Celiac? Or Psychosomatic?

[Jordashe]

Hello! I am new to this discussion board, and this will be my first post. My name is Joseph, I'm a twenty three year old guy who is allergic to Gluten. This condition truly has ruined my life for a long time, I've had everything from a Gluten allergy test, to a colonoscopy in hopes of finding what's wrong with me. The Gluten allergy test actually came back negative, and the colonoscopy showed nothing, no problems at all. I don't have insurance by the way, so I have medical bills that I cannot afford to pay with my current occupation.

The last year of a Gluten free lifestyle has been filled with possible solutions and total disappointments. Honestly the psychological effects have pushed me to the brink of what I can handle anymore. I've been so sick for so long that I've woken up wishing I would die, rather than to go to work sick and have others judge me for something they can't understand. I've always had a lot of anxiety, especially with unfamiliar situations. However a "bad day" pushes my anxiety to a point that I just can't handle life anymore. I've tossed around the idea of my allergy being totally psychosomatic, and caused by depression alone since my reaction is not one that I've heard commonly. My reaction is lower back pain, I assume caused by the swelling of the intestine, coupled with feeling like I have to use the bathroom every ten minutes, yet either not having to go, or going very little. The anxiety combined with that reaction makes my lower back tense as can be, this results in the pressure of having to go. So, could this all be stress related? I know how powerful the mind can be, and I know that I showed similar symptoms when I was about ten years old to what I have now, just not as severe. I really want to believe that its all in my head, I so desperately need to get my life back on track.

I'm thinking of joining the Army, Gluten free MREs do exist, and hell, I wouldn't even care if they didn't. I'm so tired of this condition holding me back, from life, love, and my dreams.

[mushroom]

Hello! I am new to this discussion board, and this will be my first post. My name is Joseph, I'm a twenty three year old guy who is allergic to Gluten. This condition truly has ruined my life for a long time, I've had everything from a Gluten allergy test, to a colonoscopy in hopes of finding what's wrong with me. The Gluten allergy test actually came back negative, and the colonoscopy showed nothing, no problems at all. I don't have insurance by the way, so I have medical bills that I cannot afford to pay with my current occupation.

The last year of a Gluten free lifestyle has been filled with possible solutions and total disappointments. Honestly the psychological effects have pushed me to the brink of what I can handle anymore. I've been so sick for so long that I've woken up wishing I would die, rather than to go to work sick and have others judge me for something they can't understand. I've always had a lot of anxiety, especially with unfamiliar situations. However a "bad day" pushes my anxiety to a point that I just can't handle life anymore. I've tossed around the idea of my allergy being totally psychosomatic, and caused by depression alone since my reaction is not one that I've heard commonly. My reaction is lower back pain, I assume caused by the swelling of the intestine, coupled with feeling like I have to use the bathroom every ten minutes, yet either not having to go, or going very little. The anxiety combined with that reaction makes my lower back tense as can be, this results in the pressure of having to go. So, could this all be stress related? I know how powerful the mind can be, and I know that I showed similar symptoms when I was about ten years old to what I have now, just not as severe. I really want to believe that its all in my head, I so desperately need to get my life back on track.

I'm thinking of joining the Army, Gluten free MREs do exist, and hell, I wouldn't even care if they didn't. I'm so tired of this condition holding me back, from life, love, and my dreams.

Welcome to the board, Jordashe. Hopefully someone here will be able to provide some insight.

From reading your post I felt I needed a little more information. Were you tested with the celiac blood panel? Did you have an upper endoscopy where they took biopsies from the small intestine?

What were the symptoms you had which made you seek testing in the first place? Were they the ones you describe of back pain, needing to go yet not being able to go? What have your doctors told you about your condition? The answers to these questions would allow the folks here to be better able to help you, I think. Also, what made you decide to go gluten free and has it had any effect at all on your symptoms?

Please post again.

[OptimisticMom42]

My reaction is lower back pain, I assume caused by the swelling of the intestine, coupled with feeling like I have to use the bathroom every ten minutes, yet either not having to go, or going very little. The anxiety combined with that reaction makes my lower back tense as can be, this results in the pressure of having to go.

Hello Jordashe,

Your reaction is not unusual. My co-worker and I have both had the same reaction to small amounts of gluten from cross contamination. We both found that dropping the calcium supplement and taking magnesium helped. For me it's 250mg with breakfast and 500mg before bed. The back pain, leg cramps and constipation went away. You'll have to mess with the doseage to find what is right for you. Taking it every 12 hours made a difference also. Not sure why.

Hope this helps,

OptimisticMom42

[Jordashe]

First off, thank you for your quick and insightful replies

My initial severe symptoms were back pain brought on from my occupation at the time (A Marriot hotel dishwasher) although I had mild symptoms for about a year up to that point. I left the job, changed my diet, and since have come a long way. At the peak of my sickness I was down to 123 pounds, down from 155 a year before. I'm up to about 135, and gradually gaining weight thanks to the Iron Gym (yes it is effective)

My decision to go Gluten free was after extensive research (a couple hours daily for a few months.) I also noticed that Tylenol extra strength helped to combat the illness, I figured it was lessening the inflammation in my intestine. The Gluten free diet has helped to alleviate my symptoms a great deal, though not completely. The test I received was a blood test, Gluten in specific, I'm not sure about if it was specifically aimed at Celiacs, though my doctor was not very helpful at all, he had no experience with anyone with this from what I could tell. In fact my own research had shown that in order to get an accurate result from the test, I had to continue to eat Gluten up until the test, though I had been Gluten free for a month. I did not have an upper endoscopy done, that was recommended by the Doctor who performed my colonoscopy after the procedure. He said it was the only concrete way to know if I had Celiacs, or a Gluten allergy for that matter. Too expensive for my budget, and since I'm lacking health care I haven't sought further medical tests since they set me back a considerable amount.

The Magnesium sounds like a good idea, I never thought about taking a specific supplement like that. Unfortunately my only supplement is "Ultra Vita Man" purchased from my local vitamin store. The supplement I take contains 100 Mg of Magnesium, so perhaps I need to tweak it a bit.

[greennutritionist]

Hi there,

I have been reading your post and like the comments you are getting so far. I do hope that the answers you are getting will help you and others as well.

I am also on a gluten free diet, but I am not celiac. My problem is arthritis (severe case) and believe gluten is the culprit. I learned from the book " Dangerous Grains" that there are other ways gluten can hurt you. So I am working om it. I didn't do any blood test to find out if I have any allergies to gluten because i am on a gluten diet since 9 month already. You need to concume gluten before a test to find out if you have any allergies at all. You have mentioned earlier that you have done a blood test as well, but if you were already on a gluten free diet, remember that it will probably not show anything.

I take my vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, ENZYMES, trace elements through a gluten free probiotic called Fast Tract In-Liven.

This help me to balance the bacteria in my body (85% good bacteria / 15% bad bacteria), giving me the nutrients needed for my body to fonction normally and boost my imune system to fight infections or viruses.

This will be a long process for me to get rid of my arthritis ( i do believe that ) and will keep on checking this board for more updates.

[OptimisticMom42]

"I also noticed that Tylenol extra strength helped to combat the illness, I figured it was lessening the inflammation in my intestine."

Hello again,

Just thought I would add this...... for inflammation a lot of us Michiganders are using tart cherry juice concentrate. Two tablespoons a day. It's yummy, all natural and it works! Please don't let the price scare you off. A quart lasts a long time.

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Take care,

OptimisticMom42