. I hope your recovery continues and that your health issues are a thing of the past. :)

Amyleigh0007 Enthusiast
Amyleigh0007
Posted

My allergist diagnosed me with gluten intolerance based on positive response to diet among other things. My Celiac bloodtest was negative but she believes that to be a false negative. The only way to know for sure was to go back on the gluten diet for 6 months and be re-tested. I said no thanks.

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