First Appt With The Gi...

[Hammod]

So I'm new here. I've suspected that I have Celiac/gluten intolerance for over a year now. My symptoms however started about 2 years ago with Bouts of Diarhea and Constipation. Bloating,Severe indigestion/heartburn. Muscle and Joint pain, extreme fatigue, psorasis, migraines within an hour of having a beer, Scabby rashes on the back of my legs. So I did what I do and I googled my symptoms and Celiac came up. I read the info on it and I decided I would try a gluten free diet. I felt better within two weeks! I kept to the gluten free diet for about 6 months even though in the back of my head I kept asking myself "what if that wasn't it? What if it was just a coincidence?" So 4 months ago I slowly started to introduce gluten again and at first all I noticed really was being bloated and a little tired. As I started to consume more I started to get the same symptoms back again. For the past month I have dealt with fatigue, severe heartburn to where I almost throw up, stomach pain, diarhea/constipation etc... So I was going to go back to the gluten-free diet and a lady I work with who has Celiac said "No - now is the time to get tested!" So I decided I would although I hate going to see doctors so I rarely go. I made an appt. with a GI

He was awful! He treated me like I was stupid and don't know my own body. LIke I was making it up. He kept questioning my heartburn and saying he didn't understand what I was feeling when I said I had heartburn. Uh well you know a burning sensation moving up through my chest and into my throat. duh... Then after he checked me out he said he really thinks that I have IBS and that he'll give me some medicine to help with the IBS and another medicine to help with the heartburn. And after I told him I had an aunt and a cousin who have Celiacs he agreed to do a blood test and a endoscopy. I still felt awful about how he acted towards me.

So I get home with my prescriptions and being me again I google the drugs to see what they are about and hmmm...he did prescribe me a medicine to help with the heartburn, but he also prescribed me an antidepressant! Really so now I just have a nervous stomach and my tummy hurts from anxiety? This is why I didn't want to go to the doctor. So I had my blood test, but still waiting for the results to come back and I have an endoscopy scheduled in a few weeks. Part of me doesn't even want to go through with it because if it comes back negative I can only imagine what he will say to me then?

Regardless I am going go back to gluten free after all is said and done.

[MsCurious]

So I'm new here. I've suspected that I have Celiac/gluten intolerance for over a year now. My symptoms however started about 2 years ago with Bouts of Diarhea and Constipation. Bloating,Severe indigestion/heartburn. Muscle and Joint pain, extreme fatigue, psorasis, migraines within an hour of having a beer, Scabby rashes on the back of my legs. So I did what I do and I googled my symptoms and Celiac came up. I read the info on it and I decided I would try a gluten free diet. I felt better within two weeks! I kept to the gluten free diet for about 6 months even though in the back of my head I kept asking myself "what if that wasn't it? What if it was just a coincidence?" So 4 months ago I slowly started to introduce gluten again and at first all I noticed really was being bloated and a little tired. As I started to consume more I started to get the same symptoms back again. For the past month I have dealt with fatigue, severe heartburn to where I almost throw up, stomach pain, diarhea/constipation etc... So I was going to go back to the gluten-free diet and a lady I work with who has Celiac said "No - now is the time to get tested!" So I decided I would although I hate going to see doctors so I rarely go. I made an appt. with a GI

He was awful! He treated me like I was stupid and don't know my own body. LIke I was making it up. He kept questioning my heartburn and saying he didn't understand what I was feeling when I said I had heartburn. Uh well you know a burning sensation moving up through my chest and into my throat. duh... Then after he checked me out he said he really thinks that I have IBS and that he'll give me some medicine to help with the IBS and another medicine to help with the heartburn. And after I told him I had an aunt and a cousin who have Celiacs he agreed to do a blood test and a endoscopy. I still felt awful about how he acted towards me.

So I get home with my prescriptions and being me again I google the drugs to see what they are about and hmmm...he did prescribe me a medicine to help with the heartburn, but he also prescribed me an antidepressant! Really so now I just have a nervous stomach and my tummy hurts from anxiety? This is why I didn't want to go to the doctor. So I had my blood test, but still waiting for the results to come back and I have an endoscopy scheduled in a few weeks. Part of me doesn't even want to go through with it because if it comes back negative I can only imagine what he will say to me then?

Regardless I am going go back to gluten free after all is said and done.

Ugh! Sorry you had to have such a bad experience with your GI! I go in for my first consultation with my new GI on the first, and I'm HOPING but not hopful of having a better experience than that. Its just a crime that they don't believe or listen to patients. I think though, that people who have never suffered with chronic symptoms like these... that they really just "don't get it"... its all text ... and words to them... they can't or don't translate it into REAL daily existence... or they would be a lot more attentive!

My regular doctor (who referred me to GI) is really nice ... but not a GI doctor, so he really didn't "get it" so much either. He also prescribed some low dose anti depressant... they sit in my medicine cabinet ... untouched. I also stopped taking my vitamin supplements, except Vitamin D an calcium, because that could do so much harm , and I already know my vitamin D was nearly non-existent (15 when it should be between 50-100). BUT I am going to ask them to check B-12 and what ever others come with that.

Don't give up though! You've done the right thing getting blood drawn. I had TTG and it was negative. They did the Genetic test to see if I was in the 98% "pool" of people who have the predisposition to even getting celiac disease... and they never told me the results. Not sure if that's why he referred me to GI, or if he thinks its "IBS" the catch all for "I don't know whats wrong with you". I have read over and over about people who test negative to TTG and then have a positive DGP... so who knows.

So I am going in to the GI armed with all my "connected dots" ...and I've decided I am going to push for full celiac panel and any other food intolerance testing I can get them to do. Once the testing is over, I am going Gluten FREE.. with or without my doctor's blessing, since I already know I feel a gazillion times better gluten-free. Good luck to you and hope you feel better soon! Keep us posted on your results!