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I'm also a nurse, but one who has worked in chronic care, and to some extent, it is more satisfying to see patients through to a diagnosis (as opposed to working in the ED), but an accurate diagnosis does not occur not as often as it should! Your posting presents a lot of information. But a couple of things I can respond to. One, celiac disease is diagnosed by endoscopy and biopsy of the duodenum. So, pathology will need to weigh in. It's not diagnosed on gastroscopy. (At least, not as far as I know). Two, did you get blood tests for celiac disease? You will need to be eating gluten in order for those to be accurate. Three, where was the CT angiogram (of what)? I could go on and on, but thought I'd start there.

Was a biopsy done when you had your gastroscopy? Concerning your anemia, are you B12 deficient? It's nearly impossible to get sufficient B12 if you are a vegetarian unless you take supplements.

And I’m anaemic, however I’m also female and vegetarian. I had an iron trans a couple of years ago however it’s starting to dwindle and taking supplements doesn’t seem to work. I can’t seem to absorb it. 

Hi, I attended a neurologist appt last Tuesday, which I nearly cancelled, due to ongoing numbness and tingling in toes to mid foot. One of the first things he asked was ‘are you celiac’. I’m not. He thought all reflexes were ok but at the last minute decided on nerve conduction tests which were low normal. He was a little confused as he felt they should be better and tried a new set of probs, all the time, giving me multiple shocks which were not enjoyable lol. Anyway, he’s now ordered tests for myeloma, and all the vitaminy things that so many of you mention on here, also tests looking for autoimmune responses. I already have Hashimotos. Interestingly, to me, but maybe someone out there can relate or knows more than i do, although I was a nurse, but ED not ‘weird symptoms’  nurse. Anyway back to the interesting thing, I took duramine in 2013 to lose weight which caused a massive panic attack when I stopped taking it and half my hair fell out. I only took it for a week but it was horrible and I regret it. It triggered ongoing panic attacks which are horrendous. So I feel like I’m a bit crazy. Then in 2020 I had this sudden onset of horrible pain when trying to eat a cinnamon roll. It continued and I lost around 20 kgs. I had two gastroscopes and a colonoscopy and they were all normal. I scored a barium swallow and CT angiogram. All normal. The pain subsided a little but I was left with reflux and an awful feeling that I couldn’t get air when I ate some foods. This was not anxiety.  The anxiety was separate and I still maintain this. This was something to do with eating. It was like the air was thick but I wasn’t short of breath. I just had the sensation I was, then it triggered anxiety. Anyway, I had other weird things- couldn’t bend knees to shave legs in shower lol. Knees felt stiff and swollen but they weren’t. Knee WOUld swell up randomly but mri showed minimal issues. A bit of a meniscus degeneration but insignificant. Then the buzzing sensations in my head, the feeling like someone was stabbing me with something sharp. So now, I pre empted his tests, although I don’t think I’m celiac because it should have come up on gastroscopy, I’ve gone off gluten. Since Tuesday last week so 9 days. Since then I don’t appear to be as constipated, I realised I got through today without a nap and I’m not tired, maybe it’s just today and not related but I get very tired normally and sleep straight after work often, I can bend my knees and shave my legs lol, the buzzing vibrating has gone from my head, I had to call and ambulance as my heart decided we were off on a run, but we weren’t running and I’ve been a bit twitchy at bed time when trying to sleep, reflux is improving, I did get the weird suffocating feeling a bit when eating today but not as bad normall. Tingling and numbness still present and I felt like it moved up my legs a bit today but I’m a bit jittery. So I don’t know if it’s celiac disease or a gluten intolerance but I think, and it may be wishful thinking because my symptoms do make life a bit challenging, but maybe I’m feeling better. I don’t feel as cloudy. My thinking feels crisper. Like there’s no buzzing and I’m not fighting to break through the cloudiness now. I hope so much that this may help me feel a bit better moving forward. It would be a miracle as I really have struggled to work and parent and keep the house clean and I’m always anxious and exhausted.  If you get this far, please tell me if you you can relate to any of the above. Oh and tonsils out 5 years ago but before that antibiotics multiple times a year, sometimes intramuscular because they were so bad.  Op was meant to take 30 mins, it took 1.5 hours due to size of them. 

Im still not gaining weight I’m on a gluten free diet . And still having issues with constapation started priobiocs figured it would help been over two weeks . I guess it’s going to be a long road for me .

Enlarged lymph nodes in neck and groin with celiac are not uncommon. They can take time to reduce even after going gluten-free. Monitoring is key.

Hello! I’m sorry in advance for the long post!   Over the past few months I’ve been having a lot of issues with my stomach and have recently been referred to a Gastroenterologist. I’ve had stomach pain and issues since I was a baby. I had bad constipation (still do) and couldn’t tolerate most formula as a baby. When I was around 8 I started experiencing a lot of lower abdominal cramping (just below the belly button) and ended up missing a fair amount of school because of this. It would start about 2 hours after eating breakfast and I’d have lower abdominal cramps and feel nauseous . After a visit to my family doctor it was brushed off as separation anxiety.. or as the doctor put it “I was just a kid who wanted to stay home from school”. This stomach pain persisted all through my elementary and high school years. In fact I still experience it to this day and I’m now 24. Along with this my doctor believes I have a form of disautonomia called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). I frequently feel unwell and exhausted. I also experience Raynaud’s phenomena especially during the winter months or when I’m sick. I also can not tolerate heat for the life of me.. although I’m not entirely convinced my symptoms are from POTS. The last few years I’ve also started experiencing frequent chronic sinus infections up to 5 a year most of which I require antibiotics for… Up until two years ago I have never had allergies or sinus problems. Back to my stomach issues… The last year I have been experiencing lots of stomach bloating and discomfort especially at night.. this has led to a few nights of 3am vomiting.. my doctor tested me for H. Pylori which was negative as well as full work ups to test my kidneys, liver, pancreas, gallbladder.. all of which were normal. At this time he also started me on Rabeprazole 20mg twice daily which is a Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) … as he believes it could be GERD. The PPI has not helped at all and I have since been moved down to once daily which I wait for a referral to a Gastroenterologist for an endoscopy as well as an abdominal ultrasound to verify I have no gallstones.. The pain I feel in my abdomen feels very heavy right around my bellybutton and frequently is accompanied by nausea and occasionally I also experience sharp stabbing like pain left of my belly button. I began tracking my symptoms, what I’m eating and bowel habits on an app called “My IBS” which track’s symptoms and flags foods that could be potential triggers.. all of my flagged potential triggers seem to be gluten related foods like pasta and breads. I asked to be tested for Celiac as I have an uncle with it. My doctor only sent for TtG IGA.. no other tests. My results came back negative at “<0.5 U/ml” the reference range being “ <12 U/Ml”. I am aware that total IGA should of been ordered as well but my doctor is confident we have ruled out celiac so I guess I will have to wait for the Gastroenterologist for more testing.. The other red flag for me is I have a rash that shows on both my knees and recently I have developed a similar rash behind both of my ears, on my neck and into my scalp.. there is dozens of small red and skin coloured lesions that sort of? resemble pimples but have a “head” and don’t pop (yes, i know don’t pop your pimples!) they are also itchy and sore.. I have tried washing and scrubbing them with antibacterial soap and body wash to no avail as well as ensuring I rinse my neck thoroughly after a shower, keeping my neck dry, frequently changing pillowcases and even keeping my hair off my neck as much as possible … it doesn’t have any effect on it.  In your experience does this sound like I could be experiencing celiac? I’ve debated going gluten free to see if my symptoms persist or begin to clear up.. any suggestions or help is appreciated! 

Hi Scott, yes I have had symptoms for years and this is the second GI I have seen and he could not believe I have never been tested. He called later today and I am scheduled for an endoscopy. Is there a way to tell how severe my potential celiac is from the results above? What are the chances I will have the biopsy and come back negative and we have to keep searching for a cause? 

I agree christina, there is definitely many contributing factors! I have the pain today, my pelvis, hips and thighs ache! No idea why. But i have been sitting at work for 3 days so im thinking its my back. This disease is very mysterious (and frustrating) but not always to blame for every pain. 

"her stool study showed she had extreme reactions to everything achievement on it long course of microbials to treat that." The wording of this part of the sentence does not make any sense at all. I don't mean to insult you, but is English your first language? This part of the sentence sounds like it was generated by translation software.

What kind of stool test was done? Can you be more specific? 

Perhaps I should also have said that in addition to showing a very high response to gluten, her stool study showed that she had extreme reactions to everything achievement on it long course of microbials to treat that.

My daughter has celiac disease and has had for a long time. She fell loses strictly gluten-free diet and recently got rid of all cutting boards in any gluten in her house at all. She just had a stool test and it came back showing of gigantic response to gluten in her diet. What could be going on since she doesn't eat any gluten and is very careful about any kind of hidden glue? Help!

I think sometimes the pain described here can be a result of a sort of 'perfect storm' of contributing factors.  Recently I had an appalling bout of lower back pain, lower burning gut pain and what felt like cramps.  I then started to think about what could have caused it and I realised it was several things that had set it off: I'd been carrying heavy luggage (back strain); I had been sitting down in a car for too long and wearing a tight belt (I have pudendal nerve issues and sacroiliac issues and this exacerbates the pain), and I had bloating and burning pain in my colon caused by eating too much soy, latte and caffeine, I guess putting further pressure in the lower abdomen.  I had this same pain prior to my diagnosis and a couple of years post-diagnosis, I'd quite forgotten how unpleasant it was. 

HI @Kirbyqueen That's great news your insurance will be kicking in soon.  Sorry to see that you have been dealing with this for six months now, but I do hope you have managed to find some relief with some of the suggestions in the meantime. Perhaps come back and let us know what the doctor says. Cristiana

I agree, and hopefully your doctor will contact you soon about the next step, which will likely be an endoscopy to confirm your diagnosis. Do you have celiac disease symptoms? 

Still dealing with this rash on my legs. I've eliminated ringworm (through use of topical ointments). And I also know it's not shingles, as I've never had chickenpox before and I'm still fairly young. Through a lot of online research, I'm leaning more towards dermatitis herpetiformis, eczema, or psoriasis. I've actually got a doctor's appointment in May (finally got some insurance) and I'm going to bring it up then. I'm feeling really hopeful and excited to maybe be getting some relief soon.   Big thanks to everyone for the suggestions and positive thoughts!

You have three celiac disease specific antibody tests that are positive: Endomysial  Antibody IGA (aka, EMA), tTG-IGA, and tTG_IGG. Furthermore, your Immunoglobulin A at 55 is low, meaning you are IGA deficient. This one is not an antibody test for celaic disease per se but a measure of "total IGA" levels and if low (yours is low) it can suppress the individual antibody scores and even cause false negatives. So, yes, it definitely looks like you have celiac disease.   Do not yet begin a gluten free diet as your physician may refer you to a GI doc for an endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel lining for confirmation of the antibody testing. This may help:   

Hi, I received my labs via email yesterday and have not heard back from my doctor yet. Can anyone tell me if these results indicate I have Celiac?      Endomysial Antibody IgAPositive  Ft-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA6  H0-3 (U/mL) - Negative 0 - 3 - Weak Positive 4 - 10 - Positive >10 - Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) has been identified as the endomysial antigen. Studies have demonstrated that endomysial IgA antibodies have over 99% specificity for gluten-sensitive enteropathy. FImmunoglobulin A, Qn, Serum55  L87-352 (mg/dL) Ft-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgG183  H0-5 (U/mL) - Negative 0 - 5 - Weak Positive 6 - 9 - Positive >9

Mine is definitely triggered by inflammation and stress! I do also have arthritis in my spine, but the pain is more in my pelvic area. Im sure i have other food intolerances or other autoimmune isues but the more I focus on it and see doctor after doctor, it just gets worse.  Best thing is get of Gluten! (I also avoid lactose). Try to limit stress and anything that causes inflammation in your body.

Good morning,   I got an email about replies to this post. Some of my doctors had blamed a slipped disc for the pain I had and that contributes, but after meeting with a gastroenterologist AGAIN and trying some lifestyle modifications, I found out I have IBS and can't tolerate corn or excessive fructose to any degree. Cutting out corn AFTER having cut out all gluten containing products was a real pain but I feel much better now!

So, I contacted Scott Adams, the author of that article and also the creator/admin of this website, and pointed out to him the need to clarify the information in the paragraph in question. He has now updated the paragraph and it is clear that the DGP-IGA does serve the purpose of circumventing the false negatives that IGA deficiencies can generate in the tTG-IGA antibody test.

Here's a link... Thiamine Deficiency Causes Intracellular Potassium Wasting https://www.hormonesmatter.com/thiamine-deficiency-causes-intracellular-potassium-wasting/

Has anyone experimenced enlarged lymph nodes with celiac? Both in the neck and groin area. Imaging of both areas have said that lymph nodes are reactive in nature. However, they have been present for months and just wondering how long this may take to go down. Been gluten-free for about two months. Blood counts are normal.

Hmm interesting I just assumed that any “IGA” tests including the DPG iga would be negative in a person who is IGA deficient but maybe that is not the case for the DPG test.

If you were just diagnosed I can say that if you go 100% gluten-free should should see dramatic improvement of your symptoms over the next few months, but the hard part is to stay gluten-free. This article has some detailed information on how to be 100% gluten-free, so it may be helpful (be sure to also read the comments section.):    

From the article I linked above: DGP-IgA and DGP-IgG (Deamidated Gliadin Peptide) Blood Tests for Celiac Disease These tests measure the levels of antibodies in the blood, but specifically targets deamidated gliadin peptides, which are a type of gluten protein that can trigger an immune response in people with celiac disease. The test is not always included in adults, but should be in cases with IgA deficiency.  I'm not sure if this is a grammatical error or not but in the context, two tests are being spoken of together so it could be intended to say, "These tests". I'll ask Scott about that.

No they did not run a total IGA. But wouldn’t the DPG-IGA also be negative also if I was IGA deficient? They did also run a TTG-IGG and a DPG-IGG and they were also negative.

The DGP-IGA is valuable when celiac is suspected but the person being tested is IGA deficient. Were you tested for IGA deficiency. In other words, was there a test known as "Total IGA" ordered? Here is an overview of the various blood tests that can be run when diagnosing celiac disease:   

Has anyone ever negative blood work except for the DPG-IGA? Mine was 42 (reference range negative is >20. The TTG iga was negative. I have always suffered from bad gas issues and lately have been having bouts of diarrhea and constipation. I also have a bumpy rash that comes and goes below both elbows. i have an endoscopy scheduled in May but I was just wondering if anyone else had bloodwork like this and what was the end result?

Welcome to he forum community, @DjinnDjab! You wrote: "i just found out i may have celiac. so needless to say i no longer have friends or relationships." Are you saying that the need to eat gluten free has resulted in losing all your friends and your entire social life?

i am a 37 yo male and this describes me perfectly. on a scale of 1-10, i am at 8. 9. 10, 11 for 8-12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. this has been going on for about 5 years and i just found out i may have celiac. so needless to say i no longer have friends or relationships so i spend a lot of time with myself. and uhhh what really sucks is uhh, sorry to say, "enjoying myself" is a trigger for this pain. i can be fine all day until i take 5 mins to "myself" and then its all downhill from there. this has robbed me of every.single.thing in my once colorful life. 

This might be helpful - from Coeliac UK.   https://www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/coeliac-disease/getting-diagnosed/blood-tests-and-biospy/#:~:text=Usually%2C a biopsy of the,more about diagnosis of children.

Yes, wheat is common in most soy sauces now because it speeds up the fermenting process.

For 16 years I have relied on the website glutenfreedrugs.com to determine if a pharmaceutical is gluten-free. The website has been down for at least a week. Does anyone have any information about this outage, the status of the website founder and maintainer pharmacist Steven A. Plogsted or a phone number? I did not get a response for my email to glutenfreedrugs@gmail.com in October of 2022. Steven did respond to my emails in 2012. Thanks.

Sounds like you are in the UK. With blood numbers that high, I thought docs in UK would give an official diagnosis without the biopsy. You should ask about that, so you can get support faster.  I'd try to find and print out anything that supports that in your country, get another appointment and take all of it with you. Even in the US now, some docs are doing this, my 19 year old step granddaughter got an official diagnosis here in US with just blood results a few months ago.

Is soy sauce in Korea also made from wheat like it usually is in US? I'd be concerned that even if asking about gluten, they would not be aware of or think of some like that. 

That's a good idea. It can at least establish the potential for developing celiac disease and can help people decided between a celiac diagnosis and NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). And it doesn't require a gluten challenge and can be had without a doctor's prescription.

I have my endoscopy on Thursday, has anyone had the procedure done with a cough? I don't have a continuous cough, but every now and then throughout the day I have sort of coughing episodes. They are a lot better than they were but I called endoscopy and they said to speak to my gp and my gp got back to me and said I need to ask endoscopy if its ok if I have it done still.  Help!

Thank you so much, everyone. For the moment my doctor just has me taking iron but hopefully we can reconnect soon. I'm going to look into genetic testing, too. Great advice all around and I appreciate it--and you can bet I'm going off the PPIs!

I walk fast for fitness, 4 to 6 km per day. I am also 74 years old. Apart from the Celiac challenge, my lifestyle is healthy. I had a sciatiac nerve pinching under my one foot, with inflamation in my whole shin. It was almost cured, when the other shin started paining and burning. I do stretches, use a natural cooling gel and rest my feet. Can Celiac cause muscle pains/inflamation, or is it just over-excercising?

I recently started shopping at a nearby Trader Joe's store. I was surprised at the number and variety of (healthy) gluten-free options sold there. I must admit their low prices are also quite tempting. However, I am curious as to the labeling on all their packages. While none of their products are certified as gluten-free, many are identified as 'GLUTEN FREE' on the packaging. Are these items safe for celiacs? Has anyone tried Trader Joe's products and have there been any adverse reactions?

HI, my doctor suggested one week of consuming gluten before blood tests.  I have been gluten free for 3 years.  Has anyone been through this and will I get exact results after one week of consuming gluten?  I don't even know if I can do this, if I get sick I am not sure if I can continue, any suggestions??  Thanks in advance.  

I did reach out to them on April 4th and left a message. I will try calling again. Thank you!

PPI's can be a wonderful healing agent when used as prescribed on the label which I believe recommends use of up to 8 weeks. But they are like antibiotics in that they are overprescribed and undermonitored. Docs generally prescribe them and then keep prescribing them because they take care of immediate symptoms so well. Physicians are more into treating symptoms than uncovering causes.

For the vast majority of celiacs it's probably safe, however, it seems that for those who are super sensitive it's best to avoid such products. It's fairly easy now to find brands that are naturally gluten-free, which is what Celiac.com recommends.  You might finds this article interesting:  

This article has some detailed information on how to be 100% gluten-free, so it may be helpful (be sure to also read the comments section.):    

Have you tried calling the Celiac Disease Foundation about this? Their number is 844-593-8169.

Only the manufacturer would know if it's gluten-free, so if it says free of gluten, then it is likely safe. This company makes a gluten-free line of cosmetics, and has been a sponsor here before: https://www.epilynx.com/  

@Richard1973, welcome to the forum!  @cristiana is on the right track, stay hydrated.  Also have your potassium level checked.  Low potassium causes dry skin and dehydration.   We need Thiamine B1 to keep our potassium level correct.  Without sufficient thiamine, we lose potassium and our skin loses moisture.   Ask your doctor about supplementing with vitamins and minerals.  The Gluten free diet can be lacking in the eight essential B vitamins, Omega Threes and minerals.  

I'd like to hear more about the supplements recommended!

Good for your doctor to be wondering about it!  She's on the right track.   Anemia, diabetes and thiamine deficiency can cause seronegative results.   Unfortunately, if you go gluten free, your intestines will start healing and damage due to Celiac might not be apparent.  But, on the other hand, PPI's cause intestinal damage, too, so they might attribute the intestinal damage to the PPI's and miss Celiac Disease.   PPI's are bad news.  I do hope you can get off them.   A genetic test for Celiac does not require eating gluten.   Until a new way to diagnose Celiac without having to consume gluten is invented, we're between a rock and a hard place.   Sending encouragement!

YES!  I had the Spectracell test for micronutrients and take targeted supplements in specific doses as recommended by our Board Certified Nutritionist.