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I Had My Doctor's Appointment!

jester

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jester Rookie
jester
Posted

And I LOVE my new doctor's office. The whole office was very nice and super professional.

The doctor I met with listened and asked questions and let me go through my list, asking about correlations and if I had noticed X or anything, treating me like I had a brain. It was lovely. I mentioned wanting to be tested for celiac and he said absolutely; said he was glad I mentioned the rash because that's not uncommon with celiac; he consulted one of the other doctors in the practice who I then met and he asked me some follow up questions and they both prodded my tummy.

They said together that it sounds like there's definitely signs of malabsorption. He started out with thyroid tests and an anti-gliadan panel, I THINK it's the full set of tests but that's how it was listed on my lab sheet. I'm somewhat surprised he didn't toss in iron and vitamin levels but as he put it, we're just getting started and he'll call as soon as he has results and with any luck we might even have a diagnosis before my appointment with the GI on 10/27.

SUCH a difference in attitudes. Being open to possibilities and not just writing me a prescription for symptoms? Holy cow! A real doctor!

So now I wait. When he calls I will ask what exactly my results are, not just pos or neg, and share them, and that way too I can confirm that the full panel was run - like I said, I think so, it did say panel. I didn't check explicitly at the lab because there was nothing they could have done if it wasn't the full set, so if it's not I can talk to the doctor himself when he calls.

I appreciate that as soon as he heard that my mom has thyroid problems he didn't just dismiss other options. My old doctor would have.

(That said, it's highly likely I do have a problem with my thyroid, but it wouldn't account for everything the way celiac would.)

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jester Rookie
jester
Posted
  • Author

Oh! Also as soon as I mentioned I'd been on prescription antacids for a year and finally stopped taking them because they weren't working, he asked if I just had heartburn or also reflux and when I said reflux he said we're probably going to want to scope to check how the lining of your stomach and throat are holding up.

I was first diagnosed with GERD and given those antacids in... 2007? 2008? And this is the first time anything like that's even been mentioned. Stoopid old doctor. Why did I put up with him so long?

And I wanted to add I've been dutifully charting for a week now, food, how I'm feeling and bowel movements.

Here's something.

I only had a bit of gluten Tues/Wed and by Thurs morning wasn't feeling so horrible. But since I knew I'd probably get my lab done today I figured let's see what happens if I make sure to eat lots of gluten all day Thursday. So I did.

After my appointment I went to brunch with a friend, had a muffin, came home and had to lie down. I took an hour and a half nap and felt like I had last week (before my D stage on Tues), back to completely bloated and going to vomit and heartburn and everything. I had a lot of cheese, though, so I'm going to see about cutting dairy completely (NOOOO! I love cheese), too?

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Glad to hear the appointment went well. If you have been gluten light please let the doctor know as that will cause a false negative on the testing. I would call and ask if they want you to go back on gluten until the testing is finished. Dropping or limiting dairy might be a good idea if it is causing you distress but please don't drop gluten until your testing is done.

jester Rookie
jester
Posted
  • Author

I was only gluten-lite for maybe thirty-six hours or so, inadvertently. I can assure you I've been devouring gluten like crazy otherwise.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I was only gluten-lite for maybe thirty-six hours or so, inadvertently. I can assure you I've been devouring gluten like crazy otherwise.

That's good. There are so many false negatives that 'devouring gluten like crazy' may make you feel like crud but it will give a better chance at an accurate test. I hope your done with testing soon so you can get started on a strict trial and hopefully feel better.

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    • Mari
      My only proof

      By Mari · Posted

      Years  ago a friend and I drove north into Canada hoping to find a ski resort open in late spring,We were in my VW and found a small ski area near a small town and started up this gravelled road up a mountain. We  got about halfway up and got stuck in the mud. We tried everything we could think of but an hour later we were still stuck. Finally a pickup came down the road, laughed at our situation, then pulled the VW free of the mud. We followed him back to the ski area where where he started up the rope ski lift and we had an enjoyable hour of skiing and gave us a shot of aquavit  before we left.It was a great rescue.  In some ways this reminds me of your situation. You are waiting for a rescue and you have chosen medical practitioners to do it now or as soon as possible. As you have found out the med. experts have not learned how to help you. You face years of continuing to feel horrible, frustrated searching for your rescuer to save you. You can break away from from this pattern of thinking and you have begun breaking  away by using some herbs and supplements from doTerra. Now you can start trying some of the suggestions thatother Celiacs have written to your original posts.  You live with other people who eat gluten foods. Cross contamination is very possible. Are you sure that their food is completely separate from their food. It  is not only the gluten grains you need to avoid (wheat, barley, rye) but possibly oats, cows milk also. Whenever you fall back into that angry and frustrated way of thinking get up and walk around for a whild. You will learn ways to break that way of thinking about your problems.  Best wishes for your future. May you enjpy a better life.  
    • marion wheaton
      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

      By marion wheaton · Posted

      Thanks for responding. I researched further and Lindt Lindor chocolate balls do contain barely malt powder which contains gluten. I was surprised at all of the conflicting information I found when I checked online.
    • trents
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      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
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      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      My only proof

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