Gah! Help Me Figure This Out!

[ChristiL]

This is going to be a long story, so I apologize in advance. Just need help figuring this out and have a few questions.

Somewhere in the mid 90s, I was working as the accounting supervisor of a nursing home. After lunch every day, my co workers and I would go out and sit on the patio for the remainder of our lunch break. I would start sneezing several times in a row - this happened nearly every day. My co workers teased me that I must be allergic to the sun. It was more a "novelty" than anything else. I would just sneeze for 10 or 15 minutes and then it would stop and that was the end of it. After a few years, I noticed that I would sneeze at night, so no sunlight. Even though I highly doubted sunlight was causing me to sneeze, I had heard of people being "allergic" to the sun. At the time, as an adult, I was going to night college to become a teacher.

Fast forward to the late 90s and early 2000s while I was teaching. I would always teach summer school. I noticed after lunch every single day, I would get stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhea and sneezing. If we were out on one of our school trips and had a long bus ride back, I was absolutely miserable. At that time, our school didn't have air conditioning, so I blamed the cramps, bloating and diarrhea on the heat. The sneezing I had just kind of gotten used to.

Mid 2000s, I linked the sneezing to drinking milk. If I drank milk or ate ice cream (those were the real culprits), I would immediately get a congested head, runny nose and have the attacks of sneezing. The sneezing usually lasted about 20-30 minutes at this point and the head congestion would clear up within an hour or so. In looking back, at the nursing home, I always ate whatever the cafeteria served and always had a carton of milk with my lunch. Also, in looking back, when I taught school in regular session, I almost always brought my lunch. However, in summer school, I always ate lunch in the cafeteria - part of summer school funding was counted by the amount of lunches served and our summer school director had to stand with a clipboard and count the number of lunches every day and she insisted that all the teachers eat lunch, too, as this upped our lunch count and therefore helped our funding.

However, cheese didn't seem to have this affect on me, so I just lessened straight up milk and ice cream in my diet and understood that if I consumed those, I would have one of my sneeze attacks. At the time, I couldn't find anything on the internet about sneezing and milk.

For the past 3 or 4 years, I have had digestive problems: gas, bloating, diarrhea and every now and then a pain in my upper right side, just underneath my rib cage. Gallbladder is what I thought. This didn't happen very often, but when it did, it would wake me and/or keep me up at night and usually last from a couple hours to a couple days. I would also occasionally have blood (bright red) in my stools. I mentioned it to a friend one time and she said "it's the milk silly". She said she was lactose intolerant and even a small amount would cause her to immediately have diarrhea and it was often bloody. She also would have the "gallbladder attacks". So, I attributed this to having too much dairy in some form as I was not diligent about reading labels.

This year, I have tried to consciously cut more dairy from my diet as the "gall bladder" attacks have gotten worse. The last one was about 4 months ago and lasted for 2 weeks! It would kind of come and go, but never completely went away during that time frame. I called my doctor, but couldn't get in for a couple days to see him and was instructed that if it got absolutely unbearable to go to the ER. On the night that I thought my gallbaldder was surely going to burst, my husband suggested I put one of those self adhesive icy hot patches on the area (we had tried everything and nothing seemed too silly to try). I was able to sleep that night and woke up the next morning with a much lower level of pain. I ate only unsweetened applesauce for the next two days and the pain went completely away (and I haven't had an attack like that since). I did notice, at the time though, that I had a swollen, tender area on my right side, but below the gallbladder. By the time I got in to see the doc, that was completely gone. (and has not returned since then).

However, I continued to have this nightly gas, bloating and slight pain in my upper right side (just below the rib cage) no matter what I ate it seemed. Not an "attack' pain, but a slight pain in that area nonetheless.

I finally got frustrated with it a couple weeks ago and KNEW I didn't have ANY dairy. I started doing internet research and it led me to celiacs disease and gluten intolerance and to this forum. In looking at some of the other symptoms, holy cow. I have those!

I have a lot of joint pain in my knees and hips. My neck hurts, especially when I wake up in the morning (like to the point that I can't hardly move my head for a few seconds when I first wake up). I have invested in every pillow known to man with no relief. I have a sleep number bed and still wake up with knee and hip pain. If I sit too long (in a car or something) my joints are stiff and painful, especially my knees. My shoulders hurt on occasion, too. The neck pain I attributed to being on the computer quite a bit. The knee and hip pain I attributed to my grandma who always had "bad knees" and would often say "I've got grandma's knees".

I also have slight tingling in my arms and legs, especially when I wake up in the morning. Not like I slept on them too long and they have "gone to sleep" as I don't get the pins and needles thing as they wake up. It's just kind of a weird numbness/tingling - hard to explain.

If I don't eat by a certain time each day, I get weak, irritable, cranky and crabby. I've always thought this is low blood sugar or something.

I have always been slightly anemic. While pregnant, I always had to have a prenatal vitamin and an iron pill. I was first diagnosed as anemic when I was very young (2 or 3 years old) as my mom (a nurse) noticed I would suck on small brown rocks from the driveway and would lick our cast iron heating stove (not in the winter when it was used for heating of course) and would eat ice. She recognized the signs and took me to the doc and they checked my blood and found that I was anemic.

I am tired a lot. 5 or 6 years ago, I was on the go all the time. I worked in the yard with my husband and loved it. We would work in the basement or garage cleaning it out and spend a lot of time going to flea markets and yard sales. Now, and for the last 3 or 4 years, I don't have the energy or motivation to do much of that. By the time I work all day, I'm too tired to do much of anything at night and I'm often fatigued at work. (like today, I'm just so totally out of it and tired

My stools are often loose and fatty. Again, I attributed that to dairy.

I get the stomach rumbling a lot. I can hear and fell it moving around in my belly - this is especially in the evenings.

I get nosebleeds every now and then. I also have hayfever type allergies (not as bad since I cut down on dairy), so I always attributed this to my sinus cavities being dry, irritated, etc.

I have symptoms of Raynaud's Syndrome (have had this for years). If it's cold, and this can even be somewhere below 50 degrees, the tips of my fingers turn white and hurt. They stay that way for quite some time. When they start to warm up, they turn bright red and HURT. About 6 years ago, I had a 45 minute drive to work and a heater that wasn't all that great. I had to wear gloves to drive in the winter in order to touch the cold steering wheel. The rest of me would be warm, but my hands would be freezing. Once they got cold like that and turned white, it took forever to get warmed back up. My heater worked, but not enough to keep my hands warm. I need like a full blast heater.

Anyway, in finding some of this being linked to Celiac disease and gluten intolerance, I decided to do a trial and play around with my diet. Last week, I went 3 days completely gluten free - and for the first time in a long, long time, I had no pain, bloating, gas after eating. Yippee!!!!!!!

I continued doing research and also found that a lot of people simply can't digest WHOLE grains, but are fine with "all purpose" type flour. In looking back, I had switched to whole grain breads and pasta about 3 to 4 years ago. I haven't had a piece of plain ol' white Wonder bread in all this time. I tried that experiment and made some bread in my bread machine with all purpose flour and wheat gluten. I have no digestive trouble if I eat this, although, I haven't eaten a lot of it, because I'm trying not to push my luck. LOL Even though the digestion seems to be a little better, the fatigue, achy joints, etc. are not better and may in fact be a little worse the last few days. I should mention that I also completely cut dairy out as of this past Sunday, so not sure if some of it is withdrawal???

My sister texted me day before yesterday and asked if anybody in our family had narcolepsy???? Not that I know of. I asked her about her symptoms and directed her here. She is scheduled for a sleep study and goes back to the doctor next week. In reading some of the celiacs symptoms, she thinks she has several symptoms, too. She's going to see if her doc will check her for Celiacs disease.

I feel like the people on this forum are a lot more knowledgable about this stuff than most doctors, because you've been there, done that and probably put in loads of research.

So, first of all, based on your experiences and knowledge, do you think my dairy issue is intolerance or allergy? Casein or lactose?

Is it possible to just be unable to digest whole grains and that be my issue as opposed to gluten intolerance?

Overall, what are your opinions?

Thanks so much!

[ChristiL]

I should also mention that I am a 45 year old female. Mostly European, German and Native American descent. Dark complected with dark hair and "Cherokee blue" eyes. (I've read, 40 and fair being important???). I weigh about 120 lbs, although that can fluctuate 5 lbs on any given week. For the last 5-6 years or so, I can eat pretty much what I want and however much I want and no real weight issues. If I feel like I'm gaining a little more than I want, I just cut back a little. With that being said, it doesn't take much to fill me up. If I want a candy bar, I have a candy bar, but I don't go overboard and have one every day (or even once a week or something). However, my husband has pointed out that anybody else who eats like I do, would be the size of a barn.

Not sure if any of that is important....

[cahill]

Have you been tested for Raynaud's Syndrome,Hashimoto's,Graves or Celiac's??

Have you had your vitamin D and B12 checked??

[ChristiL]

Have you been tested for Raynaud's Syndrome,Hashimoto's,Graves or Celiac's??

Have you had your vitamin D and B12 checked??

No testing yet. I've always attributed most of my fatigue, aches/pains and digestive issues to age and the dairy. I don't know how many times I've heard people say, "You don't know how good you feel when you're young until you're too old to feel that good again." So, I thought it was the natural part of aging. When I got frustrated with the bloating, gas and pain in my right side, I started doing some research and one thing has led to another. I wouldn't have even thought that some of this could be a symptom of anything but age.

I started taking a prenatal vitamin (not pregnant, I just know they have a little more iron than regular vitamins) and B12 in the last couple of weeks.

Does it sound like one thing over another? I don't want to go through years and years of testing and doctors appointments like some on this board has talked about. I feel sorry for those that have had to endure that, but thankful as you have kind of blazed the trail for the rest of us.

[sa1937]

No testing yet. I've always attributed most of my fatigue, aches/pains and digestive issues to age and the dairy. I don't know how many times I've heard people say, "You don't know how good you feel when you're young until you're too old to feel that good again." So, I thought it was the natural part of aging. When I got frustrated with the bloating, gas and pain in my right side, I started doing some research and one thing has led to another. I wouldn't have even thought that some of this could be a symptom of anything but age.

Sheesh, girl, you're in the prime of life...don't believe those naysayers! It is not a natural part of aging to feel old and decrepit at the age of 45!!! My daughter is 45 and is in grad school, training to run a half-marathon, is hypo-thyroid, anemic and was diagnosed with celiac in Aug., 2010. Obviously I'm a lot older and don't generally feel that way unless I have completely overdone it working in the yard or something. It sure sounds like you could be one of us.

I do hope you can get some answers to your problems. Even if you don't, you could try going gluten-free and your body may give you the answer test results won't. Just make sure you don't go gluten-free until all testing is done.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!!

[ChristiL]

Sheesh, girl, you're in the prime of life...don't believe those naysayers! It is not a natural part of aging to feel old and decrepit at the age of 45!!! My daughter is 45 and is in grad school, training to run a half-marathon, is hypo-thyroid, anemic and was diagnosed with celiac in Aug., 2010. Obviously I'm a lot older and don't generally feel that way unless I have completely overdone it working in the yard or something. It sure sounds like you could be one of us.

I do hope you can get some answers to your problems. Even if you don't, you could try going gluten-free and your body may give you the answer test results won't. Just make sure you don't go gluten-free until all testing is done.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!!

Thank you!

Gosh, I just read all these posts where people have been to countless doctors or taken years to get an answer. Sometimes, the blood test and/or biopsy comes back negative, but later comes back positive. I'm trying to decide if I want to go gluten free to try it or wait and get the blood tests/biopsy.

My husband is on the HCG diet (not sure if anybody knows what that is, but it's very strict) and will be entering Phase 3 in about a week. That phase will last 3 weeks and I'm gearing up for it as I prepare his meals. Guess what's not allowed??? Gluten. Well, it doesn't say gluten per se, but no flour (really no grains), no bread, no pasta and no processed foods. In looking at some of the recipes, all pancakes or anything of that nature are made with almond flour. Since I'm going to have to be cooking like that for him anyway, I was thinking about trying to gluten free from now until he's done with that. That would be about a month. Would that be long enough to tell if it's gluten that is giving me problems? Is it safe to do a gluten free diet even if you don't need to?

[sa1937]

Thank you!

Gosh, I just read all these posts where people have been to countless doctors or taken years to get an answer. Sometimes, the blood test and/or biopsy comes back negative, but later comes back positive. I'm trying to decide if I want to go gluten free to try it or wait and get the blood tests/biopsy.

My husband is on the HCG diet (not sure if anybody knows what that is, but it's very strict) and will be entering Phase 3 in about a week. That phase will last 3 weeks and I'm gearing up for it as I prepare his meals. Guess what's not allowed??? Gluten. Well, it doesn't say gluten per se, but no flour (really no grains), no bread, no pasta and no processed foods. In looking at some of the recipes, all pancakes or anything of that nature are made with almond flour. Since I'm going to have to be cooking like that for him anyway, I was thinking about trying to gluten free from now until he's done with that. That would be about a month. Would that be long enough to tell if it's gluten that is giving me problems? Is it safe to do a gluten free diet even if you don't need to?

I guess my question would be: Can you stay on a strict gluten-free diet without a diagnosis? I'm not saying you'd get an "official" diagnosis if you went through all the testing as you've already read on this forum. But if later on you would want to get the celiac panel and endoscopy, you'd really have to eat the equivalent of approx. 4 pieces of bread a day for three months and hope for a definitive answer. So I think the key is that it's up to you to decide what direction you want to go. It's possible that being gluten-free a month could affect the results of testing.

It's hard to say how long until you could tell if gluten is giving you a problem. I think we are all so different. Some people can tell quickly; others take longer. Some go through withdrawal; some don't. A gluten-free diet can be as healthy as you make it, especially if you do not buy a lot of gluten-free replacements like processed foods. If you think of shopping the outer rim of the store and going on a whole foods diet, what's healthier than that...think fresh fruits, veggies, meats, etc.? And if you don't have a problem with gluten, you can go right back to eating your regular foods without any problem. Your body will give you the answer very quickly then.

I had to look up the HCG diet. It sounds like it has similarities to the intro phase of Atkins where carbs (including gluten) are pretty much eliminated. Only stricter.

[nora-n]

I was eating low-carb and without any gluten by accident, and discovered that I reacted very much when christmas came or a funeral when i ate some cake.

I think that would be aother way to find out if one is gluten intolerant.

But I had had the celiac blood tests before. (negative)

In general, I recommend getting the blood tests before trying the diet.

[ChristiL]

I checked the disorders a poster had suggested. I don't really fit any but Raynaud's and Celiacs. The Graves and Hashimotos doesn't fit me other than a few symptoms.

We do eat pretty healthy. We buy most of our meat and produce from our local farmer's market (and have a small container garden). We drink no soda. Only coffee, water and unsweet tea. Occasionally a raspberry tea or something when we go out to eat. I drank, okay was addicted, to Diet Pepsi for years, but have successfully gotten rid of that. We do buy some meats from the store, but like with chicken, I buy the organic, free range, non antibiotic kind (can't remember the brand, but it's kind of expensive). Bananas also cause me gas and bloating, so I stick with apples and cherries mostly on fruit. I've just never been much of a fruit person. We try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and a lot of processed foods. I do a lot of cooking on Sundays, so that I don't have to come home and cook every weeknight. I also bake my own bread in a bread machine. I was using whole wheat bread (because they say it's so much healthier for you).

I've been playing with my meals/diet this past week and recording what my reactions are. Tonight, I did make (Kraft - processed LOL) spaghetti. Normally, I would buy organic, whole grain pasta, but I wanted to try the plain ol' regular white pasta. I haven't had any dairy since Sunday, so I sprinkled some parmesan cheese on it. Within 20 minutes, I felt bloated and gassy (not as bad as normal though) and I have a slight twinge of pain in my upper right side. The only other thing I had in it was lean ground beef. So, it was an almost immediate reaction and it's got to be either the pasta or the parmesan cheese, right?

In doing research, a dairy allergy can also cause joint pain and inflammation. I am sure it's a dairy allergy since it causes the sneeze attacks and head congestion immediately after consuming milk or ice cream.

I am going to have some leftover spaghetti tomorrow for lunch minus the parmesan cheese and see what happens.

I am also going to go to the doctor with my sister next week and sit in her appointment with her to see what the doctor says.

[sa1937]

I've been playing with my meals/diet this past week and recording what my reactions are. Tonight, I did make (Kraft - processed LOL) spaghetti. Normally, I would buy organic, whole grain pasta, but I wanted to try the plain ol' regular white pasta. I haven't had any dairy since Sunday, so I sprinkled some parmesan cheese on it. Within 20 minutes, I felt bloated and gassy (not as bad as normal though) and I have a slight twinge of pain in my upper right side. The only other thing I had in it was lean ground beef. So, it was an almost immediate reaction and it's got to be either the pasta or the parmesan cheese, right?

I am going to have some leftover spaghetti tomorrow for lunch minus the parmesan cheese and see what happens.

I'd put my money on the gluteny pasta. While parmesan cheese has casein in it, it would have very little, if any, lactose. Some of us are lactose intolerant and for some that goes away after being gluten-free for awhile.

[ChristiL]

I'd put my money on the gluteny pasta. While parmesan cheese has casein in it, it would have very little, if any, lactose. Some of us are lactose intolerant and for some that goes away after being gluten-free for awhile.

It never did get real bad like it has been lately (pain, gas, bloating). I thought I had been dairy free all week, but nope. I have been drinking Minute Maid Kids orange juice because it has extra calcium and vitamin D. When I went to grab the carton this morning, it happened to dawn on me to read the label. Dang those labels are sneaky things! Here's what it has in it:

CONTAINS PURE FILTERED WATER, PREMIUM CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE, LESS THAN 2% OF: CALCIUM PHOSPHATE* AND CALCIUM LACTATE* (CALCIUM SOURCES), VITAMIN E (ALPHA-TOCOPHERYL ACETATE*), BETA CAROTENE*, VITAMIN D3*.

I'm guessing calcium phosphate and calcium lactate are dairy????

Being a food detective is hard work! I'll try the spaghetti for lunch with no parmesan cheese and see what happens. Thank you so much for your help!

[kareng]

It never did get real bad like it has been lately (pain, gas, bloating). I thought I had been dairy free all week, but nope. I have been drinking Minute Maid Kids orange juice because it has extra calcium and vitamin D. When I went to grab the carton this morning, it happened to dawn on me to read the label. Dang those labels are sneaky things! Here's what it has in it:

CONTAINS PURE FILTERED WATER, PREMIUM CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE, LESS THAN 2% OF: CALCIUM PHOSPHATE* AND CALCIUM LACTATE* (CALCIUM SOURCES), VITAMIN E (ALPHA-TOCOPHERYL ACETATE*), BETA CAROTENE*, VITAMIN D3*.

I'm guessing calcium phosphate and calcium lactate are dairy????

Being a food detective is hard work! I'll try the spaghetti for lunch with no parmesan cheese and see what happens. Thank you so much for your help!

Calcium is a mineral. Its found in lots of things. In the US, they would be required to list milk if it came from milk.

You seem to really want your issues to be about dairy & not gluten, don't you? It could be both. It could be that after your intestines heal, you can digest some dairy again. What if you tried to be really gluten-free & dairy free for a few weeks & see how it goes?

[ChristiL]

Calcium is a mineral. Its found in lots of things. In the US, they would be required to list milk if it came from milk.

You seem to really want your issues to be about dairy & not gluten, don't you? It could be both. It could be that after your intestines heal, you can digest some dairy again. What if you tried to be really gluten-free & dairy free for a few weeks & see how it goes?

Yes, I would love to only have to remove one thing from my diet as opposed to two. And, I really, really like fresh homemade bread. LOL But, mostly, I want to figure out what it is and get rid of the pain (joints and tummy). So, I am thinking of doing what you suggested - gluten AND dairy free for a couple weeks and see what happens. I was amazed that when I took the gluten out for those couple of days, it was the first time in a long, long time that I didn't hurt in my upper right side and have gas and bloating. I've also read that a lot of people who have a gluten intolerance or celiacs also have lactose and/or casein issues, so it may all be related anyway.

You guys have been a huge help and I really do appreciate it!

[kareng]

Yes, I would love to only have to remove one thing from my diet as opposed to two. And, I really, really like fresh homemade bread. LOL But, mostly, I want to figure out what it is and get rid of the pain (joints and tummy). So, I am thinking of doing what you suggested - gluten AND dairy free for a couple weeks and see what happens. I was amazed that when I took the gluten out for those couple of days, it was the first time in a long, long time that I didn't hurt in my upper right side and have gas and bloating. I've also read that a lot of people who have a gluten intolerance or celiacs also have lactose and/or casein issues, so it may all be related anyway.

You guys have been a huge help and I really do appreciate it!

You can do pretty much anything for 2 weeks. Maybe not have the in-laws stay for 2 weeks, but pretty much everything else.

You may find that after a few months, you could add dairy back in. If its a lactose issue, some dairy has little to none. I think hard cheese & yogurts but look that up first.

[ChristiL]

You can do pretty much anything for 2 weeks. Maybe not have the in-laws stay for 2 weeks, but pretty much everything else.

You may find that after a few months, you could add dairy back in. If its a lactose issue, some dairy has little to none. I think hard cheese & yogurts but look that up first.

Any suggestions on meal ideas for dairy and gluten free? Blogs or such that have recipes?

[beachbirdie]

Any suggestions on meal ideas for dairy and gluten free? Blogs or such that have recipes?

You might find useful stuff at Open Original Shared Link or Open Original Shared Link. You can Google terms like "GAPS Diet recipes" or "GAPS diet blogs" (or use some not-so-annoying search engines like Open Original Shared Link or Open Original Shared Link or Open Original Shared Link...I have some philosophical issues with Google )

You might find healing by eliminating both gluten and dairy for a time, hard to say how long. Then in a few months you can try a little dairy and see how it goes.

My daughter went through a little of what you are going through, and after a lot of experimentation, was able to figure out it was the gluten making her sick. That's what actually woke us up to the idea that our family might have gluten problems, and the more we researched the more convinced we became that gluten was bad for our family because so many diseases suffered by different family members came back to having gluten connections.

Best,

beachbirdie

[beachbirdie]

You can use the " report" button at the bottom of the post. Then it let's you say what the problem is.

I shall wave my magic wand & see if it goes away.

**poof**

thanks, looks like it worked!

[ChristiL]

I'll check out those sites this afternoon and do some research.

Funny thing is, my 21 year old daughter has been getting sick for about the last week - it started with her being in the bathroom for 15 minutes after eating a pop tart. This happened twice. Then, she was really sick with throwing up and dry heaves for a couple days. Two days ago, she was home in bed all day and only sipping on water. Day before yesterday, she started eating saltine crackers with her water and was feeling better. Last night she said she had stew for supper and then some cupcakes (she was at a friend's house and they like to bake and decorate cakes and cupcakes). She immediately got sick after the cupcakes and started throwing up. She ended up going to the ER at 4:00 this morning (she's a military spouse, so we're talking military hospital here). I told her to have her doc check her for celiacs disease. She's been out there for 9 hours having tests run and is STILL out there. I told her to have her doc check for celiacs and she texted me back later and said he "doesn't think" it's celiacs. I told her to insist he check anyway, whether he thinks so or not - and to check for dairy allergy.

I had my spaghetti for lunch about 1/2 an hour ago and so far so good. I'll see what happens here in a little while.

[ChristiL]

Just wanted to update as I've been doing a little playing around with my diet. I ate plain ol' Kraft (Italian in the green box) spaghetti yesterday and didn't seem to have any problems. Last night, for dinner, we had breakfast and I put some swiss cheese in my scrambled eggs. Ugh, felt awful. Bloating, gas, diarrhea and still had the diarrhea this morning. Possibly because I hadn't had any dairy at all for almost a week????

For breakfast, I had a cherry pop tart as they have wheat flour, but no dairy and I had no noticed problems. For lunch I had a handful of almonds.

Tonight I've eaten, what I thought was gluten and dairy free. However, for dinner I had a hamburger patty (no bun) with a piece of "veggie" cheese on top and corn chips. I immediately got bloated. So, I went back and read the ingredients on the veggie cheese that I bought. It said lactose intolerant, but not dairy free. The second ingredient was "casein (milk protein)" is how it was labeled.

Still playing food detective, but it's looking more and more like casein. Can you be allergic to casein and not have issues with gluten? I've read so much about the two being so closely related that if you have one, it's very likely that you have the other.

[cahill]

My reaction time is different depending on what I eat.

Corn would be an almost instant "hole or brick in the belly " feeling

Gluten is an almost instant high and then nothing else for 26 hours and the major D.

Soy is more neurological, ringing in my ears,dizziness,with lager amounts major cramping and then major C.

My reactions vary in intensity depending on the amount consumed.My reaction also vary depending on what food combinations I consume.

[Takala]

Yeah, but the gluten intolerance or celiac damages the lining of the digestive tract and causes dairy intolerance.

And many of the symptoms you described earlier in the first 2 posts are matching gluten intolerance and/or celiac.

I hope that if you are getting gas, bloating, diarrhea, fatty stools, pain in upper rt side and bloody stools from eating, all indicating gall bladder, since gall bladder and liver disease also go along with celiac, that you have gotten a medical workup, and will stop eating whatever it is that is causing your symptoms. The joint pain and anemia are also matching symptoms for gluten intolerance and/or celiac. You limbs tingling and numb is a symptom of gluten intolerance and/or celiac, not dairy intolerance.

There is no way that, if you have a gluten problem, you can "fix" it by elimination of dairy. You might be able to eventually re introduce some low or non lactose dairy such as aged cheese or safe yogurt once you have been on a gluten free diet for several months, if your problem is actually gluten.

You also, if you actually have a gluten problem causing the liver problem, cannot fix it by elimination of dairy, because you have not gone after the root cause. You may, by doing these fits and starts at eliminating one or the other, be easing the burden on your liver for a few days, but if you keep eating the primary cause or the secondary cause, are going to keep getting sick. I know this because before I went gluten free, I kept not eating more and more things, trying to appease the Liver Goddess, and it wasn't working. I was very, very fat intolerant at the end point, besides the lactose intolerant, and had erroneously bought into the American Food Pyramid Myth of "high carbohydrate in the form of grain is good for you."

You can also, at least, if you aren't a carrier for the genes that mess up your lactose/casein tolerance, maybe reintroduce it afterwards, when you have healed, which takes longer than "a few days." If not, they also make dairy substitutes for cheese that are gluten free, but you have to shop carefully, and always read the label. Some people also make their own "cheeses" out of things like cashews.

Almost all other foods are easy to substitute for gluten free dining. gluten-free Pasta is made of rice, corn, or mixtures. gluten-free Breads can be made of nuts, seeds, beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, even bananas and pumpkin and alternative flours, besides rice. In the beginning, I went off grains completely and did not add them back in except for rice, for quite a while. I can make "bread" out of nothing but almonds if I want to, but adding some other seed flours is tasty. Some corn products are safe, but most of them have to be researched heavily to see if they are really gluten free, or not, because of massive cross contamination in harvesting and processing and manufacturing. I have gotten cross contaminated and sick off of supposedly safe corn manufactured products, and I was not a happy consumer when this happened, at all. There are others that are actually safe, but the manufacturer won't put the gluten free label on it. Not that we are consistent here. (I also have an allergic dog. The last thing I want to do is give him a gluten free treat of wheat cc'd corn because he gets spectacularly sick on it. I have been known to taste things the day before to make sure. He only gets human food snacks like gluten-free certified rice cakes or tortillas.)

As always, I tell everybody to make a good faith effort to get medically diagnosed, but if they have done that, and have not received the Official Medical Diagnosis Celiac Seal of Approval

[ChristiL]

Takala, thanks for the information. I just feel like I am spinning my wheels. I called my doctor on Friday and gently suggested we check for Celiacs disease. I'm sorry to say that he kind of groaned and mentioned celiacs/gluten intolerance being the "fad" of the moment and he personally doesn't think it's as common as people are making it appear. I also think since it was my suggestion and not his, well, you know, he's the medical professional kind of attitude. He didn't say he wouldn't do it, I just got the impression that if he does, it will be very reluctantly. He again suggested keeping a food diary, blah, blah, blah.

I've heard mention of Entrolab and another one on these boards (can't remember which). What are they? How accurate are they?

On a side note, my 25 year old son is a former Marine, injured in Iraq and deemed undeployable, so he got out of the Marine Corps in 2008, after his initial 4 years. He is 70% disabled according to the VA and does receive a VA disability check every month. Beside his injuries, he also has terrible acid reflux, digestive problems and mood swings. My daughter in law called me yesterday - they were at the river and he had been drinking (beer) with is buddies all day and got completely belligerent, mouthy and aggressive. He does get like that, especially after drinking, and I've always blamed it on the "Marine Corps Mentality" as he is definitely of the mind that "Once a Marine, Always a Marine, Alpha Raiders kick a$$" and thinks he's invincible.

It just dawned on me while I was talking to my daughter in law that they have never been able to explain his acid reflux (he's been on all kinds of medicine) and digestive problems or his aggression/mood swings (blaming that on his level of pain from his injuries and his inability to take any "hard core" meds).

Beer is just straight up gluten isn't it? Can gluten cause mood swings, anger, aggression and things like that?

Dang, maybe my whole family has issues with gluten????

[cahill]

Beer is just straight up gluten isn't it? Can gluten cause mood swings, anger, aggression and things like that?

Yes and Yes

[Takala]

If you have to interact with this medical professional again, I would suggest you print out the latest findings from the leading researchers in the field and take a highlighter to the statistics on the number of people with celiac and gluten intolerance, and then another color on the percentage the common doctors are missing the diagnosis on, which is the majority of them.

Since most people are not diagnosed, and of those who do don't get it until there is grotesque and overt damage from years of malnutrition and the other assorted syndromes and auto immune conditions that go with this, he is lacking in updated information and apparently has confused a bona fide auto immune disease with fad dieting. Sometimes this idea is pushed in business publications like the Wall Street Journal, and it needs pushback. There have also been a few celebrity docs on television such as Snyderman and Gupta who have misstated some basic information (at least Gupta subsequently walked it back, after the negative response).

At least 1% of the population has celiac, the incidence is increasing, not decreasing, as are many other auto immune conditions. 30% are carrying the genes that can predispose them to getting it, and now the researchers are saying it is very likely 5% or more, up to 7% may have gluten intolerance. Scarcely a "fad."

Anyone who thinks gastric reflux and heartburn, early bone loss, plus diarrhea and joint pain are normal human conditions needs their head examined. In Europe, what are considered the atypical neurological symptoms for celiac here, such as those mimicking MS, loss of balance (ataxia) and numbness (peripheral neuropathy), plus brain lesions, are known and the researchers have written many peer reviewed research papers on this and how they have found "silent" celiac in many test groups who had the gluten/gliadin proteins antibodies and otherwise undiagnosed conditions. It's inexcusable to state that a disease that is so underdiagnosed is a "fad."

[ChristiL]

I posted something on my facebook about being back to doing a food diary to see what's bothering me. A friend from high school sent me a message and asked what my symptoms are. After telling her, but no mentioning celiacs or gluten or anything other than the dairy issue, she suggested I get tested for Celiacs. Turns out, she was diagnosed several years ago after having been told she had IBS for years. They actually did an endoscopy and seen the tissue damage and then did the blood test to confirm celiacs. She said that her GI doc told her that if everybody were to eat gluten free, he wouldn't have a job! I would love to go to her doc, but she doesn't live in the same state as I do anymore. LOL

I'm going to try with my doc again tomorrow. I hate to start all over at square one with another doctor, but I may have to do that. I did look into something called Celiacsure (??? something like that) that is a home test with a finger prick to get blood. Anybody know anything about this? From what I read, it will detect the celiacs just like the blood test at the doctor's office, but does not detect gluten sensitivity if the celiac gene isn't there. The test costs $50.00 - with the amount spent on tests, etc., at the doctor, this doesn't seem like a huge amount to pay.