Celiac Or Something Else?

[goblin]

Hey folks,

I would have never heard of Celiac disease if not for an unfortunate series of events: About 3 years ago I noticed getting fatigued more often and felt generally less healthy. I'm a 26 year old grad student, which you'd think should be the "prime" of my life, so I was very concerned. I went to a doctor, and told him my symptoms and wound up with a script for Adderall. I had been having trouble focusing, but I thought it was a side effect of the fatigue (never happened before)... anyway he convinced me to try it out for a while. Big mistake.

Fast forward two years, and the only thing different about my health was chronic insomnia! So I quit the adderall, and went through withdrawal for a while (which some of you might know, can stimulate an increase in appetite). I had also noticed an increase in abdominal problems, starting with bloating and progressing to excessive need to burp. Also some reflux. Lately I've been having diarrhea, and sometimes the "oily" stool that is listed in the Celiac symptoms.

I'm going to get tested for Celiac with the Biocard kit (a home test). Is this reliable? Also, if this comes back negative, what other GI issues should I look into. Of course I'm going to see my doctor, but want to be well informed prior to my visit.

Thanks for your help..

[ravenwoodglass]

In addition to the home test do ask your doctor to do a celiac panel as well as checking your vitamin and mineral levels as those are often low for us. Keep eating gluten until your testing is finished then when all testing is over give the diet a try no matter what the results as false negatives are not uncommon.

[SGWhiskers]

Listen to Ravenwoodglass. She's a smart cookie.