Hello Celiacs disease, a bit confused about results

[irish]

With celiac disease you do not absorb the oil soluable vitamins. Once you go gluten free it takes time to heal the small intestine. As the intestine heals it begins to absorb nutrients better. Many times there is some permanent damage to the "cilia" in the small intestine and this will cause some lower vitamin levels due to chronic malabsorption issues.

When my hubby was diagnosed he had dropped around 25 pounds and was starting to look like a prisoner of war---very thin. He also had terrible headaches, diarrhea off and on, terrible stomach cramps, skin rash, nausea and heartburn. His blood work showed no folic acid in his body and his cholesterol was 150. His GI told him that those 2 tests alone along with the symptoms were enough to convince him that he had celiac disease. The doc said that very few people in the US had cholesterol that low or were totally out of folic acid. Remember that this was back in the 70's before all the education on cholesterol and the statins. Further testing proved the celiac diagnosis.

There are also articles on line about genetically modified wheat causing an increase in gluten intolerance these days. Our food chain is getting abused to the point that we hardly recognize the real thing anymore. Irish

[Sooki]

There are different negative responses to gluten-containing grains (I'm not sure it's always gluten in them).  One of these is celiacs which is often diagnosable by small intestine biopsy.  There are other tests for other kinds of gluten-sensitivity.  To my understanding, no test covers all issues.  The best way to determine how your body reacts to gluten is to go without totally for several weeks and then eat some gluten and see how you feel. 

For me, gluten makes my joints hurt.  There are also systemic bloating and emotional issues.  It's pretty clear.  I've never been tested because neither a positive or negative result would effect my need to avoid gluten.  When I first stopped gluten, my pains decreased a lot.  Over time, the bony bumps on my knuckles went away.  I can tell the next morning when hidden gluten has worked its way into my diet. 

I'm really happy that I have found a way to feel better through my own actions.  If you find that avoiding bread, etc. improves your life, that's a good thing, right??!  You can always eat wheat bread from time to time and feel bad, but there's a good chance you'll choose not to if it makes a big difference. 

[sjenny]

I was low on B12 when the Sjs nightmare started for me.  I found that sublingual B12 tablets, that I dissolved under my tongue - thereby getting the B12 in the bloodstream and bypassing the gut, worked the best and made me feel so much better.

sjenny