Don't Know For Sure...

[Zebot647]

I've been feeling sick for 3 years now and I don't know if I have a gluten intolerance or not. I'm hoping some people with more experience can help me.

My physical symptoms:

- I am tired all the time (I could fall asleep any time)

- I have really dry flaky skin

- I get hives sometimes on my chest

- My stomach is tender to the touch

- I have a hard time with dairy

- my vision is dull

- My immune system doesn't seem to work at all (recurring infections)

My mental symptoms:

- I have concentration and memory problems

- I have really bad anxiety

- No motivation

I'm planning on getting myself tested but I want to know from other people if my symptoms sound familiar.

I already stopped eating gluten a week ago. The only difference I feel is that I don't feel as tired all the time. Unfortunately I feel weaker than normal though because I'm just not eating enough. Everything I ate before was wheat based

Any help appreciated. I'm at the end of my rope.

[kareng]

If you want to get tested. you need to continue eating gluten for the tests. You could get a dermatologist to biopsy the "hives" to see if they are DH, the skin manifestation of Celiac.

[beachbirdie]

If you choose to biopsy the skin, make sure the biopsy tissue is not taken from the "hives" themselves, but from the skin right next to a fresh outbreak.

[Bubba's Mom]

Your symptoms *could* be Celiac. There are actully around 300 known symptoms. Many of them can be vague enough that a Dr. won't think to test for it.

You'll have to ask for a full Celiac blood panel to be run. You must be eating gluten on a regular basis for the testing to be accurate, so don't go gluten-free yet.

About 20-30% of celiacs test negative in their blood work. If you get a negative test, and think gluten is an issue for you, try the gluten-free diet for 3 months and see how you feel.

Good luck! I hope you get some answers. it's miserable when you don't feel well.

[Zebot647]

Thanks for the replies ppl! I don't want to go back to eating gluten because I've been off it for a little while now and it's really hard to do this diet. I think I'd rather just wait and see how I feel.

I know this question has been posted a million times, but how long will it take me to know for sure if it's working? Will I feel an obvious difference in 2-3 weeks?