Help.. Opinions Needed.

[Stuckinlymbo]

Hi. New to this and ill try keep it very short and to the point.

The pasy yr im suffering from extreme periods,tummy pain,lower back pain,unregular bowl habits and stabbin paims just b4 I feel I need to open my bowls.

Seen gynie,had scans,no reproductive problems.

Problems presisted. Went to see a lady who does alternative therapies.she found disturbances in digestive and reproductive system. Basically she recommended a lot but only ting relevant to this is,she said to stop eating:chicken,pork,corn,wheat..... In the last month ive not touched chicken r pork. Have had very very small amounts of corn and wheat. But ive noticed that after the wheat within hours im doubled over with paims!! I never noticed a connection b4 as I never though my problems were food related. Ive also started to get bouts of dirrohea, sodt stools r hard stools,always accompaned by the stabbing paims.

I was mentioning all this to a mate who mentioned celiac. This never ever came into my head. So I googled it amd I match a few symptoms.... The pains,bloating,bowl habits.... It also mentioned bruising,i have been gettin bruises on my legs that I cant explain,no huge ones but noticable. Im always tired,pale with black eyes. Plus itchy skin (no rash) I dont vomit,just feel crappy all the time.....

But readin a few posts here people seem very ill with it... So I really dont kno. Is there different levels? is the symptoms different? Im not sayin I do have it,im just tryin to see if I should go see my gp and mention it? I kno nothing about celiac so hoping someone can help me.

Xx

[Skylark]

Hi and welcome. Yes there are different levels of severity and all different symptoms of celiac. It can affect your stomach, bowels, skin, nervous system, and even other internal organs. This list gives you an idea of how broad the symptoms are.

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You definitely should ask your doctor, but you need to be on a full gluten diet to be tested for celiac. They look for antibodies that are your body's reaction to gluten, and look for autoimmune damage in your small intestine. When you go gluten-free everything they look for goes away and you will get a negative result. After a month off wheat you would probably need to go back to eating 3-4 slices of bread worth of wheat a day for at least a month to make sure the tests work.

There are people who have all negative celiac tests and wheat still makes them sick. It's called gluten intolerance. Even if you test negative for celiac, you are probably gluten intolerant and need to be gluten-free.

[Stuckinlymbo]

thank you so much. is it just a normal blood test a doctor does r do u need to get hostipal tested?

[Skylark]

The first test they will do is a normal blood test and your GP can order it. If something comes back positive the GP will usually send you to a specialist, a gastroenterologist (GI doc for short). The GI doctor may schedule an endoscopy. That's an outpatient test and there are other people on the board who can tell you what it's like. I haven't had one done. The GI will sedate you, put an endoscope down your throat, look at your stomach and intestines, and take biopsies to examine under a microscope for signs of autoimmune damage from celiac disease.

Some people who have positive celiac blood tests decline the endoscopy and just start the diet.

Some people like me didn't even know you had to be eating gluten to be tested. I was never tested for celiac because once I was off gluten I didn't want to eat it again. It makes me too sick.

[Stuckinlymbo]

this a huge help. ive to see my doc this week anyway with my son.i tink ill ask him and book in for few week, then ill stuff my face until then, really hope im not,by the little bit of readin ive done I cant believe how much food has gluten!! a diet chamge like that seems to be a complete lifestyle change!!! but if it sorts me out it wud b worth it! its a win/loose situation!!

[Skylark]

It is a lifestyle change but well worth it if gluten is the cause of your trouble. Feel free to ask us for help once you find out about testing and go gluten-free.

[Stuckinlymbo]

thanks again

xx