New Here - Need A Little Advice.

[Kamagrian]

Hi there,

It's my first post here, and I may not even be welcome or belong! Apologies if this is the case. :-)

First, a little medical history! I'm female, in my late 30s, and have had an "interesting" variety of medical issues in the last few years. These include two episodes of severe acute pancreatitis (no reason found), a few episodes of gastritis and oesophagitis including one serious enough to land me in hospital, and so on. After several unpleasant attacks of abdominal pain, sudden urgent need for the loo (sorry if that's TMI!) and some mucus/blood, I had a colonoscopy a few months ago which showed minor inflammation and led to a diagnosis of severe IBS, but nothing more worrying. Incidentally, I also have fibromyalgia and have suffered from depression at various points.

After the diagnosis, I started to pay more attention to which foods seemed to affect me. I noticed most obviously that if I have toast or other bread-type stuff for breakfast, I get lower abdominal cramps, stomach ache and at least mild diarrhoea, all starting within an hour of eating, followed by exhaustion. I love and even crave bread, so this isn't good!

This morning I decided to do the BioCard test, which came up negative. Given that it purports to be 93% accurate, I'm therefore presuming that I don't have Coeliac Disease - I'd been a little concerned because autoimmune problems (Crohn's Disease, hypothyroid disease) run in my family.

So I suppose the question, after all that long-windedness (sorry!) is: where do I go from here? Given that I'm not Coeliac, so that's not what's causing my pain, bloating and other unsavoury digestive symptoms, I'm not sure what to do best to help myself. I don't believe in cutting out food groups without established cause (I hate fad diets, and so on), but I can't afford the York test, don't wish to come across as a hypochondriac to my doctors and can't go on feeling so gut-sore.

Any advice or information gratefully received!

Gill x

EDIT: Given the stuff I just read casting some doubt on the York tests, maybe it's a good thing I didn't have the money, anyway! ;-)

[jmrogers31]

Hi there,

It's my first post here, and I may not even be welcome or belong! Apologies if this is the case. :-)

First, a little medical history! I'm female, in my late 30s, and have had an "interesting" variety of medical issues in the last few years. These include two episodes of severe acute pancreatitis (no reason found), a few episodes of gastritis and oesophagitis including one serious enough to land me in hospital, and so on. After several unpleasant attacks of abdominal pain, sudden urgent need for the loo (sorry if that's TMI!) and some mucus/blood, I had a colonoscopy a few months ago which showed minor inflammation and led to a diagnosis of severe IBS, but nothing more worrying. Incidentally, I also have fibromyalgia and have suffered from depression at various points.

After the diagnosis, I started to pay more attention to which foods seemed to affect me. I noticed most obviously that if I have toast or other bread-type stuff for breakfast, I get lower abdominal cramps, stomach ache and at least mild diarrhoea, all starting within an hour of eating, followed by exhaustion. I love and even crave bread, so this isn't good!

This morning I decided to do the BioCard test, which came up negative. Given that it purports to be 93% accurate, I'm therefore presuming that I don't have Coeliac Disease - I'd been a little concerned because autoimmune problems (Crohn's Disease, hypothyroid disease) run in my family.

So I suppose the question, after all that long-windedness (sorry!) is: where do I go from here? Given that I'm not Coeliac, so that's not what's causing my pain, bloating and other unsavoury digestive symptoms, I'm not sure what to do best to help myself. I don't believe in cutting out food groups without established cause (I hate fad diets, and so on), but I can't afford the York test, don't wish to come across as a hypochondriac to my doctors and can't go on feeling so gut-sore.

Any advice or information gratefully received!

Gill x

EDIT: Given the stuff I just read casting some doubt on the York tests, maybe it's a good thing I didn't have the money, anyway! ;-)

That sounds pretty awful. I know you said you don't believe in cutting out food groups with cause, but I think you have a long list of causes. I would strongly consider an elimination diet. I am thinking of trying that myself to see if that helps me. The gluten elimination help tremendously but I still have some issues and it is very common to be sensitive to more than one thing. Two weeks of your life where you have to cut back may be more than worth it if you can figure out your triggers.

[Hawthorn]

Hi and welcome

Even if it isn't celiacs that is causing you pain, it could be gluten intolerance. That is my official diagnosis after years of being ill (mentally). The physical didn't start until march last year. I went on an elimination diet out of sheer desperation and lo and behold things improved without the gluten, and eventually dairy had to go too.

So much has come into line now I'm not on gluten...psoriasis and eczema seriously in remission, no medication needed for depression/anxiety/insomnia, hormonal problems have settled right down. After taking a gluten challenge to attempt to get diagnosed properly (moment of madness and one I seriously regret now because I still have stomach problems a month later) I realised I don't actually need a formal diagnosis really.....the fact that I feel like I am dying when eating gluten is good enough reason for me to cut it out.

Had someone suggested that to me two years ago, I'm pretty sure I would have been sceptical too, but the proof is in the (gluten free of course) pudding.

For what it's worth, I adored gluteny foods too. Craved them, absolutely, and for a while after going gluten free I thought I would go crazy. But, it does settle down and now I wouldn't trade feeling well for anything. If you have stomach problems, suspect it could be gluten, which you do obviously, then you are doing yourself a huge favour by trying an elimination diet. It is not a fad diet if you improve without gluten.

After all of the problems I had mentally and physically, not one person in the huge amount of medical people I have seen over the last ten years even suggested it could be a food problem until I myself discovered it. Not one. I trust my bodys judgement on this one, because the medical community seems to favour treating symptoms rather than cause.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do...but I would say you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, if this is the problem. Only one way to find out