Went To Dr. Today... First Round Of Testing.

[JenHarris]

I went to my new Gastroenterologist today. I like him so far and was really impressed with the detailed questions he asked me about my history. He immediately ordered the blood tests today and said we'd have results by Monday. He also wants to do a hydrogen breath test on me to see about lactose intolerance since I seem to have such severe reactions to lactose at times (alfredo sauce makes me puke like no other and ice cream can mean digestive distress for days after), and that's scheduled for next Thursday. So I guess we'll see!

It felt good to actually have someone tell me I made the right decision to be seen and get tested. He said he couldn't diagnose the rash on my head, but the fact that it came back when I went back on Gluten made it pretty clear to him that it's definitely related to Gluten Intolerance or Celiac. If things aren't made clear by the blood test, then he said he will go ahead and schedule an endoscopy and do the biopsies. He promised me we will do everything we can to find an answer and that IBS shouldn't be a sufficient diagnosis unless we've exhausted testing and there's no other explanation.

He also told me that I could go back to being Gluten free because he will be able to see the damage without me doing a gluten challenge since I've had such a severe reaction to going back on Gluten.

Does this sound like an appropriate treatment plan to you all?

[mushroom]

It depends on how long it takes to get the endo scheduled. If it is longer than a week I would be concerned because sometimes the severity of the reaction is deceptive, especially when you are challenging after being mostly gluten free. I would personally try and keep as much gluten going as you can tolerate if it is going to take longer than a week. Although that said, if you are that lactose intolerant you must have quite a bit of damage to your villi.