Apsaroke

Thank you for the replies everyone. Sorry for the delay..I've been busy de-toxifying the house so to speak and running here and there replenishing the pantry.

I meet with my primary care doctor in the morning and will be discussing everything with her including the advice given here. I'm still gluten-free and I have now been on liquid vitamins for a week which is really starting to help the energy levels. Still hanging around at 110.5 pounds however, but at least I'm no longer losing weight!!

I think at this time, the only way I would consider going back on gluten for the blood test would be if I was also provided something for the nausea and pain management. At the end (prior to the emergency GI procedure) working was impossible and I was in the hospital the evening prior to the procedure.

Thanks again to everyone posting here.

Thank you for the quick reply, Ursa. It is really appreciated.

The GI procedure was done on the heels of an emergency room visit (the very next morning) so I won't hold hard feelings about the backwards approach. I was just so happy that someone was being very aggressive and serious in trying to find out what was happening.

I'll post-pone the bloodwork until I meet with my primary care physician and talk with her about it. I appreciate the validation you offer for that. Thinking about going back on gluten just for bloodwork and going through that pain again is something that I just really don't want to do.

Also, thank you for the advice on the non-hydrogenated coconut oil. I've added it to my shopping list. Today is the day I go out for my first gluten free grocery shopping trip!

I've also seen references on the internet about working with a dietician. Is this something that a lot of folks do or do most folks just go forward, avoid gluten and have things sort out on their own over time? I meet with my primary care physician on the 24th (whom I absolutely adore!) and I know she'd refer me to a dietician in a heartbeat if I asked for it. I just want to make sure it would actually be helpful or is that something that really wouldn't be worth the expense?

Thank you for your patience with yet another newbie to this. It's very nice to know that there is a network of individuals to help out. Makes it not so lonely and scary.

Hi everyone,

My name is Chris and it appears that I may have Celiac. I have recently completed the GI and the biopsy came back with blunted villi and mucosal duodenitis (sp?). I'm supposed to go in next week for a blood test specifically to test for Celiac.

I have had digestion issues off and on for years my entire life, however it's been within the last 4 years that things started to get escalate including attacks that have sent me to the hospital. The situation has gotten even worse since July of '07 where I am now pretty much not absorbing much of anything that I eat. I've lost a total of 30 pounds and now weigh in at 110 pounds (height is 5'4").

Additionally -- some of the attacks have been so bad that my body goes into overdrive trying to get rid of the "intruder" and it responds as it would with a severe allergic reaction. This sent me to meet with an allergist who has eliminated HAE (angioedema) and the only things that I responded to are Eggs(1), Milk(2), and Beef(3), listed in order of sensitivity along with scores.

I do have a couple of questions and would appreciate any advice.

1 - I'm seeing references here to enterolab. What exactly is that?

2 - Once the nurse from the GI office informed me of the biopsy results and the upcoming bloodwork, I stopped eating gluten. I have been gluton free for 2 days now. But further reading on the internet had me run across a reference that I should be eating a normal gluten diet prior to the blood test. My only issue is that is that today was the first day that I was able to actually eat something that didn't send me into stomach cramps. The pain is intolerable and I'm so weary of it. If this is something that I have to do, then of course I will do it, but I'm wondering if anyone here had stopped ingesting gluton prior to their bloodwork.

My biggest concern right now is the weight loss. While I understand that responses to going gluten free can be very individualistic, I'm hoping for some suggestions on timelines where other people who experienced weight loss might share with me how long it took for their weight to stabilize and then for them to regain weight.

Having this problem and having had it undiagnosed for so long has robbed me of quite a bit, not only due to never feeling well, but also the depression and irritability that I have had which has impacted my quality of life, but also most recently, it has cost me my marriage. I guess that I really need some hope that things do get better.

Thanks in advance for any help.