Just Tested Last Week - I Have Some Questions

[NFSteelers]

Hello everyone!

I have been having a very hectic year health wise, but I was recently diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome after having a colonoscopy done. I had blood work done last week to test for Celiac Disease, hyperthyroidism and to test my liver and kidneys. Also, my doctor has asked me to give up dairy for a few weeks to test for lactose intolerance.

I hope I am not sharing too much information here, but I have recently been having significant abdominal pain, gas, soft stools and diarrhea as well as stomach cramps. I have had these symptoms for over two months. I haven't had dairy in a week and I have noticed significant improvements in my symptoms. After about four days, I noticed I would occasionally get a different feeling abdominal pain, started having diarrhea again and became gassy again. I've read up on lactose intolerance and see Celiac Disease mentioned quite a bit. My cousin has Celiac Disease and honestly its sort of freaking me out that I may have it. I know no one will know until I get my results back in three weeks, but can anyone shed some light into whether or not this could be Celiac? Also, if my blood results show I may have Celiac Disease, will a endoscopy have to be done? I've had two surgeries and a colonoscopy, so I am concerned about having to miss more work and be put out again! Thanks for any advice you may give!

[FMcGee]

Hello and welcome! It certainly could be celiac disease - your symptoms sound like mine - and if the bloodwork comes back negative, I'd suggest re-testing or getting the genetic test, just in case. My mom got a false negative on the blood work. The endoscopy question will get you a lot of different answers. It's the "gold standard" diagnosis but itself also sometimes yields false negatives. I got one, and I'm glad I did, but I teach so I could do it once school ended and didn't have to worry about time off. Others here will tell you they don't find it necessary, because positive bloodwork is conclusive. Honestly, it's up to you and your doctor to make that decision. There isn't a universally right or wrong move when it comes to endoscopy - it's all up to how you and your doctor want to play it. To have the endoscopy, you have to still be eating gluten, so don't go off gluten planning to have it later unless you're willing to go back on it for 6 weeks to 3 months. A lot of people who have celiac disease are temporarily lactose intolerant (and for others, it's permanent). I've somehow avoided this, but it's extremely common to be unable to tolerate lactose until the villi heal.

If your diagnosis is positive, just remember that it will all be okay. I wouldn't have believed that myself when I was diagnosed; I thought my life was over and I cried myself to sleep for days. However, it's definitely possible to live a life full of delicious food - you just have to take some initiative and learn to cook and bake! I've come to enjoy that, and I still miss a lot of things (I'm pretty new to this myself), but I'm not depressed like I thought I'd be. Get some books on it (I like The Gluten Free Bible), do internet searches for gluten-free versions of your favorite recipes, hang out here, and you'll get used to it before you know it.

Best of luck - and let us know how the tests turn out!

[mamaw]

N.F.Steelers

Many get wrong dx's such as IBS , chronic bowel & so on. It is not uncommon. lactose is the sugar in dairy & casein is the protein part. Casein is also broken down at the tips of the villi, same as with gluten so some are both celiac & must be dairy free as well.Every one is different...

Are you from Pittsburgh?

If your bloodwork comes back positive for celiac then I would go gluten free. But for bloodwork or an endo you need to be eating gluten to get accurate results...Some doctors may ask for an endo as well but not all, so this would depend on you & your doctor.

blessings

mamaw