olive1

That is super helpful! I had stool testing done (that was a pleasant experience!) to rule out something infectious. I can call the new GI office back after this round of bloodwork and other labs comes back to see if they want to order the balance of tests in advance of the appt so we have more to go on. I always get copies of bloodwork/labwork so I can do...

There has been a few years of symptoms of random kinds, but I saw a few neuros for the neurological stuff and just dealt with the rest. Then last summer everything started to take a bad turn, and this winter it got MUCH worse, culminating in a trip to the ER this past weekend. It does seem like diagnosis, for celiac or anything else that isn't simple, can...

I'm not sure. They didn't mention anything over the phone - I imagine it will be more of a consultation appt and then the GI may order labs and/or an endo. I am a little worried that it will be three weeks until the appointment and then more weeks until the next step, but I have to (re-)start somewhere. Even though I started on this mess of a journey a year...

Okay, I found a dr about a half hour away, soonest appointment is in 3 weeks. If they have a cancellation they will call. They said of course I should not have stopped eating gluten before testing and don't know why anyone who is a GI would say that. They asked for the name of the dr. I will get back onto gluten in the meantime.

I suppose I can order the tests myself, but I also was hoping to find a doctor who can actually assist on this mess. I saw that celiac.org does have a search function to locate physicians. Trying that now. The first person I tried doesn't have any opening until October.

Ugh. I will try to find another doctor. He was acting like I didn't know what I was talking about but I was pretty sure it was the other way around. Are there sources for recommended doctors/GIs who have better knowledge about appropriate testing procedures? I live in a smaller town so my options for quality care may be more limited.

I was scheduled for two celiac bloodtests (listed as anti endomysial ab and anti gliaden ab on the order from PCP, who had ordered testing reluctantly) after a few months of symptoms, primarily painful bloating, increased heartburn, diarrhea, fatigue and intermittent bouts of abdominal pain. I also had developed vitamin D and ferritin deficiencies. The day...

Yes, I have to make sure I eat gluten daily. I am vegetarian and I am sure there have been days when I have none at all, just veggies like greens, maybe rice or potatoes, olive oil, spices, some fruit. Trying to eat more bread and pasta to make sure I don't mess it up. I also did low carb for a few weeks there trying to get the scale to budge (it didn't)...

If the GI doc is not much of a celiac expert, are there tests within the panel, in addition to the TTG, which should be prioritized? Thanks!

I went to the doctor. She seemed reluctant to test for celiac. She said the symptoms do not sound like celiac, noting in part that I had gained, not lost weight. I read plenty of stories here of folks who gained weight before diagnosis, and this happened to a family friend, so this concerned me as a cited reason for blowing off my worry. She did relent, though...

I did have thyroid antibodies tested, and they came back okay, so Hashi's is not suspected (though I understand in very rare cases the antibodies don't test positive but a person still has Hashi's). I forgot to mention the awful heartburn issue. I have gerd and it has been increasingly bad. I don't know if celiac is the answer, and I love me some...

It has been over a very frustrating year of trying to figure out what is going on. I first raised the issue with a doctor perhaps in August 2016 when I was having weight gain (maybe 10 or so pounds had crept up on me) and some pains. He ran some blood work, and my cholesterol was high and some thyroid levels were low, but we were moving soon and he told me...