Trying To Get A Diagnosis

[panthercreek]

Hi, I just happened to stumble across this website in my search for an answer to my health problems. My Dr isn't coming up with anything so I have been doing some digging of my own. I am starting to think I have some sort of food issue but I don't know if it is with gluten or not. I have been having a problem with bloating, when I wake up in the morning it isn't to bad, not very noticable. After I eat breakfast my mid section gets so big that I look pregnant. My breakfast is always Fiber One cereal with strawberries and coffee with milk and sweetner. After breakfast my stomach stays enlarged, one of my daughters teachers asked me if I was pregnant the other day, thats how bad it is. My stomach also hurts and is tender to the touch. I also just generally don't feel good, headaches, hot flashes and weak. This morning I woke up and my stomach was somewhat bloated but not to bad, I don't look 4 months pregnant, lol! I changed what I had to eat, I ate 2 scrablmed eggs and a banana. And my stomach is still just a little bloated like when I woke up. But I don't have all the symptoms that I have read about. Do my symptoms sound like I should look into the possiblity of Celiac disease. So far my Dr has run tests and I have also had a full ultrasound and not come up with anything. Thank you.

[hathor]

Nobody has all the symptoms. What used to be viewed as classic celiac is only seen in a minority of patients, as I understand it.

If your symptoms vary according to what you eat, it seems to me that you have a food-related issue. One can react to a food immediately or anytime in the next, say, 48 to 72 hours, so keeping a diet/symptom journal can be useful in figuring things out.

Bloating isn't necessarily due to gluten. If you run a google search you can see that any number of foods can cause it. But if you see that it is worse following gluten, it would be worthwhile to get tested.

Have you noticed a reaction following dairy? This is a common offender. If you skipped the cereal, it could be the absence of the milk you put on it, rather than the cereal itself, which made the difference. I guess if I were you, my first thought would be lactose intolerance. It is common and it causes bloating. Hold off on the dairy or take a lactaid-type product and see how you do.

Also, you mention a sweetener. Some kinds of sweetener can also cause bloating. If the lactose thing doesn't pan out, I would try eliminating all artificial sweeteners. I know things like that can blow me up like a balloon

[GlutenWrangler]

It definitely doesn't hurt to get tested! Talk to your doctor and have him or her run a full celiac panel, and possibly a food allergy test. It's a good place to start. Good luck,

-Brian