Could I Just Be A Fast Healer?

[pigeonsailor]

I'm yet another person who's a bit frustrated by the diagnosis and apparent lack of knowledge and dismissal from doctors. I was having abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, psoriasis, weight gain, low back pain, joint pain, and serious depression and anxiety (went on meds for the latter, for 2 years). Once I stopped eating wheat/gluten, all of this rapidly disappeared. Within days the diarrhea and psoriasis and back/joint pain cleared up, as did the anxiety/depression. And the puffy gross weight gain just started melting away without diet or exercise. I've been losing several pounds a week. Effortlessly. I feel like myself again. (I'm almost 40, and for years, I've wished I could "be the person I was in my 20s" but thought I was just too weak/old to ever be her again, it was such a pipe dream; now I AM that person again. It's a dream come true.)

So I went to the doctor and said "I think I have a wheat allergy." She had me tested for it, and it came back negative. So then I say "Well it must be gluten then." And she said, no you were tested for that too, and it's negative." And I said "Are you sure I was tested for gluten intolerance? That's different from a wheat allergy." She said, "Yes, you were tested for gluten, and it was negative." So then I said, "But I wasn't eating wheat or gluten when I got tested, and I hadn't been eating it for about two weeks." She said it doesn't matter.

Now I see here that it does indeed matter, but it seems you have to have been eating gluten for like 6 weeks or something.

The thing is, I know myself to be a freakishly fast healer. Everyone who's ever been close to me has remarked in amazement and even a bit of fear about it.

So I wonder if I could have wiped the antibodies out of my system faster than normal (that is, in 2 weeks instead of 6). Because my results are indeed negative:

immunoglobuline a: 2.34

anti ttg iga: NEG

ige: <2

But it seems so clear to me that I have a reaction. I get geographic tongue almost immediately after eating bread! And anxiety. Bread often makes me sneeze even, not kidding.

On the one hand, I'd like to have my gluten suspicions confirmed so that I can psychologically fully embrace this new lifestyle. And that would mean really seriously glutenizing myself and getting tested again.

On the other hand, I'm starting to want to forget about medical confirmation, because I feel soooooo much better and the thought of being the crazy fat red-faced teary-eyed miserable little monster I was, just for medical confirmation...not so tempting, you know?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

[koolkat222]

I wouldn't bother going through the torture of ingesting gluten and all of the painful effects that come with it just to get a test done. You've already found out (on your own, I might add) that gluten is something you need to stay away from.

Look at the difference in how you feel! IMHO, you don't need a doctor or a test to tell you what you already know. Gluten just isn't worth it.

[Jestgar]

Seriously, why do it? If you told your doctor you feel better not eating deep fried mozzarella sticks do you think s/he would say "oh that's too hard to give that up, and your tests for heart disease were negative, so you should just keep eating those-"?

[GlutenFreeManna]

Welcome to the self-diagnosed club! If your symptoms come back when you eat gluten than you have your answer. No need to get a medical diagnosis. Just think of all the things you wanted to do while you were "that monster" that wasn't you and start doing them! And as you enjoy your new found healthy life, continually remind yourself that you would not be able to enjoy it so much if it weren't for being gluten free.

Also if you really, really have to have a piece of paper to convince yourself of what your body has already told you, there is always the controversial Enterolab tests...

[Skylark]

On the one hand, I'd like to have my gluten suspicions confirmed so that I can psychologically fully embrace this new lifestyle. And that would mean really seriously glutenizing myself and getting tested again.

On the other hand, I'm starting to want to forget about medical confirmation, because I feel soooooo much better and the thought of being the crazy fat red-faced teary-eyed miserable little monster I was, just for medical confirmation...not so tempting, you know?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

I'm self diagnosed. I thought of doing a gluten challenge. Ate the first piece of bread, my stomach hurt for two days, and I abandoned that idea. My body is completely clear that gluten is not a food substance. I don't need a piece of paper to tell me so. Diagnostic tests are for when there is some question about a diagnosis, or to rule out other conditions, not to point out the obvious. A good doctor will tell you "if it makes you sick, don't eat it". It's that simple.

By the way, you would very likely go through the challenge and find nothing. There are LOTS of people who have gluten intolerance and no antibodies in the bloodstream. It would be unusual for you to lose the antibodies after only two weeks. You might turn up something on biopsy, but most doctors do not do invasive procedures with negative blood work. It's not the standard of care.

Someone mentioned Enterolab. Those tests are interesting, but not diagnostic. If you're desperate for a piece of paper it's a useful service, as the tests are rather sensitive. (Specificity is another matter! ) They're pretty expensive. $300 can buy you a rice cooker, a new toaster, fresh cutting boards, and a couple gluten-free cookbooks instead!

[T.H.]

Also, re: gluten intolerance? That can mean two things, depending on who you're talking to and how they refer to it. Celiac disease is sometimes referred to as gluten intolerance, which the doc could have tested for (although how accurate it would be while you are off gluten, even for 2 weeks, well...). But if you are gluten intolerant as in 'you cannot digest gluten properly' for other reasons?

There's no test for that yet, that I've heard of, aside from a dietary challenge. And for that? It seems to me you've pretty much nailed it with that test, yeah?