Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Possibly Cleiac


jawojtylak

Recommended Posts

jawojtylak Newbie

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!!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



linda-r Rookie

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

JillianLindsay Enthusiast

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 Enthusiast
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 Contributor

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.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - ElenaM posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      0

      I think I am gluten intolerant

    2. - JulieRe replied to JulieRe's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      6

      Oral thrush question

    3. - Ceekay replied to slkrav's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Gluten free beer ?

    4. - Rejoicephd replied to JulieRe's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      6

      Oral thrush question

    5. - Scott Adams replied to oscarbolduc's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Advice while waiting for testing


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,894
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    catsrlife
    Newest Member
    catsrlife
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • ElenaM
      Hello everyone. I am Elena and am 38 years old. I suspect I have a gluten intolerance even if my celiac panel is ok. I have the following symptoms : facial flushing, Red dots not bumps în face, bloating abdominal distension, hair loss, depression anxiety even with meds and even bipolar. Fatigue extreme to the point of not being able to work. All of these after I eat gluten. Could I have non celiac gluten sensitivity? Thanks anyone else with these symptoms?
    • JulieRe
      Hi Everyone,  I do appreciate your replies to my original post.   Here is where I am now in this journey.  I am currently seeing a Naturopath.  One thing I did not post before is that I take Esomeprazole for GERD.  My Naturopath believes that the decrease in the gastric acid has allowed the yeast to grow.    She has put me on some digestive enzymes.  She also put me on Zinc, Selenium, B 12, as she felt that I was not absorbing my vitamins. I am about 5 weeks into this treatment, and I am feeling better. I did not have any trouble taking the Fluconazole.  
    • Ceekay
      I'm sure it's chemically perfect. Most of them taste lousy!        
    • Rejoicephd
      Hi @JulieRe.  I just found your post.  It seems that I am also experiencing thrush, and my doctor believes that I have fungal overgrowth in my gut, which is most likely candida.  I'm seeing my GI doctor next week, so I'm hoping she can diagnose and confirm this and then give me an antifungal treatment.  In the meantime, I have been working with a functional medicine doctor, doing a candida cleanse and taking vitamins. It's already helping to make me feel better (with some ups and downs, of course), so I do think the yeast is definitely a problem for me on top of my celiac disease and I'm hoping my GI doctor can look into this a bit further.  So, how about you?  Did the candida come back, or is it still gone following your fluconazole treatment?  Also, was it awful to take fluconazole?  I understand that taking an antifungal can cause a reaction that sometimes makes people feel sick while they're taking it.  I hope you're doing better still !
    • Scott Adams
      I'm so sorry you're going through this—the "gluten challenge" is notoriously brutal, and it's awful to deliberately make yourself sick when you've already found the answer. For the joint pain, many people find that over-the-counter anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen can help take the edge off, and using heating pads or warm baths can provide some direct relief for the aches. For the digestive misery, stick to simple, easy-to-digest foods (like plain rice, bananas, and bone broth) and drink plenty of water and electrolytes to stay hydrated. It feels like the longest month ever, but you are doing the right thing to get a clear diagnosis, which can be crucial for your long-term health and getting the proper care. Hang in there; you can get through this! This article, and the comments below it, may be helpful:    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.