JazzyJake

9 months on the diet and no improvement with the peripheral neuropathy and balance issues. Fewer digestive problems though, excepting wretched constipation for which I haven't found a solution. I question restaurants sometimes. (Somewhat) good news: I've dropped 25 pounds.

I've been gluten-free for nearly 6 months with the same results as you- some improvement with fatigue, dreadful constipation. I call this the no-poop diet .

If you have been taking proton pump inhibitors (PPI) for acid reflux, they could be the cause of stomach polyps - they likely caused mine. I have come to believe that PPIs are unsafe and have eliminated them.

I've had unexplained pain in the lower right abdomen for years - no apparent urologic cause. Not appendix either. It's very interesting that you too have that. I would love to know if you find a cause. My doctors have no idea.

Yea Hershey's!  Boo Lindt's!

It's also frustrating when a company's web-site says that a product is gluten-free, but the product itself isn't labeled as such.  I've been complaining to them. 

And to the ones with products that should not have gluten at all - like the bag of roasted peanuts.

I got a sympathetic reply from the Customer Service person at Giant Foods about labeling their house brands better.

One of the Progressive pea soups is gluten-free; the other one isn't.  Go figure.

I've whined elsewhere: gluten-free beer is awful and should be banned by Presidential and papal decree. 

As a newly diagnosed celiac, shopping is frustrating.  And it takes much longer!

The worst are products that should not have a gluten substance but do according to their labels:

Nuts (this after I bought the only thing from a vending machine that I thought was OK)

Trail Mix

Quinoa side dishes (lists wheat flour!)

Oatmeal

Spanish Rice

Polenta

mango sauce

baked beans

BQ sauce

the list goes on and on

Sorry, just felt like whining! 

Interestingly,  I was diagnosed with EE a couple years ago, via endoscopy, but the gastroenterologist did not check for celiac at the time. 

Recently my neurologist diagnosed celiac while searching for a cause of peripheral neuropathy.  Celiac was confirmed by biopsy a couple weeks ago.

There could very well be a connection.

mbrookes,  Try Magner's Irish Cider.  It is much drier - less sweet and cloying - than the American hard ciders.

I find the American ciders too sweet to drink too.

A beer snob and recently diagnosed celiac, I can report that the only tolerable Gluten-free beer has been the Green's Amber.  The Dogfishhead "Tweasons" is an OK drink, but tastes nothing like beer.  The rest have been awful.  Rice and sorghum do not a good beer make.  I'm not sure if I trust Omission, so I've steered clear for now.

The good news is that I am not an alcoholic - just a beeroholic.  I've been uninterested in wine or liquor.  I like hard cider OK, but not enough to drink it everyday.

I miss Fish & Chips with a pint of Guiness more than anything.

I think you should talk to a gastroenterologist.  The blood tests for the celiac markers are the first step.  The doc may want to do a biopsy of small intestine tissue to both confirm celiac and to determine the extent of the disease.

Don't freak out!  The biopsy is done via endoscopy (tube through mouth into digestive tract) and does not hurt.  I just had one about 3 weeks ago - it confirmed celiac.  Oddly it was my neurologist who diagnosed celiac NOT my gastroenterologist.  The latter then confirmed the diagnosis with the biopsy.

If I can assuage any fears:  I've had at least 4 endoscopy procedures, really this is not a procedure to be feared. Really!  I've had no side-effects.

Other than sleeping off the anesthesia afterwards [yes - an excuse to sleep!], there is nothing that is required other than to show up with an empty stomach. 

You must try to get beyond the fear that it will find something.  Best case: it will find something that is treatable, which is the first step to feeling better.

Both procedures are considered safe - I've had many searching for the causes of GERD and neuropathy. I have celiac disease.

 I concur that the worst part is the colon-cleansing prep - just be prepared to spend a significant amount of time in the bathroom the night before.  Nuff said on that.  The procedures themselves were not painful nor had any lasting side-effects.  Maybe a light, short-lived throat soreness because of the endoscope.

The day of the procedure, you go out like a light, then wake up in the recovery room.  3 pieces of advice:

1) You must have someone to take you home, the anesthesia prohibits you from transporting yourself

2) Have someone with you in the recovery room when the doctor talks with you because you will remember nothing

3) go home and sleep off the anesthesia and you will be fine the next day.  Eat lightly at first.

Just remember that you can't be effectively treated or get better until they discover the causes of your symptoms. 

Good luck, you'll do fine.