Is It Stress Or Celiac Desease

[mochabutterfly]

I went into the emergency room because suddenly I had blisters on my hands and feet. they labeled it as some type of dermatitis. And said that it may have been cause from stress..... prior I just haven't been feeling myself. you can say I was depressed... been juggling school, and four very challenging sons. so I took what the doctor told me and understood it as stress.

But new things began to happen and this can't be just stress. I goggled my symptoms which were,

dermatitis (now all over body)

gas (which I suffered all life)

nausea

finger tingles

migraines

missed cycle (last was in may)

insomnia

stomach pains

I gave all this info to advice nurse. and was told I was extremely emotionally stressed and needed a physiologist!!!! I have an appointment with doctor near the end of month. how can I put to rest this stress assumption and get the test done?

[rosetapper23]

I'm assuming that you meant a psychologist? If so, plenty of us on this board have been told the very same thing. I got that response from a dermatologist when I refused to accept his diagnosis that I simply had severe, treatment-resistant acne. Of course, it turned out to be Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH), which I believe you may have, too.

You can either choose to continue the doctor/test merry-go-round or refuse to play the game and go gluten free. This means eating natural foods, not gluten-free processed foods, for a few months before adding in gluten-free pastas and bread, etc. Also, because you may have DH, you should eliminate all iodine, too, because it's implicated in causing it along with gluten. Iodine can be found in iodized salt, seafood, asparagus, salty snacks (e.g., fries, chips, crackers, popcorn, etc.), and sometimes in dairy (depends on where you live). If you eliminate iodine and gluten, you should see/feel a difference very soon. After your rash clears up, and you begin to reintroduce iodine, but you must stay gluten free for life.

Lastly, many people also eliminate dairy and soy for a while, too, because until your gut heals, these can cause problems for you. For many of us, though, soy is never an option--it simply makes us very sick.

[nvsmom]

Sorry to hear your having a tough time. Hope you feel better soon.

If you do want to get tested for celiac (since you have so many of the symptoms), do it soon and don't stop eating gluten beforehand or it will nagatively affect your blood tests. There are lists of the tests you can take floating around in Newbie 101 posts around the forum; they'll give you an idea of what you need to know.

If you are happy going gluten-free without a diagnosis, go for it. Many people have gone gluten-free without their doctor's blessing and they feel better for it.

Best wishes.