Possibly Cleiac

[jawojtylak]

I have been battling my health for awhile.....I am overweight---obese, 32 yr old female that has been battling fertility issues for about 10 years.....Undergoing treatment for 9 months now. I have always had digestive issues especially if I ate whole grain products---pain, gas, bowel movements, heartburn etc... Last october i started the south beach diet and my mensteral cylces were more regular then ever before. Then in Jan I developed a severe headache, numbness in my right side and altered mental statis. I went the the Er and was told it was meningitis although all test came back negative. I resumed eating a regular diet with carbs and whole grains at this point. I have still had occasional headaches, skin rash, oily watery stool with urgency, erratic mensteral cycles, depression (suffered for 8 years) always hungry, vitamin D deficiency that even on meds can not raise, i still have numbness and tingling in my arms and legs and for about a month I have had a severe pain in my left abdomen under my ribs. Just had a CT scan that showed nothing. The doctor now seems to think that it is a mental issue but I know that I am not feeling myself--always tired and in a brain fog and can not take it anymore. I think that it might be celiacs my current dr will not test it so I am trying to go gluten free.....is that a smart move? How long before I might feel better? Shoudl I be concerned about the bruising and vitamin d deficiency? My dr says not to worry about the vit. D but I think it is essential. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[linda-r]

I am new here also, but advanced members have written that a gluten free trial should be three months. Good luck to you!

[JillianLindsay]

I don't know how it works where you live, but my understanding is that a DR cannot deny a request for a simple blood test. Regardless of whether or not s/he agrees with you, your DR should run the blood test to, at the very least, give you peace of mind. Your symptoms could be celiac disease (or could be other things). Are you able to find a new DR or demand the test?

You can go gluten-free and see if you feel better after a few months (I've read it takes 3-6 months to see vast improvement, depending on how much damage has already been done), but a gluten-free diet is very high maintenance and some people need to be 100% sure they have celiac disease before starting it. You don't want to miss underlying issues that may be causing your symptoms. Others are fine with embarking on the gluten-free diet and only care about feeling better and aren't concerned about a Dx (diagnosis). If you go gluten-free before getting tests done then the testing will not be accurate. Testing usually involves bloodwork. If the bloodwork indicates celiac disease, then an endoscopy (a scope down your throat and into your small bowel) would likely be done to confirm. It's all up to you and what you are comfortable with

Personally, I would demand the DR at least perform the blood test and preferably a referral to a gastroenterologist.

Good luck whatever you decide,

Jillian

I have been battling my health for awhile.....I am overweight---obese, 32 yr old female that has been battling fertility issues for about 10 years.....Undergoing treatment for 9 months now. I have always had digestive issues especially if I ate whole grain products---pain, gas, bowel movements, heartburn etc... Last october i started the south beach diet and my mensteral cylces were more regular then ever before. Then in Jan I developed a severe headache, numbness in my right side and altered mental statis. I went the the Er and was told it was meningitis although all test came back negative. I resumed eating a regular diet with carbs and whole grains at this point. I have still had occasional headaches, skin rash, oily watery stool with urgency, erratic mensteral cycles, depression (suffered for 8 years) always hungry, vitamin D deficiency that even on meds can not raise, i still have numbness and tingling in my arms and legs and for about a month I have had a severe pain in my left abdomen under my ribs. Just had a CT scan that showed nothing. The doctor now seems to think that it is a mental issue but I know that I am not feeling myself--always tired and in a brain fog and can not take it anymore. I think that it might be celiacs my current dr will not test it so I am trying to go gluten free.....is that a smart move? How long before I might feel better? Shoudl I be concerned about the bruising and vitamin d deficiency? My dr says not to worry about the vit. D but I think it is essential. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[The Fluffy Assassin]

I have been battling my health for awhile.....I am overweight---obese, 32 yr old female that has been battling fertility issues for about 10 years.....Undergoing treatment for 9 months now. I have always had digestive issues especially if I ate whole grain products---pain, gas, bowel movements, heartburn etc... Last october i started the south beach diet and my mensteral cylces were more regular then ever before. Then in Jan I developed a severe headache, numbness in my right side and altered mental statis. I went the the Er and was told it was meningitis although all test came back negative. I resumed eating a regular diet with carbs and whole grains at this point. I have still had occasional headaches, skin rash, oily watery stool with urgency, erratic mensteral cycles, depression (suffered for 8 years) always hungry, vitamin D deficiency that even on meds can not raise, i still have numbness and tingling in my arms and legs and for about a month I have had a severe pain in my left abdomen under my ribs. Just had a CT scan that showed nothing. The doctor now seems to think that it is a mental issue but I know that I am not feeling myself--always tired and in a brain fog and can not take it anymore. I think that it might be celiacs my current dr will not test it so I am trying to go gluten free.....is that a smart move? How long before I might feel better? Shoudl I be concerned about the bruising and vitamin d deficiency? My dr says not to worry about the vit. D but I think it is essential. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

You can either go to a different doctor, in which case you would need to keep eating gluten until all testing (blood test and endoscopy) is completed, or you can just go gluten-free and see if it works for you. Your symptoms are certainly consistent with celiac disease. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are par for the course; it's primarily considered a malabsorption disorder: Open Original Shared Link As to your left-side abdominal pain, this person suggests diverticulitis: Open Original Shared Link See if any of this stuff sounds familiar: Open Original Shared Link

[ang1e0251]

I personally wouldn't stay with a dr who felt a vitamin D defiency wasn't important. It is very important and key to your wellbeing. Also your dr should run any bloodwork you ask for and are willing to pay your part of. My dr was sceptical also but would not deny a test.

As has been said, you can just go gluten-free if you want. You can't have accurate testing while you are gluten-free so decide if that's important to you or not. It wasn't to me, I just wanted to feel better. I do know that many people are reassured if a dr tells them they are dx'd. You already know the answer that your body has told when you went off gluten before, you said your cycles were regular on South Beach. So go from there, either start the gluten-free diet right away or keep eating gluten and find a dr who can properly listen to your concerns and test you.