Sensitivity Or Full Blown Celiac- Please Help

[richie3484]

Hi,

Im a 26 year old male and Ive suffered from depression, flushing, brain fog, eye sensitivities, anxiety, bad breath etc for as long as I can remember. I started taking vitamin supplements and antihistamines a few years ago and experienced some relief from these symptoms but I was still flushing heavily when stressed, in a warm environment and around 7pm every evening. My skin would look clear and flawless in the morning but by the evening it would be dark red.I thought it may be candida and started taking probiotics and glutamine (for leaky gut) which helped tremendously but if I stopped then symptoms would return and I was still flushing but less frequent.

A week ago I turned my attention to diet and started a gluten free regime. My symptoms have 90% cleared and I have more energy, better thinking and only a very light pink flush in the evening or when stressed. Im more confident and my anxiety has all but disappeared! My mother has always suffered from a red face and bad breath but has always been totally outgoing and has no 'mental' symptoms at all (genetic connection but different symptoms?)

Ive got a blood test booked in for a couple of weeks time but whether I go through with it is another thing. The doctor said to eat gluten beforehand but didnt say how much or how long before the test. Im hesitant about doing this. Anyone have any suggestions?

Also, I have NEVER had any abdominal symptoms from the gluten ingestion. No intestinal pain or cramping, my stools have always been fine, no diarhea etc. The symptoms have always been flushing or mental. The absence of this when taking probiotics backs up experiments I have read about where probiotics block the symptoms of gluten intolerance and stops inflammation. I also cheated and had a piece of cake yesterday and had no symptoms whatsoever. Would this suggest to you a gluten sensitivity rather than full blown celiac as the symptoms of celiac seem much more intense from what I have read.

Thanks

[ravenwoodglass]

If you are going to get tested you do need to go back on a full gluten diet pronto. There are false negatives on both blood and biopsy but there are folks who don't seem to have gut symptoms but are still positive on biopsy. Your regular doctor can order the blood tests but a GI doctor would do the biopsy. The choice whether to test is yours to make but it can be easier to convince others in the family to be tested if you are positive yourself. Just keep in mind the tests could come back negative but you could still have an issue with gluten. You don't need a doctors permission to stay gluten free if it helps.