I Think I Might Have Celiac....

[PadmeMaster]

Last August, my mom suggested I go gluten free. I was having *really* bad joint pain, especially in my knees and ankles. I had to climb stairs multiple times a day, and I'd end up propped up on my air mattress with a pillow under my knee(s) and/or an ankle brace on (braces did help the ankle pain a good bit).

So I went Gluten Free and by september was mostly pain free. I started having issues with my wrist, but was pretty sure it was just a little de-tox so didn't worry. It went away by october, returned mid-month when I actually hurt my wrist, and again when I had wheatgrass (on accident) a few weeks later. I was *super* careful after that, which basically meant the gluten free Hormel Chili on a baked potato, M&Ms (bad choice, I know), and chex. I was in the middle of nowhere Virginia and had limited choices. We made our own soups and stuff at night for dinners and I ate the ones I could, but I like my soup with crackers.

We moved back to Texas in early Dec, and I was still extra careful, although I started being lax on the fast food (not asking for low carb/without buns, not asking about the oils, etc). No pain. I accidentally misread the Rice Crispies box and didn't see the Barley, so ate that. No issues. We started Atkins two weeks ago. I lost 4 pounds, then stalled (My fault, unrelated) but then I reacted to teh sausage we were buying (modified food starch). My reactions typically last 1-5 days. So when my stomach started hurting Friday morning, I blamed the Sausage from Wednesday, especially since I had some minor knee pain (The sausage that I'd already had a reaction to the weekend before, but I thought it could be something else).

But that morning, I had a cup of ice coffee. I make it with about 1.3-1.5 cups milk, 8oz coffee, and some sweetener. I used Truvia (off brand) and splenda (off brand) mix (to take the bite off the truvia and the aftertaste off the splenda). My stomach started getting worse and worse. I have no clue what I ate for lunch; possibly nothing. For dinner, I had a bowl of Rice Crispies. I then had bathroom issues (I won't be graphic) and stomach pain all night. I had some bad diarrhea this morning, and decided to cut out the milk (easier said than done when there's no food here). I've also been extremely gassy all day. I NORMALLY have soy milk, but since we'd been on Atkins I hadn't bought any yet. But before we went on Atkins I was having issues where sour cream and sliced cheese was tasting a little off. I don't know what that was about, but that went away.

I'm not diagnosed with anything. My mom has a Thyroid disorder and has been tested for Celiac but it came out negative. From what I knew, you have to eat gluten for a time before you get tested, so I decided I didn't need to be tested. But I want to know how likely it is that I actually have Celiac, not just an intolerance. I'll be removing the Barley from my diet again (it's just the Rice Crispies), and I've been dairy free all day (it's *really* hard.). I won't have to do more because I'll be buying soy milk.

So My main question is: Can a Milk Intolerance come up basically overnight? Especially since I've been Gluten Free for 11 months now.

Also, I want to know: Is it important to be diagnosed? Is there anything a doctor can even do?

[mamaw]

Your message is a bit confusing but here is my take.

First Soy is an allergren, a good tasting alternative to milk is almond breeze, we like vanilla almond breeze on our cereal..

Glutenfree crackers are an easy find to go with your soup...

Why the akins diet?

You must be eating gluten to have an accurate celiac test if not then your test will not be accurate & you will never know for sure. whether you test or do not test for celiac is a matter of choice.. You must decide, for me I would never start eating wheat again for a test. I would already know howI feel ( much better) without wheat or gluten...

celiac or only gluten sensitive-- the out come is the same a strict gluten-free diet to feel better, no cures , pills, or magic potion to make it better--- just the gluten-free diet.

rice krispies now hasgf.... it is labeled on the front of thebox , if its not on the front then it is not gluten-free...

Dairy is broken down at the tips of the villi -- so is gluten so it is possible to be both celiac & dairy intolerant.. common for many.

Modified food starch in the US is gluten-free.....

some sausages do contain gluten, you will need to become a label reader no wheat, spelt, farro, rye barley plus wheat has many cousins besides the few I mentioned & they too are off limits on the gluten-free diet.

All artifical sugars cause me to have reactions& not feel well. splenda is one of the worst, my opinion is use a tiny bit of sugar instead of all the chemicals in artifical junk that harms the kidneys & liver long term.. my BIL is a diabetic & his doctor even told him to use a tiny bit of suger over the artifical stuff. And he takes isulin by injection....

lastly you mentioned low carb which is okay but remember we need some carbs to fuel our bodies& low carb diet has nothing to do with celiac disease...

hth

[PadmeMaster]

First, I wish to apologize for my incoherence. I'm extremely ADHD (seems worse gluten-free, also, but probably unrelated?) so I have trouble making things make sense to anyone but myself. I'll try to clarify though.

When I went Gluten Free originally, my dad was jobless and mom was working a job that barely paid the bills. So I was very limited on what I could buy. So I stuck to the basics.

Is Soy extra dangerous to those of us who can't have Gluten? I've never had an issue with it before, but if so, I'll have to start making monthly trips to Whole Foods. My stomach doesn't like Almond Milk, so I have to use Coconut or Soy. I do have limited access to Rice Dream, but again, my stomach doesn't like it, so it'd be for smoothies only (where I limit my usage of "milk" anyway).

To be honest, I have no idea why I joined my family in doing Atkins. I'm about 50 pounds overweight, but I am *not* a meat eater. Actually, to contrast, I'll have no problems being vegetarian. The only thing stopping me from going Vegan is that I can't substitute things for the eggs; I lose the texture, shape, growth, etc of my cooking. Mom and I are going to be doing a special diet with my Foster Sister, Princess, to make her feel a little more relaxed (food was a control point for her before) and to help us lose weight.

I *will not* touch the sugar substitute again, then, if that could have been partially or mostly the issue. I didn't touch it before Atkins so I won't touch it again now that I'm off Atkins.

I googled modified food starch when I was still in Virginia and from what I understood, it is made with a mixture of grains, unless otherwise stated. So I avoid it unless it says "Modified Food Starch(Corn, potato, or rice)" or "Modified _CornPotatoorRice_ Starch". And a lot of things that say "Modified Food Starch" and don't have another gluten ingredient do say "Contains: Wheat" in bold at the bottom.

My mother has a lot of related illnesses and symptoms of Celiac. But I think I'll skip being tested for now. I can't even imagine eating gluten, honestly. My friends are very supportive; one friend has already said she'll go with me to Cosco and tell me what tastes good (they buy gluten free stuff but I don't know why, as they eat gluten normally).

One more big question though: My brother and mother both are unable to lose weight easily. They have done really strict diets that work temporarily (the one worked longer term for mom, but that's it). Mom's lost weight on the HcG diet and on a strict raw-vegan diet before, as has brother (him more on Atkins though), but otherwise they are both nearly incapable of losing weight. We used to be in a sport that had us doing heavy cardio and muscles 6 times a week for 45-180 minutes, along with practice between sessions. None of us lost any weight. Is it possible that *that* is related to Celiac, and maybe brother should be tested (he'd never go gluten-free without MAJOR incentive.)? Brother also has sleep apnea.. possibly related?

Thanks, sorry for the length!

~Padme