Moderated discussion and help for gluten free, coeliac, celiac, wheat allergies or intolerance
actioning query
Diagnosis of Coeliac condition
Posted by hanban_21
Hi all
I am hoping you may be able to give me some advice.
I have been uncomfortable with my "tummy" for about 2 years now and both my doc and myself put it down to IBS.
I have recently looked into Coeliacs and was wondering if this may be my problem.
I suffer with severe bloating and a gurgly tummy after most meals or even when I first wake up.
The last 2 days I have had a very red, blotchy itchy neck too.
I eat a normal diet at the mo, though I think pasta definitely makes my tummy worse the next day.
Hoping someone may be able to relate to these symptoms and advsie me.
Thanks all, I am 28 by the way, female.
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Diagnosis of Coeliac condition
Posted by Peter
You should definitely ask your doctor to do the tests for the coeliac condition - before you try a gluten-free diet. (The tests won't work if you have already put yourself onto a gluten-free diet)
The symptoms you describe certainly match those shown by many people with the coeliac condition - but there are other causes of similar symptoms.
Even if the tests come back negative it is worth trying a gluten-free diet for several months, but note that it must be completely gluten-free, and allow several months for your body to respond and heal. You should also discuss this with your doctor.
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Blood test alone diagnosis
Posted by Lyn
Hi
I became very ill about a year ago, and after being dismissed several times by my doctor as having a 'bad tummy bug' I went investigating on the net and found out about coeliac disease. Two weeks later the blood tests I had forced my doctor to do came back showing I had very high levels of whatever it is that shows coeliac. As I was fed up of spending half my life on the loo, my dietician and I agreed I start a gluten free diet.
That was a year ago and I have never felt so well in my whole life. I've had less other illnesses too, like colds, and am now pretty much used to being gluten free. The only annoyance is trying to eat out, as most restuarants sadly still think gluten free is a crazy fad thing, but awareness is getting better. And I do still miss big BLT baguettes!
I have one problem though - I'm not properly diagnosed. My doctors, I have been to three now, refuse to acknowledge the blood test result and are insisting I eat gluten for six weeks to have an endoscopy. I have told them this will make me ill and asked them how I'm expected to live a normal life if I'm ill every time I eat, but they have told me its something I have to deal with. I find this quite frankly ridiculous. I am 21, 5'5" tall and only weigh 8 stone, so am technically underweight as it is. Having my food shoot through me for six weeks is likely to land me in hospital on a drip. But no, still the specialists want me to do it.
Please can someone advise me if there is a way around it. I can't go through that again, it ruined my work and social life and made me feel so unwell and depressed. The blood test results are still sitting there a year on, and it is obvious to anyone that since being gluten free I have been fine. Has anyone else experienced this problem, and if so, what did they do about it?
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Diagnosis of Coeliac condition
Posted by Peter
Lyn.
Ask yourself the question. If you go through this period of eating gluten and being ill...
If the specialist says 'Yes, you are coeliac' or 'No, we cannot confirm you are coeliac'
What difference will it make?
Will you go back to eating gluten, because the doctor cannot confirm that you are coeliac?
Or will you stick to a gluten-free diet because you know that it keeps you healthy?
A gluten-free diet can be a slight inconvenience, but it is a healthy diet. You can buy all your basic food in supermarket like anyone else. You don't need to buy high priced specialist food, or receive it on a prescription.
You are in charge of your own health. There are plenty of people who simply stick with the gluten-free diet. - It is up to you.
(There is also a good chance that improved blood tests will become the standard for the coeliac condition, rather than the endoscopy )
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Diagnosis of Coeliac condition
Posted by
We paid £250 pounds a year ago (March 06) to have our 9yr old daughter to have blood test to see if there were any food intolerances. We found out that she was intolerant to gluten, wheat, oat, dairy, egg, yeast and maize. Unfortunately our consultant who had been treating our daughter since she was 9 months old for tummy troubles refused to accept that our daughter has coeliac. She has been on a food restricted diet for over a year and is a totally different child. She only has a bad tummy when she has mistakenly eaten something. We find it really expensive because of the yeast intolerance. I agree, there is no way I am willing to put her back on a gluten diet and see her suffering, so we have to put up with the expense. It is very hard going especially as I have a friend who is a Pead Consultant and in her authority the tests we had they accept.