Should I Try Gluten Free?

[adambryant]

Hi, I'm a 17 year old male, I've already posted a similar topic about symtoms, I just want advice to just try the gluten free diet. Basically my mums got celiac(as of 8 or 9 years) and I've been having syntoms for 9 months (constipation, lack of appetite, tummy rumbling after meals, bloating, bad gas, and I did have some weird rashes on my leg a long while back not sure if its connect) well I've been to the doctors time and time again, had blood tests and they came bacl negative. Been to a specialist and he just said take a fibre supplement for your constipation.. And that was it, and I've been to the doctors recently and he said try the gluten free diet. This is my third day now. Is it worth trying? Could I be celiac? Thanks!

[GFinDC]

Hi Adam,

The gluten-free diet is not going to hurt you, so why not? Gluten-free is a very healthy diet if you stick with whole foods and not many processed foods. Your celiac test may not have shown anything if you are early in the damage process, plus younger people tend to heal faster. If you do gluten-free for 3 or so months, and then do a gluten challenge, it should cause some kind of symptoms if there is a poblem. That is using your own body as the test intstrument, vs the doctors tests. Keep in mind there are 300 symptoms of celiac spread around all parts of the body. So you may have headaches, rashes, GI symptoms, joint aches, brain fog, muscle aches etc as a symptoms and not always think they are gluten related. Allergies and gum problems tend to be worse too. People also sometimes report having worse GI symptoms after being off gluten for a while and then being re-exposed. There is also something claled NCGI that isa gluten reaction but there are no tests for it right now.

http://Non celiac wheat sensitivity article https://www.celiac.com/articles/23033/1/Non-Celiac-Wheat-Sensitivity-It-Exists/Page1.html

[adambryant]

Yeah, think ill stick to it, as when I ate rice (no gluten) my bloating was never as bad. Thanks for your feedback!

[nvsmom]

My kids tested negative but have some symptoms, and since I'm celiac, we thought the same thing as you: why not try gluten-free... it can't hurt.

I hope you feel better gluten-free. With your family history, I think it's a wise choice you've made. Good luck.

[adambryant]

Did it decrease the symtoms of your kids? Hopefully it did!

Thanks a lot anyway!

[nvsmom]

So far it has decreased some of my boys' symptoms: My 5 year old used to visit the bathroom up to 8 times a day, and often during a meal. He's down to a couple of times a day now. My 10 year has noticed a decrease in his stomach pains and headaches andI've noticed that he is able to concentrate better on his school work and he's gained a couple of pounds; we're hoping it will impact his growth in a positive way as his growth has really slowed down and his 8 year old brother is now taller than him.

Best wishes.

[Cara in Boston]

You can be gluten intolerant and all the tests will be negative. The most important test is to try the diet yourself. Try to do it for 3 months and take it very, very seriously (no cheating). Sometimes it takes a while to notice that you are feeling better. I found that keeping a journal (just a calendar will do) and tracking your symptoms helps. Then, if you suddenly start having symptoms again, you can usually trace it back to a mistake you made (mine was my vitamins.) When I went gluten free (positive blood test but negative endoscopy) some of my symptoms went away right away, while others took several weeks.

My son had negative blood tests, but a positive biopsy. The tests are confusing and not accurate. You are making the right decision.

Stick with it, it is worth it.

[adambryant]

Thankyou:) ill definitely stick it out.