ladybugpumpkin

i'm also from bloomington!

I got the complete testing from Enterolab. I only got the casein testing because it was "free" with the rest of it. I never would have guessed I had a problem with casein, and now I wish I had tested for soy!!

I just wanted you to have a benefit from my hindsight.

So on the enterolab website, you got the first test, A) Gluten Sensitivity Stool and Gene Panel Complete which tests for antigliadin, anti-tissue transglutaminase, malabsorption test, gene test, and free milk sensitivity for $369? Sorry, I'm just confused by all this and want to make sure I'm getting the right test.

I haven't been to the GI doc yet. So I'm just trying to avoid it if I can. I think that the $99 test would just save me some money and unnecessary testing in the long run. BTW, ya'll got me curious now...what's this meal you eat at Nick's? My husband and I might go check it out this weekend!

Okay, so I think I've talked myself into getting the Enterolab test (just the stool one, not the genes). But I have a few questions...

1. Is it accurate?

2. Does it test for celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or both?

3. Are positive results recognized by the medical community or do the doctors still want to do their own

tests? In other words, should I just keep my GI appointment and see what he decides to do first?

4. OR, should I do the E-lab prior to my GI appointment, and then discuss the results (positive or negative)

with him?

The cost really isn't an issue at this point (I just want to feel better!) but due to all the "poking and proding" I've experienced from doctors in the past 3 years, I'd like to keep it to a minimum. So if I can avoid an endoscopy or (heaven forbid!) a colonoscopy, that would be great! And I don't want to go to the trouble of the E-lab if the doctor is just going to brush it off and do what he wants to do anyway.

What are your thoughts?

hmmm...that wouldn't have been my husband. he is not a big coffee fan, ha ha ha. he is a manager at the walgreens.

I am an IU student. I got my Bachelors in Biology at Western Kentucky University, then moved up here for Optometry School. (There isn't one in Kentucky!) I'm 24, married for one year, and live on the west side of town. What about you? What did you get your degree in? Your husband's degree? What's your daughter majoring in?

i will definately let you all know what i find out. i've tried the gluten free diet a few days "just to see" and have had remarkable improvement. so i'm pretty sure that's what it is. if you want to read my WHOLE story, i posted it a few days ago on the "Celiac Disease - Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms" thread. it's on the 3rd page, about the 10th post down. let me know what your "professional" opinion is.

Thanks for your help!! My doctor actually has referred me to Ghosh and I have an appointment in October. I think I'll go ahead and keep that appointment. Maybe he'll also be a good doctor and then there will be 2 good GI docs in Bloomington. If he's not very good, then I'll just go to the other one. Again, thanks for your help!!!

I didn't know which board to post this question on, so I just picked this one. About how much does the Enterolab test cost? I keep reading where people say it's expensive, but never read how much. Thanks!

Does anyone know of a good GI doctor in Bloomington, Indiana? I just want to try to avoid getting one of those doctors that gives the "run-around". If there is a doctor in Bloomington that is familiar with dealing with celiac disease and gluten intolerance I would like to visit him/her first. Thanks!

Hey everyone. I think that I may either have celiac disease or am gluten-intolerant. It all started back in 2002. I was in my sophomore year of college and started getting diarhea all the time. I would literally be running for the bathroom 15-20 minutes after eating. I thought that it might be what I was eating so I backed off the greasy/fatty typical college diet. This didn't really help.

In the summer of 2003, I had to be rushed to the ER for stomach cramps only to find out that I had lots of gall stones. My gall bladder was removed one month later. The surgery was laporoscopic, so no big incision....for a while. Three days after my surgery, I was rushed back to the ER because of a burning sensation all over my body and an inability to eat. The ER doctor determined that my abdominal cavity was full of a fluid and I went straight into surgery for an emergency exploratory. Upon cutting me open, they discovered I was full of bile because my common bile duct had been lacerated in the laporoscopic procedure. Because of this, I had 2 bouts of pancreatitis in the hospital.

So, they cleaned me up and placed a "bile bag" coming out of me. I was in the hospital for roughly 6 weeks, then released to go home, but had to continue to empty my "bile bag" twice a day. After going home, I was rushed back to the hospital yet again with vomiting and jaundice. The common bile duct that they had attempted to repair had strictured itself causing everything to back up into my liver. I was hospitalized again and then transfered to a Bilary specialist. He placed stints in my bile duct through a procedure known as an ERCP (similar to endoscopy). I had 5 more ERCP's to remove the stints and replace them with larger ones as my bile duct was slowly re-opened.

With that said, here are all of my symptoms. I take oral contraceptives to control my crazy unpredictable periods. I have chronic diarhea (usually immediately after eating). The diarhea is usually very yellow (like urine) and full of mucus. (Sorry for the gross factor!!!) The diahrea is not linked to any one food either. I have had diarhea from a cereal bar before!!! I am short (5'2") and weigh 195lbs. I feel hungry ALL the time! I have suffered from depression and anxiety though I'm doing better now. I am of Irish descent (reddish hair and very pale skin). I get canker sores on the inside of my mouth all the time. I have acid reflux for which I take Protonix. I also have very dry rough skin.

I have been tested for IBS and even took Levsinex (?) but with no improvement. Another doctor told me to go on a high fiber diet. I can't tell you how many Metamucil crackers I've eaten, also with no improvement. So, I was kind of tired of being sick all the time. When I was visiting my gyno this week, I was telling her about it. All I told her was that I have really bad diarhea all the time and that I take 2 immodium before every meal to help. (Thank goodness for SAMS club!!!!) She first asked about IBS, and when I told her that I had already taken medicine for that, she said "sounds like celiac disease to me."

So, at her request, I bought some gluten-free foods last night. I found one in the organic section of the grocery that was a 5 layer mexican dip. I decided to try that last night. The reason being, that mexican food usually does a number on me. Well, much to my surprise, I didn't even have so much as a stomach cramp. My question is, what do you guys think? Do I probably have celiac disease? A gluten intolerance? Or is it just complications of my history and the 8 surgeries I've had since 2003?

I have an appointment with a GI specialist in October. I'm just trying this gluten-free diet for now, but will resume eating regular foods in about a week. I know that to be tested for it, I am supposed to have it in my system.