Help- Greatly Appreciated

[PETES]

Hi. I would be grateful if anyone could help me. Do these symptoms sound like sprue? I have constant burping, acid reflux, abdominal bloating, tons of gas, rectal itching, dry eyes(blepharitis), and sport injuries that never seem to heal.

I have been told that I have a small hiatus hernia but that it should not be giving me these symptoms.

I have had tests that show my stomach may empty too slow yet drugs to improve this have not made a difference.

I had a colonoscopy which showed inflamation at terminal ileum(possible crohns) yet crohns drugs have not made a difference and my symptoms don't sound like crohns

Had celiac bloodwork and a biopsy which were all negative.

Decided to do enterolabs testing and it showed that I am gluten intolerant, have small intestinal malabsorption, and have the gene for sprue.

Could I have sprue or is this test quackery? My GI told me to throw the results in the garbage. If I go gluten free, how long would it take to know for sure?

I greatly appreciate any opinions. What a great site.

Thanks,

Pete

[DLayman]

I would not throw those results in the trash.. I would advise you to try a gluten free diet for at least six weeks. It will not hurt you. If the symptoms go away then you probably have a gluten intolerance. People can have gluten intolerance without having celiac.

If you have the gene for it then it is possible you have but it is just as possible not to have it from my understanding.

Also you may want to try the specific carbohydrate diet. It is a gluten free diet and a little bit more..

see www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info and www.pecanbread.com also www.scdrecipe.com there should be enough recipes/guidelines there for you to work out a six week menu to stick to..for a trial. The big thing is NO CHEATING!!! you would want to really commit to this for at least 6 weeks to give it a full trial..

Good luck.

[Guest LisaB]

Yep, that is great advice, listen to your body not anyone else....it will tell you!

Lisa

[Guest jhmom]

Pete:

I can tell you I would NOT throw those results from enterolab in the trash. Let me tell you why, in August 2002 I became very ill. I was so sick I thought something was seriously wrong with me. I went to the doctor and got a referral to a GASTRO. When I visited him he thought I had IBS, I underwent numerous tests/procedures which all turned out ok. After I lost 40lbs he finally tested me for Celiac and Crohn's, they both came back negative. After finding out about Celiac Disease I begged him to perform an endoscopy, the results showed "patchy inflammation". Even with these results he still dismissed Celiac and stuck to IBS. I would not accept this and wanted some answers.

I finally got sick and tired of feeling sick, tired and being in pain and decided to order the test from enterolab. THe results were positive and I immediately started a gluten-free diet. I never bothered to tell my doc about my results I just accepted my results and moved on.

I have been gluten-free for over 3 months and feel better than I have in a long time and could tell a difference within a few days. I still have moments here and there but nothing like the pain I was experiencing on a daily basis.

[PETES]

Thanks so much for the replies. Does anyone with Sprue share my symptoms?

Thanks

[Guest TESTinME]

I've got frequent burping too and it is really frusterating (counted 40 times today so far). I bet mine is a hiatal hernia too.

You can have your stomache adjusted to push it back down where it belongs:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I've been celiac longer then having these symptoms. When I first went gluten-free I was fine, I don't think my symptoms are related.

[wclemens]

I want to add my accolades to the others about Enterolab. My newborn grandson suffered horrible reactions after starting milk formula (stomach distress, severe diarrhea and diaper rash, vomiting, etc.). We notified his doctor, who switched him to soy, then I ordered the Enterolab full spectrum of tests, and we avoided introducing wheat or grains while waiting for the results. He tested gluten sensitive, carries a copy of the gene for Celiac, and is allergic to all milk and dairy products.

I've had Celiac symptoms for the past 51 years, and only by going on the Celiac diet was I able to finally heal and truly live life to the fullest. I am grateful that my grandson will never have to experience the negative effects that we all have with the disease. Welda

[tammy]

Hello,

I have gluten sensitivity and a dairy allergy to go along with hypothyroid and low progesterone to name a few. But here's the thing, my nutritionist suspected the gluten sensitivity (not celiac) and dairy allergy without testing me! So I went and had bloodwork that came back negative, except no one told me that I should be eating gluten when being tested! So I continued to search for a non-invasive test and chose Enterolab. It came back positive for gluten sensitivity and dairy allergy. I used the stool test, and gene test. I do not have celiac yet I have two copies of one of the necessary genes for celiac. Anyway I must live a gluten-free/dairy-free lifestyle. Oddly enough, I can get by with no noticeable side effects when I cook with butter. I can use very small amounts of dairy 3 times a week. But I have constipation and mild wheezing when I go above that standard.

I suspect that since I am dually diagnosed with gluten/dairy and thyroid that my immune system has a much heavier load than those with a single diagnosis, celiac/gluten sensitive. My symptoms are numerous and I am much stronger now then 2 years ago. I still have daily fatigue, bruise easily, heal slowly, periodic constipation, lower leg aches, and the general side effects of my dairy cheating. I still require a minimum of 8-9 hours of sleep to function properly at my two jobs. However, I used to need 12 hours of sleep daily. This is a general synopsis but...

I hope it helps.

Tammy

[Guest mudders4]

Hello, I read so many of your stories and we all sound so alike. I have pretty much been my own doctor. I am hoping some of you can help me. I have lost all mt teeth at 35, I have low cholestrol, chronis iron anemia, I have to have infusions to replace my iron, constant itching everywhere, Yeast infections every other month. Please someone tell me you have been here.. I also had blood work done and was slightly postive. My biopsy was negative. I am going to do testing with Enterolab. Are they reliable. I appreicate any information.

Thank you

Vicki

[judy05]

Mudders,

I've had a lot of your symptoms and more. I had to have my teeth

capped in high school, severe allergies, burning, itching eyes,

aches and pains, GI symptoms, heartburn, constipation, thyroid

disease, I could go on and on. I too had one positive blood test,

negative biopsy, negative on gene test. I know I have gluten

sensitivity but GI thinks I can go back on gluten and dairy.

Fat chance, I will never allow myself to be that sick again.

Try the diet you will feel so much better, it took me about a

year to really feel better but I was sick for a long time.

[Lesliean]

You asked if anyone has your symptoms. I did! Went to the md with reflux problems. Burging into my esophagus, pain in the stomach, bloating, itching becuase of the constipation and soreness inside, bleeding...Yuck. Within 4 weeks gluten-free and Dairyfree it all magically went away.