Does This Sound Like Celiac?

[wrv2486]

Hey everyone..I am a bit frustrated and thought I'd see what all of you thought.

For years I have been back and forth getting medications for acid reflux, stomach ulcers, gallbladder problems, etc. However, nothing helps for very long and all of the tests for these problems have come back okay. I still have symptoms and they have been getting worse.

I am tired all of the time. I don't just mean a little, I mean super exhausted. This has been going on for years.

As soon as I eat I start to get a stomach ache and nauseated and feel like the food wants out. The symptoms persist and the pain gets worse after I eat. However, the aches and pains are pretty much always there. I'm also really bloated in my stomach and I notice this has gotten worse. The nausea is basically there all of the time, almost like being carsick but worse. I have been sick constantly, six or seven times in the past couple of months. I basically catch anything that goes around, way more than anyone else I know. I generally feel pretty weak or feverish anyway.

I get dizzy a lot, especially after I eat, or I get kind of foggy. Everything almost seems kind of dim or out of focus, like dreaming. I also have constant headaches (sometimes pounding) and rashes. The doctor thinks it's just eczema but they keep coming back. I also have this ridiculous appetite. I could basically eat anytime, but when I do I feel awful. I basically dread eating because of the symptoms that pop up immediately.

I have been lactose intolerant my whole life so what I can eat is already restricted. I was on the Paleo diet for about a month once (you basically eat fruits, vegetables, and meat) and I noticed my symptoms were greatly reduced.

Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thank you!!

Whitney

[mushroom]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

So all your sufferings and symptoms brought you here because you figured out gluten could be a problem for you, when none of your doctors ever thought of it, right?

You could very well be right. Your symptoms are pretty classic celia/gluten sensitive symptoms, just not the ones the doctors have been taught. You should ask your doctor to run a fujl celiac panel of bloodwork -

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (GDP)

Total Serum IgA

since this is the first basic screening test for celiac. Your lactose intolerance is potentially significant since the enzyme lactase is produced in the area of the small intestine that is damaged by gluten. I figured out my lactose intolerance long before gluten, too. I hope you have a good primary care doctor who will order these tests for you. You do not have to go go to a GI to get them done. Let us know how things work out. By the way, it is a good practice to always get copies of your test results from the doctor for your own use.

[wrv2486]

I just got a new doctor. I have another symptom I forgot to mention. I get these episodes where I can feel like my blood sugar is dropping. It's pretty mild at first but when it first comes on I start to get weaker and weaker until I can't focus or pay attention to what's going on, I start to get dizzy and start pouring sweat. If it gets bad enough I can't even walk or move. I have to shove food in until it goes away. So once this started happening almost every day, I called every doctor I could until someone had an opening. He kind of mentioned celiac and ran some blood tests but I haven't heard anything yet.

Thanks for your help, I will definitely keep the results.

[ravenwoodglass]

You do sound like you could be one of us. Make sure you keep eating gluten until your testing is done. When your done with testing give the diet a good strict try no matter what the results as false negatives are not uncommon.