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

I Hope I'm Doing The Right Thing!

VitaminDGirl

Recommended Posts

VitaminDGirl Apprentice
VitaminDGirl
Posted

Hi. I was here several weeks ago.

I'd had an off the charts saliva test saying I'm highly intolerant (dr. said 'allergic') to gluten.

Soooo...I decided I just had to know if I'm celiac or not.

Went to GI dr.

He ordered bloodwork, unsure of validity of saliva testing.

All bloodwork negative, including bloodwork of the same test I took by saliva.

He even called the lab that does the saliva, who told him a false positive could happen if one has parasites.

Did a poo test.

Sent it to the lab.

Parasite free.

Decide to do the biopsy, though GI dr. highly doubts celiac.

It was scheduled for yesterday.

I was sick and canceled.

I have had pain in my feet and legs and back that suddenly onset (first in feet) a year ago. The only tests of allll my xrays, nearly full body MRIs, every kind of bloodwork you can imagine....

They only could find 'for certain': Vitamin D deficiency, which I'm now recovered from.

and now this saliva test.

I'm tired of the pain. I don't feel I can wait any longer to do the test.

Tonight I decided I'm gluten-free.

My 7 year old has awful constipation and ezcema. She is adopted. (saying this b/c we are not blood related to think of a link between us for intolerance or celiac).

Her bloodwork was negative.

Thinking of taking her off without a biopsy.

Thanks for listening and for your support.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Kay DH Apprentice
Kay DH
Posted

I went gluten-free 11 months ago, about a month after my symptoms started. My blood test and endoscopy biopsy were negative, but the celiac panel was several months after going gluten-free and the 1 biopsy was after a only week of being on gluten. They may have been false negative. I do have the HLA-DQ8 genetic marker, but the GI said that only gave me a 10% chance of celiac; he thought all my GI problems were diverticulitis, and he dismissed all my other symptoms (brain fog, lethargy, stiff joints, muscle aches, etc). Needless to say the large number of colon biopsies were negative and there were no diverticuli. So, it is sometimes more important to trust your body more than the doctors. Going gluten-free is work from social, financial, and food standpoints, but it is worth it. I'm a stronger biker than I've been for years, I haven't caught a cold since going gluten-free (I'm usually a virus magnet), and I feel much better. It is a tough decision that you are making, but it can be important for your health. If you have not done so, research all the ways that gluten can hide in food and cross contamination. :)

Frances03 Enthusiast
Frances03
Posted

I would recommend rescheduling the endoscopy. Being gluten free is not easy. It's also not easy explaining to people WHY you are gluten free, especially if you dont have a formal diagnosis. It might all sound rosy and wonderful right now, but wait a few months until you are hungry and someone offers you food and tells you it's gluten free but you're not sure. If you HAVE a formal diagnosis by endoscopy, you will say "No, thank you" and wait until you can get something you KNOW is gluten free. You will have no trouble telling people, "I can't eat gluten because I have Celiac Disease". If you diagnose yourself, a few months down the road it is going to be all too easy to get lax on the diet and then you're going to be right back where you are now. The test is no big deal and is over before you know it. Why not get it done so you have proof. Also, why spend all this time and money not eating gluten if you do NOT have Celiac Disease? Life is a LOT easier when you have a proven diagnosis, in my opinion.

VitaminDGirl Apprentice
VitaminDGirl
Posted
  • Author

I went gluten-free 11 months ago, about a month after my symptoms started. My blood test and endoscopy biopsy were negative, but the celiac panel was several months after going gluten-free and the 1 biopsy was after a only week of being on gluten. They may have been false negative. I do have the HLA-DQ8 genetic marker, but the GI said that only gave me a 10% chance of celiac; he thought all my GI problems were diverticulitis, and he dismissed all my other symptoms (brain fog, lethargy, stiff joints, muscle aches, etc). Needless to say the large number of colon biopsies were negative and there were no diverticuli. So, it is sometimes more important to trust your body more than the doctors. Going gluten-free is work from social, financial, and food standpoints, but it is worth it. I'm a stronger biker than I've been for years, I haven't caught a cold since going gluten-free (I'm usually a virus magnet), and I feel much better. It is a tough decision that you are making, but it can be important for your health. If you have not done so, research all the ways that gluten can hide in food and cross contamination. :)

Kay--thanks a million for this post. How encouraging to hear. I'm so glad to hear that in spite of all the testing, you took the plunge and are noticing such positive results. I appreciate you taking the time to share your story with me. I'm sure I'll see you around the site.

VitaminDGirl Apprentice
VitaminDGirl
Posted
  • Author

I would recommend rescheduling the endoscopy. Being gluten free is not easy. It's also not easy explaining to people WHY you are gluten free, especially if you dont have a formal diagnosis. It might all sound rosy and wonderful right now, but wait a few months until you are hungry and someone offers you food and tells you it's gluten free but you're not sure. If you HAVE a formal diagnosis by endoscopy, you will say "No, thank you" and wait until you can get something you KNOW is gluten free. You will have no trouble telling people, "I can't eat gluten because I have Celiac Disease". If you diagnose yourself, a few months down the road it is going to be all too easy to get lax on the diet and then you're going to be right back where you are now. The test is no big deal and is over before you know it. Why not get it done so you have proof. Also, why spend all this time and money not eating gluten if you do NOT have Celiac Disease? Life is a LOT easier when you have a proven diagnosis, in my opinion.

Hello, fellow homeschooling Mama! I am homeschooling 4 of my own. congrats on being preggo with #4!

I very much appreciate your comments and will be taking them into prayerful consideration.

Thank you for sharing your struggle and story as well.

Hope to see you around here.

VitaminDGirl Apprentice
VitaminDGirl
Posted
  • Author

Rescheduled my biopsy for next week.

not looking forward to the procedure,

but I do think I'll regret not doing this final 'check'.

thanks again for the feedback!

Still on gluten for a little while longer!

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

I would recommend rescheduling the endoscopy. Being gluten free is not easy. It's also not easy explaining to people WHY you are gluten free, especially if you dont have a formal diagnosis. It might all sound rosy and wonderful right now, but wait a few months until you are hungry and someone offers you food and tells you it's gluten free but you're not sure. If you HAVE a formal diagnosis by endoscopy, you will say "No, thank you" and wait until you can get something you KNOW is gluten free. You will have no trouble telling people, "I can't eat gluten because I have Celiac Disease". If you diagnose yourself, a few months down the road it is going to be all too easy to get lax on the diet and then you're going to be right back where you are now. The test is no big deal and is over before you know it. Why not get it done so you have proof. Also, why spend all this time and money not eating gluten if you do NOT have Celiac Disease? Life is a LOT easier when you have a proven diagnosis, in my opinion.

Depends on how sick gluten makes you. I self-diagnosed have no problems at all turning down gluten or explaining myself, as I'm sick for a couple days after eating traces of it. I just tell people I'm celiac. You say what you need to stay away from poison! Nobody has my medical records but me and my doctor, so how would they know otherwise? Besides, doctors say I probably am celiac and I've had three different doctors tell me that there is no sense breaking a strict gluten-free diet that's maintaining my health for a challenge with a series of somewhat unreliable tests.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Rescheduled my biopsy for next week.

not looking forward to the procedure,

but I do think I'll regret not doing this final 'check'.

thanks again for the feedback!

Still on gluten for a little while longer!

Just keep in mind that false negatives on the biopsy are not uncommon. Do try the diet strictly after the biopsy is done. Your body does know the answer.

Archived

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

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,398
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Megannnnn
    Newest Member
    Megannnnn
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Coeliac UK Research Conference 2025

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Thanks for sharing this!
    • Scott Adams
      Shingles - Could It Be Related to Gluten/ Celiac

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I had the same thing happen to me at around your age, and to this day it's the most painful experience I've ever had. For me it was the right side of my head, above my ear, running from my nerves in my neck. For years before my outbreak I felt a tingling sensation shooting along the exact nerves that ended up exactly where the shingles blisters appeared. I highly recommend the two shot shingles vaccine as soon as your turn 50--I did this because I started to get the same tingling sensations in the same area, and after the vaccines I've never felt that again.  As you likely know, shingles is caused by chicken pox, which was once though of as one of those harmless childhood viruses that everyone should catch in the wild--little did they know that it can stay in your nervous system for your entire life, and cause major issues as you age.
    • trents
      Blood tests low iGA 4 years later digestive issues

      By trents · Posted

      Keep us posted.
    • Clear2me
      Gluten free nuts

      By Clear2me · Posted

      Thanks for the info. I recently moved to CA from Wyoming and in that western region the Costco and Sam's /Walmart Brands have many nuts and more products that are labeled gluten free. I was told it's because those products are packaged and processed  in different  plants. Some plants can be labeled  gluten free because the plant does not also package gluten products and they know that for example the trucks, containers equipment are not used to handle wheat, barely or Rye. The Walmart butter in the western region says gluten free but not here. Most of The Kirkland and Members Mark brands in CA say they are from Vietnam. That's not the case in Wyoming and Colorado. I've spoken to customer service at the stores here in California. They were not helpful. I check labels every time I go to the store. The stores where I am are a Sh*tshow. The Magalopoly grocery chain Vons/Safeway/Albertsons, etc. are the same. Fishers and Planters brands no longer say gluten free. It could be regional. There are nuts with sugar coatings and fruit and nut mixes at the big chains that are labeled gluten free but I don't want the fruit or sugar.  It's so difficult I am considering moving again. I thought it would be easier to find safe food in a more populated area. It's actually worse.  I was undiagnosed for most of my life but not because I didn't try to figure it out. So I have had all the complications possible. I don't have any spare organs left.  No a little gluten will hurt you. The autoimmune process continues to destroy your organs though you may not feel it. If you are getting a little all the time and as much as we try we probably all are and so the damage is happening. Now the FDA has pretty much abandoned celiacs. There are no requirements for labeling for common allergens on medications. All the generic drugs made outside the US are not regulated for common allergens and the FDA is taking the last gluten free porcine Thyroid med, NP Thyroid, off the market in 2026. I was being glutened by a generic levothyroxin. The insurance wouldn't pay for the gluten free brand any longer because the FDA took them all off their approved formulary. So now I am paying $147 out of pocket for NP Thyroid but shortly I will have no safe choice. Other people with allergies should be aware that these foreign generic pharmaceutical producers are using ground shellfish shell as pill coatings and anti-desicants. The FDA knows this but  now just waits for consumers to complain or die. The take over of Wholefoods by Amazon destroyed a very reliable source of good high quality food for people with allergies and for people who wanted good reliably organic food. Bezos thought  he could make a fortune off people who were paying alot for organic and allergen free food by substituting cheap brands from Thailand. He didn't understand who the customers were who were willing to pay more for that food and why. I went from spending hundreds to nothing because Bezo removed every single trusted brand that I was buying. Now they are closing Whole foods stores across the country. In CA, Mill Valley store (closed July 2025) and the National Blvd. store in West Los Angeles (closed October 2025). The Cupertino store will close.  In recent years I have learned to be careful and trust no one. I have been deleberately glutened in a restaurant that was my favorite (a new employee). The Chef owner was not in the kitchen that night. I've had  a metal scouring pad cut up over my food.The chain offered gluten free dishes but it only takes one crazy who thinks you're a problem as a food fadist. Good thing I always look. Good thing they didn't do that to food going to a child with a busy mom.  I give big tips and apologize for having to ask in restaurants but mental illness seem to be rampant. I've learn the hard way.          I don't buy any processed food that doesn't say gluten free.  I am a life long Catholic. I worked for the Church while at college. I don't go to Church anymore because the men at the top decided Jesus is gluten. The special hosts are gluten less not gluten free. No I can't drink wine after people with gluten in their mouth and a variety of deadly germs. I have been abandoned and excluded by my Church/Family.  Having nearly died several times, safe food is paramount. If your immune system collapses as mine did, you get sepsis. It can kill you very quickly. I spent 5 days unconscious and had to have my appendix and gall bladder removed because they were necrotic. I was 25. They didn't figure out I had celiac till I was 53. No one will take the time to tell you what can happen when your immune system gets overwhelmed from its constant fighting the gluten and just stops. It is miserable that our food is processed so carelessly. Our food in many aspects is not safe. And the merging of all the grocery chains has made it far worse. Its a disaster. Krogers also recently purchased Vitacost where I was getting the products I could no longer get at Whole Foods. Kroger is eliminating those products from Vitacost just a Bezos did from WF. I am looking for reliable and certified sources for nuts. I have lived the worst consequences of the disease and being exposed unknowingly and maliciously. Once I was diagnosed I learned way more than anyone should have to about the food industry.  I don't do gray areas. And now I dont eat out except very rarely.  I have not eaten fast food for 30 years before the celiac diagnosis. Gluten aside..... It's not food and it's not safe.  No one has got our backs. Sharing safe food sources is one thing we can do to try to be safe.        
    • Mmoc
      Blood tests low iGA 4 years later digestive issues

      By Mmoc · Posted

      Thank you kindly for your response. I have since gotten the other type of bloods done and am awaiting results. 
×
×
  • 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.