I have been gluten free off my own back for about 7 weeks. I had a bumpy ride to begin with and I'm now reducing lactose after some symptoms returned.  I am waiting for my gastro referral to come through but in the mean time I'm finding things have improved significantly since I changed my diet.  I am wondering how many of you NEEDED the diagnosis of celiac or if your self diagnosed and have been happy with that. Or maybe you just say Non celiac gluten sensitivity and  that's enough for you.   I am really not sure which mine is but I feel confident now that it's one of the above. I'm not sure I want to face to gluten challenge for a diagnosis where celiac may or may not be discovered but is knowing for sure helpful? I also worry that NCGS might not be taken seriously,  although I am sure for those suffering it is very serious indeed!   I'm interested in others thoughts and experiences to help me make a choice or to feel that NCGS matters too! 

We've done these articles:    

So the BRAT Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast (hopefully gluten-free) is very high carbohydrate.  High Carbohydrate Malnutrition is real.  Carbohydrates need increase the amount of Thiamine you need, so thiamine is high on the list of supplements that will help the most right now.  For general pain and gut issues Alka Seltzer Original. You could try Willow Bark Tea.  It is where they got the idea for aspirin. Active ingredient is salicyic acid which used to be called vitamin B11. Plain Boiled Chicken. Chicken soup with celery and carrots. In general try to avoid any processed gluten free foods.  They add stuff to make it gluten like and many react to the additives. For energy choose sugar and avoid high fructose corn syrup.  The enzyme sucrase, produced by the small intestine lining, breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose.  The glucose and fructose are absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to the mitochondria where glucose is turned into ATP energy. Brown sugar has molasses, which is antiinflammatory.  I drink lots of Red Bull  and lemonade (made with sugar, not HFCF, for my daytime energy, then eat proteins, fats and other simple carbs in the evening. Taurine is an essential antioxidant like vitamin C. Probiotics like bifidobacterium from yogourt and lactobacillis from fermented pickles and other fermented foods ( not quickpickled made with vinegar.)  Two brands I know of are Batampte and Bubsies. Choline helps with fat digestion. Eggs and meat if you tolerate them, phosphatidyl capsules if you don't.

Newer "gluten challenge" guidelines call for 4-6 slices of bread (or the gluten equivalent) daily for at least 2 weeks before the antibody testing blood draw or the endoscopy with/biopsy. But I would give it longer than two weeks to be sure you get a valid testing experience, at least four weeks. So, if you ever want to get tested again for a formal diagnosis, keep that in mind. And many people find that their reactions are much stronger to gluten once they have been off of it for a significant amount of time. Here is a primer to help you get off to a good start on the gluten free diet:   

Scott, I can’t recall, but I don’t think I was eating that much bread each day, so it may have been the case I didn’t have enough in my system? Thank you for the links, I will explore.    And ‘Trents’ that’s what I’m planning to do. This week is my first week fully gluten free and I am realizing that with the ‘May contain wheat’ warnings, my pantry is needing an entire makeover. Oof. I hate to do it just to have nothing improve, but I’m hoping it is the answer with everything else showing negative, and hoping the issues I’ve been having with nerves, vision, muscles, and such being caused by nutrient deficiencies.