Is It Celiac?

[BrittLoves2Run]

Hello!

I

[Takala]

Could be, or also could be gluten intolerance. In that case, the celiac panel blood tests will come back negative.

If your blood tests come back negative, and you are not getting a biopsy, the next time you get one of those "mystery" rashes have them biopsy the skin next to it for DH, which could get you a positive diagnosis of celiac. After testing has been exhausted, try going on a gluten free diet anyway to see what happens, as your symptoms match having a gluten problem.

Don't forget that all your medications will have to be gluten free, also.

[BrittLoves2Run]

Could be, or also could be gluten intolerance. In that case, the celiac panel blood tests will come back negative.

If your blood tests come back negative, and you are not getting a biopsy, the next time you get one of those "mystery" rashes have them biopsy the skin next to it for DH, which could get you a positive diagnosis of celiac. After testing has been exhausted, try going on a gluten free diet anyway to see what happens, as your symptoms match having a gluten problem.

Don't forget that all your medications will have to be gluten free, also.

So this might seem like a stupid question, but what is the difference between Celiac and Gluten intolerance? What do you do to deal with Gluten intolerance?

I'm really anxious to get to the doctors tomorrow. I don't want to put myself on a gluten-free diet if it's not necessary as it seems like a HUGE change.. and it's also expensive, but i'd like to do anything I can to start feeling better.

[Aly1]

Celiac disease is a manifestation of gluten intolerance where the villi of the small intestine are attacked and a variety of symptoms follow. It is auto-immune in nature. Non-celiac gluten intolerance basically means the bad reaction to gluten effects areas other than the small intestine - and it can really effect any area and cause numerous symptoms from headaches to neurological symptoms to...brain fog and inability to think clearly, lol, which is happening to me right now. Anyway I'm sure others can fill in the blanks. The point is - if your celiac panel comes back negative it means one of two things:1) it was a false negative which is possible or 2) you do not have celiac. There is no way to test for non-celiac gluten intolerance - but it is just as severe and can have a major impact on one's health. So, once you have exhausted all testing - do note, you need to be eating a regular gluten diet in order for celiac tests to show anything - you should try going gluten free for a good stretch of time, at least a month or two. If gluten is a problem for you, you will likely start to feel better quickly.

The symptoms you listed could definitely be gluten-related. I hope they are, so you will be able to start healing ASAP. Good luck.

[Aly1]

Ps. Yes it's hard, but believe me, we wouldn't all be eating that way if it didn't make us feel So Much Better. And that's pretty much priceless!

[Aly1]

And another note - if gluten does Not turn out to be a problem for you - I get deep aching pain in my bones from eating sugar and variety of other things too lengthy to list here. I also got it from gluten. Point is there are many things that we eat that can cause pain and do harm so gluten may not be the end of your need to explore diet as a possible cause. You've found a great resource here on this forum, the people here are so helpful and can offer guidance every step of the way.

[BrittLoves2Run]

And another note - if gluten does Not turn out to be a problem for you - I get deep aching pain in my bones from eating sugar and variety of other things too lengthy to list here. I also got it from gluten. Point is there are many things that we eat that can cause pain and do harm so gluten may not be the end of your need to explore diet as a possible cause. You've found a great resource here on this forum, the people here are so helpful and can offer guidance every step of the way.

Thanks for your response! I had my doctor appointment this morning. My doctor seemed very apprehensive about testing me for Celiac. He basically said it's a pain in the butt to diagnose. I get that, but I'm sick! and i'm tired of being sick. So I insisted that we do it anyway. He asked me if my family had any problem with Thyroid problems. I never thought about the correlation. Every woman in my family has an underactive thyroid and my mom has a lot of the same gastro problems as I do. So he did the Celiac panel and a thyroid test. I'll see what comes of it.