Mari

or just the temperment of my digestive system made my bacteria all funky while traveling lots

Funky digestive system - I've had repeated problems with recurrent and new intestinal imbalances. I was able to clear most of them up using a program of healing with herbs and other altenative self treatments, see my personal page, but while I ate gluten they kept coming back and sometimes now that I'm gluten-free still do. Medical diagnosis and treatments have been much improved in the last few years and many people have been able to clear up specific problems but like you they often get back the same problem or a different one because of their funky digestive system. Problems after antibiotic treatment, contaminated water and food and reinfection all plague some of us and we have to figure out what is not working properly and learn to protect ourselves. The Liver Flush Support Forum can give you ways of dealing and healing your gut and even tho you choose medical treatments, will tell you how a healthy intestine functions and why you have these problems.

I had the test at Enterolab and have 2 DQ2 markers - 302 and 602. They did list the serologic equlivent but can't remember it. There was a note that said I had one main celiac gene and the second DQ2 made the disease worse. I had symptoms of low energy, food sensitivities by age 4, and slow growth, leg pains. I didn't begin to have intestinal problems until I had a Salmonella infection when I was 19. I developed endometriosis in my 20's and increasing problems with chemical sensitivities. I never felt well but Drs kept telling me I was OK, just get more rest. One brother developed Type 1 Diabetes in his 30's and all 4 of us sibs had food sensitivities as young children.

What type of snacks do you like to eat? Would you rather buy them or make them yourself? Since you eat fruit, that seems to not be satisfying so you probably like some oil or fats in the snack. I eat gluten-free granola and soften it with a little water or prune juice or sometimes goat's milk yogurt. The gluten-free Specific Carbohydrate Diet has a recepie book and one of the forums here mentions the SCD - may be suggestions there. Nut butters are satisfying, I had a jar of pumpkin seed butter - excellent. Keep a loaf of gluten-free bread in the freezer and adorn it with cheese or Goat's milk Chevre, or yogurt and fruit. Sometimes Ieat 1/2 grapefruit when I crave a snack and after a meal when I still feel hungry, I think it stimulates bile production and so we feel satsfied as if we've eaten a fat or oil.

I'm a much more equitable person gluten-free. I would be irritable, anxious and only a few times felt earth shaking anger. People have told me that I used to have a look on my face that made people back away, that I looked angry even if I wasn't.

Check out the Specific Carbohydrate Diet online - kids like it and mention it to the cousin as it's good for IBS. The theory and more information is described in the book 'Breaking the Vicious Cycle' by Elaine Gottshall. Think about getting the DNA marker test done - there are several labs online where you can order it and Enterolab.com offers the antibody tests also. This will tell you if he is predisposed to develop celiac disease and there are tables online which can tell you how high his risk is of developing celiac disease.

Celiac Disease is only one of the problems your Dr could test for. You may have developed an intestinal candida overgrowth or an overgrowth of other intestinal bacteria when you eat gluten or other foods high in carbohydrates. It is best to find out more about your problems. In about 30% of people with celiac disease the blood tests come back negative so keep that in mind now that you know that gluten causes more problems. Look at Enterolab.com - they do fecal testing for the antibodies which are more sensitive than the blood tests.

*Best test/best value Fecal Anti-gliadin IgA 46 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Fecal Anti-tissue Transglutaminase IgA 22 Units (Normal Range is less than 10 Units)

Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score 1205 Units (Normal Range is less than 300 Units)

Fecal Anti-casein (cows milk) IgA 10 Units (Normal Range is less than

10 Units)

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0302

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0402

These results would convince me that I had Celiac Sprue. The anti-tissue transglutaminase shows you are havng destruction of the villi, the fecal fat is way off the scale and the anti-glaidin is elevated also. Besides you have a main celiac marker (I'm assuming it is DQ2) (302) and another DQ2 marker (402) which I'd have to look up to see if it involved in celiac disease.

My enterolab results were similar - DQ2 302 and 602 and I found that I had about a 77% chance of developing celiac disease and having the 602 made the disease worse. I felt better on a gluten free diet and when I am glutened I get intestinal, skin and other problems. My blood tests showed anti-gliadin antibody elevated but tissue transglutaminse not elevated . I decided not to have the biopsy, I was already convinced I have celiac disease.

I also have a Type 1 diabetic sib and have 'low sugar' spells even gluten-free. I also recommend the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It is a good idea add fiber to your food, I use gluten-free oat bran from Montana Monster Munchies online. I add it to all my meals. I have found eating grapefruit after meals to help the 'feeling still hungry' problem.

Look at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - it starts you out with no grains and as you imrove you can add them back. Many celiacs respond well to this diet, it's gluten-free and nutritious. I was able to start trying out different foods after several months. A general rule for eating is not to have the same food more than one time each day and not have the same food for 2 days in a row. Hope you get better soon.

When the ova is fertilized by the sperm it has only one strand of DNA, the sperm contributes another strand of DNA and the 2 strands come together and form a double stranded DNAs. There are several "Celiac genes" associated with Celiac Disease but the one which correlates more than 99% is the DQ gene on chromasome 6 so it is used to tell if a person inherited the predisposition to develop Celiac Disease. A person with celiac disease can inherit one DQ Celiac Genes from one parent and a 'normal' gene from the other or they can inherit a DQ Celiac gene from both parent and rarely the test will show no Celiac genes but the person will have the symptoms of Celiac Disease. These genes tell the cell how to make proteins which are incorporated into the cell walls of antigen presenting cells and if the shape of these antigen receptors is right then small fragments of gluten (gliadin) will stick there ('normal' antigen receptors will not have the small gluten fragments stick to them). The body's immune system will be alerted to make antibodies , mistaking them for the presence of something foreign and these antibodies attack the villi in the small intestine.

It depends on whether one or both your parents carried a celiac gene on how likely it is that your sister also inherited a celiac gene or whether she has 'normal' genes. The Drs who deterined that you and your sister were compatable may have the information about your sister's genetic makeup - and they most likely tested for the other celiac genes when they determined youe compatability. In addition to the DQ gene on chromosome 6 is the DR gene less often positive in celiacs, but believed to be involved in this multigenetic disorder. If you can obtain these tests results you will find out whether you still carry the predisposition to have celiac disease.

There are a number of conditions which trigger or set off the autoimmune reactions but scientists have not determined exactly what happens or why they do this so there is no way to tell, as far as I know, whether you are still 'triggered' or not. You might write Dr. Fine at Enterolab.com and ask his opinion.

Sorry you are feeling 'down' but if you have a copy of the test which showed the DQ8 it would tell you if you inhertited one or two copies of that DQ gene. We get one from our mom and one from our dad as you know. The DNA genetic marker test is easier to read but if you had the molecular serology test from Prometheus Labs it is harder to intrepret but you can post the results here and maybe we can help you figure it out.

I can't remember whether I mentioned this before but it might be very helpful for you to have an intestinal flora test at Metametrix Labs. Several people on the Curezone Forums have had the test and it identified many invaders - bacteria, yeasts, parasites, viruses in the gut. Some chose to have the troublesome ones treated with meds and others chose to use herbs and natural methods. They also have other panels which look interesting.

Too bad that all mLaws are not the caring, respectful people we wish they were. I can imagine a person as sensitive to gluten as you are reacts just being in the place. You were reluctant to go there and no doubt your mLaw picked up on your tension and anxiety as you began to react and became more irritable and sensitive to the people arund you. So she was very rude and it seems your hubby disappointed you by not smoothing the situation and supporting you. This is a terrible fix to be in - I know even tho I don't have a mLaw. I rarely go in other peoples houses - I tried to feed a neighbor's cats while she was away for a month and got sicker and sicker so I had to write her and tell her to hurry back. This was so difficult as she is elderly and was recovering from hip surgery and had shingles. We are given this amazing opportunity to be healed of our gluten related problems but how difficult it is sometimes to deal with others.

It is true that many of us become very sensitive to gluten a while after going gluten-free. Last Nov. I had a severe reaction from being in the same place as a large pot of boiling spaghetti - it took about 5 months for the last problem, dry itchy skin - to clear up.

After my own experiences and reading a lot online I does seem the body's immune system has been supressing the autoimmune reaction to some extent and probably supressing other intestinal problems as well. We probably have had a mixture of toxin producing bacteria, yeasts and parasites and now we begin to have more symptoms from these invaders. Or maybe the change-over from gluten foods to a gluten-free diet has allowed these invaders to come in during this time of change and healing of our villi. In some people this passes as they heal and are better able to protect themself. Other people have found medical treatments which are getting better and better at identifying the organisms causing the problems and treating them. I use a variety of herbal/natural remedies and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It is very important to take a probiotic or yogurt with both Acidophilis and Bifidobacterium to put back good bacteria in the intestine. Many celiacs have developed gall stones and there are several natural methods of getting them out and improving the bile pool and pancreatic enzyme release into the small intestine. It may help you to take either HCl drops or Betaine HCl with meals, eat fiber (I use gluten-free oat bran) with all meals, drink at least 5 glasses of water a day and and look at the Curezone Liver Flush Support Forum - even tho you may not do these programs they will give you information on how your digestive system should work.

I have been gluten-free and cow dairy free for more than 4 years. I felt better after a few days gluten-free but the tests were not conclusive so I read about celiac disease online, have a brother with Type 1 Diabetes so immediately ordered the DNA marker test. I had inherited the predisposition from both parents (DQ2/DQ2) and that firmly convinced me to stay strictly gluten-free for life. My recovery was very slow, a 2 step forward, one step back pattern but I never once thought of eating gluten foods again. My whole body had suffered damage from years of eating gluten so I had a lot of healing to do. My digestive system had an unbalanced intestinal flora - toxin producing bacteria, parasites, gall stones and low bile pool, constipation, frequent virus infections, dental problems and infections, sores and white plaque in my mouth, pancreatic insufficiency, lizard skin and other skin problems, mental confusion and anxiety/depression. I had learned to do herbal/alternative programs about 25 years before which had kept me functioning and able to work and I continued with those programs and found they worked much better since I was not reacting to gluten. Slowly my system began to recover as I killed off parasites and step-by step coped with the intestinal invaders, the last problem which is almost gone was an intestinal yeast overgrowth for which I used Candida herbs and Neem. About 2 years ago I began using the Specific Carbohydrate Diet with goat's milk yogurt and often mention in my posts how much it helped my intestinal problems. Since controling the sneaky Candida I have more energy and am doing more outside work. I finally feel that I am healing and am looking forward to more years of much better health - after all I'm only 73.

Your results are similar to a glucose tolerance I had done years ago. I worked in a medical lab at the time and the pattern was referred to as a dumping curve with no clear explanation. In older tests they would do fasting then sometimes a 15 min sample, a 1/2 hr sample then hourly for up to 5 hrs. Your result is an unusal pattern for a diabetic but common in people with symptoms of hypoglycemia - more or less what you described. I found ways to cope by always eating a high protein food with carbohydrates. Ice cream and peanuts was one of my favorites. I would always feel weak after pancakes and syrup even if I had eggs and sausages. I couldn't eat apples or apple juice by themselves - apples and cheese was better but no bread or crackers with the cheese. When I was about 50 I began doing natural healing programs - parasite herbs, kidney and liver cleanses, detoxification and liver support programs and the hypoglycemia-like symptoms ( and symptoms of my undiagnosed celiac disease) became less of a problem. I still have a low tolerance for carbs. One diet I have found helpful is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The carbohydrates on their legal food list are more slowly broken down than other carbs - and any carbs when broken down are just sugar - so a person gets a slower release into the body.

If it clears up eventually it may have been a reaction to gluten but it may take several months or longer to clear all of the gluten from the body. One place tha gluten collects is in plaques along the intestinal wall. You might take a handful of digestive enzymes at bedtime and digest them away. It may be a reaction to something you are touching, an allergy or chemical sensitivity. If it only occurs on your palm keep the area covered for a week or so and wear gloves when doing dishes. Even solid objects such as plastics and painted objects can give off solvents long after they are made. Your mouse could be the culpret or some solution you clean the mouse with. It may be a delayed reaction so you may not have realized what you were touching was causing the weeping sores.

I would encourage you to have the DNA genetic marker tests. A Dr. said she thought I had celiac disease and ordered a Celiac Panel, anti gliadin antibodies, ttg and allergies to food common in celiac disease. Only the anti gliadin was elevated along with allergies to cow's milk and hot peppers. I definatly felt better after a few days gluten-free, but the Dr became confused because only one test was positive. I immediately ordered the DNA test from Enterolab and have never regreted the cost. I inherited the predisposition from both parents, had developed symptoms by age 4, had osteoporosis and skin problems and have a brother with Type 1 Diabetes.

A good place to find information is the FAQ at Enterolab.com and Wikipedia for Celiac Disease. There are 4 online Labs which offer DNA tests for Celiac Disease. There is one Lab which offers a 'molecular' serology test for celiac disease, available through a Dr and it causes considerable confusion unless both you and your Dr are experts, and most aren't. I read a while back that a gastroenterologist who examined relatives of his patients wrote that all of them has some symptoms tho not serious - occasional gas & bloating, reflux problems.

Today is Day 1 of being gluten-free for me. I have a few basic questions.

1- How long should I be gluten-free before I introduce gluten again to see if I react? Im thinking 30 days, and if I feel great I might take it another 30 before I test myself. I really feel the need to test myself and not just go by feeling better. YOU MAY NOT HAVE TO DO A CHALLANGE SINCE MOST OF US GET GLUTENED WHILE WE ARE LEARNING HOW TO BE GLUTEN FREE. IF YOU HAVE celiac disease YOU WILL REACT WITHIN 3 TO 6 HOURS.

2- Does it really matter from a physical standpoint whether you have true Celiacs or are just gluten intolerant? It seems to me the end result is the same, stay off gluten=feeling better. YES, KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE AS OPPOSED TO LEAKY GUT SYNDROME WILL INFLUENCE YOUR DESCISIONS ABOUT HOW YOU HEAL THE DAMAGE TO YOUR INTESTINAL TRACT. LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET.

3- After eliminating gluten, if I feel Im pretty certain gluten intolerant, I think I might spring for a genetic Celiacs test. My insurance won't cover the testing, and Im not willing to pay out of pocket for the Celiac blood tests when its so often inaccurate and I would have to go back on gluten and make myself sick to test. I saw a site advertised here myceliacid.com that offers an at home DNA test. Any thoughts? I HAD THE GENETIC TESTS AT ENTEROLAB AND DON'T REGRET THE EXPENSE. THEIR WEBSITE IS VERY INFORMATIVE. GOOD LUCK.

I get some neuological symptoms when my intestinal flora are imbalanced but it is mostly that creepy crawly feeling in my extremities. I certainly have less anxiety and depression when I'm gluten free but still get episodes when I get overgrowths of certain bacteria in my gut which produce toxins or yeasts. I use alternative/herbal methods to cope with these problems but have been reading lately that Drs now have some good tests and effective treatments. However you do it you need to improve the health of your digestive system and try to identify food allergies and intolerances. You may want to go cow's dairy free, goat's milk is a good substitute. Also look at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I have found it very helpful.

Go to the FAQ page at Enterolab.com which tests for the celiac disease Genetic Markers (alleles or some times called genes). Depending on which markers you inherited, one from Mom and one from Dad a person can have a more or less serious form of celiac disease. There are many different markers and not all of them predispose to celiac disease and if you have one that does and one that doesn't then you will likely have less reaction than a person who inherits 2 celiac markers. There are several other genes which are not tested for and influence both the chance of acquiring the autoimmune disease and influence its severity. If this confuses you please ask more questions.

Well this puts me in a bind as i dont believe they will do anything like seperating stuff for me, it's tough as EVERYTHING on thier menu is not celiac friendly at all. And the kitchen space is limited to one large room so seperating these items would be impossible...I'm in trouble ;-(

I can see that this is difficult for you, particularly if food handling is the only job you are trained for and you are satisfied with this type of work. Any other similar job might present the same problems. You might contact your local government agency and look into unemployment benefits which might bridge the gap until you find a different kind of work. Some states have funded re-training programs which you might be entitled to with your gluten problems. Years ago I read about a dentist who became very allergic to dental materials and he was retrained so he could work again. There may be some medications which you can use to limit the damage while you are still working with all that wheat around, I have read that some people use benedryl or antihistamines so talk to your Dr. And not everybody is so sensitive that they react to small amounts of gluten in the air or on counters, or so they wrote but the danger is that you could be reacting and not show symptoms. One woman wrote in who had been gluten-free for 10 years but was cooking regular food for her family. Her Dr decided to do the tests and they were positive. One guy was able to work in a restaurant with gluten foods if he wore gloves. It is a little expensive but you might want to do the blood tests at regular intervals to keep track of any reactions. Good Luck!

has anyone ever done this to test for a gluten or wheat sensitivity?

I have had muscle testing by an ND and found it very good for some problems and not very good for other problems. The ND said she found it to be about 80% accurate. I don't know if she tested me specifically for wheat or gluten, possibly not because she didn't say I was having a problem with it. She has been telling people to avoid gluten for the past 20 years. As she has explained it to me the testing only can tell what the person's body believes. There seem to be at least 2 ways to use muscle tests. One way is just see how the body reacts. The other way the muscle testing is part of evaluating the whole body and how the various systems are functioning. As the tests progress and problems are found the tester can refine the tests and look for more specific issues with each system. The theory of body function and balance is very different than the medical profession's ideas - it is based on the flow of energy in the body.

My question is this - how many of you have had yellow stool and gallbladder issues as a direct result of gluten? I'm wondering if its the reason this is happening. As opposed to a completely separate issue in addition to gluten. If you did have this, did removing the gluten help?

Since you have 'yellow' or light colored stools something is interferring with the squirting of bile into the food you have eaten when it is released out of the stomach into the upper small intestine. Bile is made in the liver, collected in the small bile tubules and it flows down to the gall bladder where it collects and is expelled into your partly digested food. Gall stones or sludgy bile can block or partially impede this flow. Since you don't usually have yellow stools and it happens when you ear gluten it may be that there is another reason the bile can't get out to your digestive tract. The autoimmune reaction causes cramping, swelling and congestion in the small intestine and the partly digested food slows down and this, in my opinion, can close off the the bile duct. Some people body's try to clear this out by increasing peristalsis and have D. while other people become constipated. Also we have to have a adequate bile pool - a cycle in which the liver makes bile, stores it in the gall bladder, then readsorb it lower down in the digestive tract and replenish the bile pool. So if the bile isn't getting out there isn't any to readsorb so the bile pool becomes depleted. While there is congestion in the intestinal tract the partially digested food ferments causing gas and bloating and overgrowths of which are very irritating. Also people are more susceptable to acquiring bacteria like the ones causing intestinal discomfort. If this doesn't improve remember that even infant feces can carry these organisms so learn how to be careful when you change diapers. There are some common spices such as turmeric which can help and eating more fiber with meals helps stableize the bile pool.