Possible Celiac Symptoms

[katie07]

I'm 23 years old and have for years and years always felt like my day will at some point or in some way revolve around needing the bathroom, not so much that it was a problem, but I would need to go a few times a day and none of my friends seemed to have this issue. It wasn't until I quit smoking almost a year ago that it seems to have become a bigger deal. It started with indigestion, bloating and gas and after about 6 months or so my Bm became more D, most urgent in the morning and throughout the day my stomach would often gurgle. I think even while smoking, my BM was more D than normal. I've read that smoking can delay the onset of adult celiac which would make a lot of sense in my case. I've also got dry, brittle nails and my hair is quite dry and prone to breakage. I also have symptoms of anemia, quite dark circles under my eyes, prone to diziness, have fainted on a hanfdul of occasions and often fatigued.

Other symptoms I have which i've read on here that are said to be related to celiac are; joint pain(often ankles and wrists), back ache, dental enamel deffects, itchy scalp, had eczema when 7 and again from 12-15(started smoking around 15 - don't know whether this has anything to do with it) and easy bruising.

Thinking back, i've also had less worries over urgently needing the toilet when i've been on an atkins type diet. I always thought it was because meat has a slower transit time but I look back now and think maybe it was because of being gluten-free.

I've got no family history of celiac on my mothers side, but I don't know my fathers medical history.

I've been on a gluten-free diet for about 2 weeks now with some improvements and I did test out a piece of brown bread 6 days into it because I wasn't sure whether it was some other food intolerance...that sent me straight to the toilet within 10 minutes and I had a really bad headache the following day. I don't know whether it was the high fibre or gluten. I now ulcerative colitis often has symptoms of D and an urgency to use the bathroom, with high fibre often being an issue, but I have other symptoms that relate to celiac so much!

If anyone could give me their opinion I would really appreciate it, or shed some light on how long people have had to be on their gluten-free diet to see results. Also I would like to know what kind of illnesses are related to celiac, as i've read on here things about Alzheimer's and hysterectomys and wasn't sure whether this was officially related. I know both these are in my mums family history.

Katie

Oh also, if anyone is suffering from bad nails, I found one saviour product by Nail Tek, which is their ridge filler for really damaged and weak nails. It's the only thing that's managed to get my nails healthier. But, i'm not sure whether it's gluten free, so if you're keeping to completely gluten-free products, that might be something you'd want to look into.

[Skylark]

Yes, your problems could be celiac. Have you been tested for celiac? Doctors recommend you keep eating gluten and get a celiac panel before you try the diet. You cannot be tested on the gluten-free diet because the markers go away.

You need to know if you actually have the celiac autoimmunity as it puts you at risk for thyroid problems, osteoporosis, and other autoimmune conditions.