Could My Symptoms Be Celiac Or Wheat Intolerance

[CindyCB]

Hi everyone,

My name is Cindy and I am 31 and from the UK.

I am being tested for coeliac disease on Thursday - I have already been tested for this back in 2007 and the result was negative at that time. My mum has selective IgA deficiency but has never been tested for coeliac.

I have been unwell for a number of years but more seriously so for the last 3 - unable to work and more recently pretty much unable to leave the house due to extreme fatige, muscle weakness, dizzy spells and generally feeling unwell.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in April this year from Hashimoto's disease (my mum is also hypo after having Graves disease).

While some physical things have improved on thyroid replacement (hair is starting to grow back on my arms, my eyes look a little brighter) and I find it easier to hold a conversation other things have not improved after 6 months of treatment at all and some are worse still. My thyroid bloods look optimal also.

I experienced a sudden onset of right sided weakness last October following my first ever aura migraine (although I've suffered headaches and migraines for years, never with flashing lights though) which no doctor can explain to me - I have had 2 MRI scans and a CT scan. I visit a chiropractor frequently, I take a high dose of (sublingual) B12, but nothing seems to be helping this problem.

My (excellent) thyroid doctor thought it was all down to being hypothyroid but even he is getting stumped now as it's getting worse rather than better.

Do you think it's possible to have Celiac/wheat intolerance even though my first test showed negative and could that be the root cause of my troubles?

Sorry the the epic first post!

[mushroom]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

While your symptoms are not what one would consider a classic presentation of celiac disease, I have learned on here that the expression of symptoms is so varied I would never rule it out. I suggest you wait for your test results from Thursday, and ask your doctor for a copy of them, and then post the results here along with the ranges the lab uses. Sometimes interpretation of the data is quite varied and you will get diagnoses like "borderline" celiac and such. There are many folks on this forum who are expert in reading the test results and would be happy to give you a second opinion if you do not get a positive.

Good luck on finding out what is wrong with you, and stay in touch.

[CindyCB]

Hi Mushroom,

Many thanks for the welcome

I was directed back to possible celiac disease from an excellent thyroid forum I use - I have read up more on it and think it's highly possible that I either have celiac or a wheat intolerance.

My old doctor in 2007 thought all my symtoms fitted celiac disease (I am now learning there's SO many more symptoms) as my problems were mainly fatigue and IBS at the time (also bad skin and poor tooth enamel) but the bloods came back negative - I guess I have also learned this can be incorrect.

I now have many more symptoms including depression/anxiety (although these are mostly managable compared to a few months back after I started taking B12) and a lot of body numbness, not just in my hands and feet but in my face, back, legs and arms. It's always on the right (head to toe) and sometimes on the left too - it gets quite painful sometimes. I have the classic bloated stomach and always avoided bread/sandwiches as they bloat me further and make me gassy

Results then (2007) were:

Immunoglobulin A - 1.3g/L (reference range 0.8-2.8)

Endomysial Antibody level - Negative

I am having the same 2 tests run again on Thursday - should there be TGG also? I can actually write the extra test on if it's very important to have (my doctor won't mind, she's as keen to get me sorted out as I am).

Thanks again.