Does Anyone Think I Have Gluten Intolerence?

[davidryderuk]

Hi,

I'm a 22 year old university student from the UK. For the last two years I've been suffering from a diffuse abdominal pain that feels like a kind of intense hunger or craving two or three hours after I've eaten.

I've been to my doctor who has tried the following:

• 
  
  
• Anti-acid medication at both high and low doses for periods of four to eight weeks (this helps to a degree, but the the problem is still very much felt throughout the prescription).
  
• Blood tests to check iron levels, liver function tests, red blood cell counts and anti-gluten levels (this list is not completely accurate, but in any case everything turned up as normal).
  
• Stool samples have been checked for the presence of H.pylori (this was done twice and both times was absent).
  
• Anti-spasmodic drugs to see if the symptoms could be due to Irritable bowl syndrome (I thought this was a bit of an odd idea at the time, and in any case it had no effect).
  
• An endoscopy was considered, but it was thought too risky because of my age, and the fact that the symptoms weren't completely debilitating.
  

The final conclusion was that I almost certainly had ulcers and that the most sensible thing to do would be to take anti-acid medication for the rest of my life. I wasn't really happy with this conclusion, mostly because the anti-acid medication seems to have had almost no noticeable effect recently. In any case I decided that I would try some diet changes, and the one on the top of my list was the exclusion of gluten (I've already tried having more frequent meals and improving the range of my diet). In reading up about gluten intolerance I was also interested to note that problems with itchy skin, depression and extreme tiredness after a full nights sleep could actually be connected with my stomach problems (hitherto thought to be hypochondria/stress).

So now I've been on a gluten free diet for almost exactly a week and although I'm still suffering from food cravings, my BM are looking much more healthy than they have in a long time. I have, however, been suffering from some flu-like symptoms (head ache, hot and sweaty, slightly weak, etc), which I gather from a couple of places may be a sign that I'm on the right track.

Anyway, back to the reason I'm posting this, since I don't have proof that I am actually suffering from gluten intolerance, I was wondering how long I should try the diet before I get a fair idea as to whether I'm onto anything (and when my doctor is likely to actually believe me).

Thanks for anyone who made it right to the bottom of the post, sorry for the length.

[mushroom]

You do sound like you could be gluten intolerant, and the symptoms you have been having gluten free sound an awful lot like gluten withdrawal.

A gluten-free trial of three months is often recommended to allow for sufficient healing for you to notice improvement. But I do not know whether this would influence your doc. And by then, you must realize, you have lost your opportunity for testing by biopsy. You would have to resume eating gluten for 2-3 months to get a test-derived diagnosis (and keep in mind these tests are often (20%) false negatives)

Welcome to the forum and fire away with other questions.

[davidryderuk]

Thanks for replying. I really just wanted someone else to give me their opinion.

If there is a chance of me having gluten intolerance then I would prefer just to feel better and then convince my doctor later. Since he doesn't want to give me a biopsy anyway, do you think there is any harm in that?

[mushroom]

Thanks for replying. I really just wanted someone else to give me their opinion.

If there is a chance of me having gluten intolerance then I would prefer just to feel better and then convince my doctor later. Since he doesn't want to give me a biopsy anyway, do you think there is any harm in that?

You do not need a doctor's permission to undertake the gluten free diet and there is no harm in following it. I am self-diagnosed myself primarily because no one ever thought to test for celiac and just constantly misdiagnosed me with IBS and fibromyalgia.

Good luck on convincing your doctor, although I was able to convince mine to order the necessary nutrient testing, and prescribe the supplements I needed, including for thyroid when my levels were 'sub-clinical'. Gluten intolerants are often low on essential nutrients like Vit D, B12, ferritin (iron) potassium, magnesium, zinc, etc., and many times do not receive the full benefit of going gluten free until they supplement their deficiencies.

[davidryderuk]

Thanks.

I guess I'll just wait and see what happens then.

[Travisevian]

You do not need a doctor's permission to undertake the gluten free diet and there is no harm in following it.

It's important to inform one's physician about any kind of diet. There are always health risks with any kind of diet. To claim that there is no harm in going on a diet isn't necessarily true.

[mushroom]

It's important to inform one's physician about any kind of diet. There are always health risks with any kind of diet. To claim that there is no harm in going on a diet isn't necessarily true.

The point of stating that the gluten-free diet is not harmful is that there is no evidence that the human body actually needs grains, despite the FDA pyramid using them as the foundation. Not only that, but the gluten free diet does include grains which have more nutritional content than wheat, especially when one considers that most wheat is eaten in its white refined form.

That being said, I agree that one should always keep one's physician informed of all changes in one's diet and lifestyle; one's physician should be a partner in life, but not the ultimate arbiter.