Mari

Hello Philippa - I had endrmetriosis when I was young and sometimes very heavy periods. In my 40's I had my second d&c and shortly after that I did a herbal program to kill parasites. My next pap was negative and no more problems. It also got rid of the white plaque in my mouth. However I have read that endometriosis clears up at menopause and I started that around 50 so that may have been part of the disappearance.

If you are low on Vit K you would probably have some bruising showing up, especially on your arms/legs and not remember having any injury.

For a few years before I was diag. with celiac disease I had bruising and was passing blood in my stools (it looks like coffee grounds). This cleared up after I went gluten-free and did some herbal programs to improve my digestive health.

Hi Kors,

Enterolab offers more sensitive fecal tests for celiac disease. You can write them and describe what you've been doing and ask if their tests would be OK.

Celiacs are often infected with Lyme disease. I had that problem for years with a low grade fever - 100 or less. There is a good test for this and my blood test went from negative to positive when I went gluten-free. Drs offer a course of antibiotics which has many side effects so I decided to use hemeopathic drops available from a local ND and now I'm free of Lyme's.

I have some suggestions for you but wanted to say first that you are doing just great. It seems to me from what you wrote that you may have a problen with intestinal yeasts or other organisms which have overgrown the normal intestinal flora. Many of start out with this problem and sometimes we have to find out what is causing it. Lately I've seen several people refer to Metametrix Laboratories and so I visited their site. They have many panels which may be helpful to you - especially the panels to assess intestinal health, in particular parasites and intestinal organisms such as yeasts and bacteria. I usually use alternative/herbal programs for intestinal problems but in the past few years the medical treatments have greatly improved and some people are satisfied with the results.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is a good food guide for what you can eat. It works by starving the nasty intestinal microorganisms but providing you with good nutrition. I started using goat's milk yogurt and this last week have started making my own as it is so easy to make.

Intestinal yeasts like Candida may take some special treatments to get rid of. Drs usually offer antibiotics but for my problem I chose to take Candida herbs and Neem leaf capsules. These little invaders actually produce something which stimulates your appetite when they hungry. Gluten free diets deprive them of carbohydrates so they don't grow as well but still can cause problems when you eat sweets or carbs.

Hi BC,

The blood tests are not always positive - a more sensitive test is the fecal antibody tests offered at Enterolab.com. And while looking at their informative website look at the genetic DNA marker tests which you do not have to be glutened to have. If you choose to have blood tests be sure they test for anti-gliadin antibodies and tissue transglutaminase.

I guess I'm the oldest so far, diag. at 70 but I read a message from a woman's daughter who was 86! and doing better. I'd had celiac disease all my life and after more than 4 years gluten-free and dairy free I'm returning to health tho it's been slow progress. Problems with diet and allergy I partly solved by using the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and since I usually use alternative and herbal remedies, I've done various types of cleanses and they were a great help in the 25 years when I was getting worse and had no idea that I had a problem with gluten. I'm going to be 74 this fall and think that I'm going to be able to enjoy some of those golden years that people talk about.

I can't tolerate psyllium so have used hemp seed meal and am now using oat bran which I order from Montana Monster Munchies. I have stopped using probiotics and use goat's milk yogurt, it's easy to make. The probiotics I was using had a mix of 9 different bacteria including acidophilus. I found that advice to use the yogurt from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The foods on this diet don't feed the organisms in your intestine which cause gas, bloating and discomfort.

Remember that the only person you have to really convince is yourself - not your mom or siblings - tho their support will be helpful. That may not happen until you have some obvious improvent in your health problems. So going as gluten free as you can is a good suggestion and when you notice a difference share that with your family. For you - you need to see a Dr. who will order a Celiac Panel which tests for anti giadin antibodies and tissue transglutaminase - the one I had also included tests for allergies common in celiacs. I don't recommend the panel from Prometheus Labs as it leads to much confusion so ask the DR. which lab they use. If at all possible ask your parents to order the genetic marker test from one of the online labs - I used Enterolab.com. You may not have stopped growing yet, at 20 I was 5' 4'' and by 25 I was 5' 5 1/2 and about 15 lbs heavier.

I have found that thinking a short phrase or mantra to reaffirm your commintment to improving your health to be very helpful. Mine was 'I will go forward with courage'. Yours could be something such as 'I Will get better', something short which you can think to yourself while you are going through the healing process. What you are doing is wonderful and courageous and whatever the causes of your problems you will get better.

Check out the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - it is good for IBS and Celiac Disease. Your Dr may not want you to go gluten free until he is finished with the tests.

Let us know your lab results - get a copy from your DR.

Well you already know that he has the predisposition to develop celiac disease and some symptoms. If the biopsy is negative ( and it is only positive 70% of the time) it may be less distressing to him just to repeat the gliadin antibody and tissue transglutaminase tests at regular intervals. Enterolab has very sensitive fecal tests. This is one way that he can learn to assess his reaction to gluten - as he will have to do for himself as he gets older. This puts him more in control and gives him valuable information for his own descisions.

I use the SCD too and have been able to tolerate more foods. A few months ago I started eating goat's milk yogurt and no longer have to take probiotics or betaine to acidify my stomach. The gas and bloating problem has almost gone away after using Candida Herbs and Neem. I've had to flush out my gall bladder (liver flushes) and improve my bile pool by using gluten-free oat bran with meals. I avoid antibiotics when possible and use well tested natural methods of improving my digestion. I often visit the Forums at Curezone to see what has worked for other people.

Some of us are extremely sensitive to gluten, so much so that we cannot eat from pans and plates which have tiny traces of gluten. Or be in a kitchen which is not gluten free. Also other food allergies and intolerances limit our foods.

Some of your symptoms indicate you may have a toxin producing intestinal bacteria or a intestinal Candida problem which flares up when you eat certain foods. Look at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, the information can be helpful even if you dont decide to use it. Try taking turmeric (instructions online) as it will kill off some of the toxin producing bacteria. The Candida Forum at Curezone may be helpful.

The changes we have to make in our life are difficult but everytime we react and are able to undersand what happened is a step forward in our recovery.

You might want to have tests for anti-gliadin antibodies, tissue transglutaminase and endomysin regularly - maybe once a year or so. It takes some time after being glutened for the tests to become positive and the occasional small amount of gluten may not cause significant damage in fact some of the silent celiacs never have significant intestinal damage and can lead normal lives even if they eat gluten.

One method which might help - not with the herniated disc - but with the pain is making sure that your kidneys are functioning well. Most of my lower back problems have gone away by doing herbal kidney cleanses.

Your Dr is misinformed for there are some very good tests for vitamins and minerals. Consider going dairy free, many of us have a cow's milk allergy - most of us can tolerate goat's milk and yogurt. Have yourself tested for Lyme Disease as it's common among Celiacs. There are now some very good tests for food allergies (elisa tests) which might be part of your problem. I don't want to gross you out but you may have some parasites, there are several like tapeworms which can cause anemia and it is very common to have picked up a heavy infestation of small tapeworms from pets and raw fish (sushi). The medical lab tests might not find them because they are so inaccurate - I use herbal parasite programs and have actually seen the parasites when they came out tho my lab tests were always negative. It's good that you are seeing the hematologist - that should be very helpful.

The problem as I understand it is that what you ate - maybe the gluten or something else - caused a reaction which slowed down the partly digested food in your small intestine allowing the carbohydrates in the food to ferment producing the gas and bloating. Gluten is a very high carbohydrate food and it seems you have an imbalance of bacteria and yeasts in your upper intestine. Then you ate a yam which is another high carbohydtate food and fed these organisms more. If you look at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet you can learn to choose foods which don't feed these organisms. Even after 4 years gluten-free I kept having episodes of bloating until recently when I took Candida herbs and Neem.

I'm aso very sensitive to gluten and had to learn that I couldn't even tolerate a trace of gluten. I use goat's milk yogurt - I'm making a batch tonight and get my probiotics that way. I found this at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet website. I have been using the SCD for quite a while now and have been able to add foods back to my diet and get most of my vitamins from the food I eat.

I can't tolerate alleve and use tylenol and take turmeric as an antinflammatory.

Years ago I would have episodes of painful swolen ankles and feet. It turned out to be a delayed allergic reaction to cow's milk. I've been gluten-free and casein free for more than 4 years and recently ate some butter cookies and my ankles swelled after 3 days. The swelling goes down rapidly if I wrap may feet and ankles with ace bandages.

Do you have general swelling or is it in specific areas. When I started the gluten-free diet I had swolen painful knees and wrist. It took months for the swelling to go down and if I stress or injure my knees they still swell but not as much as before. Years ago I had episodes of swolen ankles and feet, sometimes very painful and I realized this was my reaction to cow's milk. Later I tested positive to cow's milk so it was an allergy. Recently I ate some gluten-free cookies which had butter so I had thick ankles for a week. Wrapping my ankles with ace bandages helps the swelling to go down rapidly. The swelling starts 2 to 3 days after I have eaten something with cow's milk protein so it is delayed. I would give the gluten-free diet at least a month tryout though it might take longer.

People with intestinal Candida or other yeasts do get intensly hungry but it is the yeast which is begging to be fed and not you. Drs can treat for this with antibiotics but people have more success with herbal programs and diet. Curezone.com has a Candida forum and other forums which might help you understand the problem even if you don't choose alternative self treatment. Some things that have helped me are eating something with hi protein when eating carbohydrates, just walking around or mild exercise which releases sugar from your tissues so may help. I often eat 1/2 fresh grapefruit after meals and this helps.

Cravings are sometimes caused by foods that a person is allergic to or intolerant of. Eliminating some of your favorite foods may find the culpret(s). Look at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet it may uncover some food problems and is nutritious.

The more that people report their Promethus Lab test results and are very confused the more I wonder why this older less specific test is used instead of the more specific and informative test for the DNA markers and the blood tests for antigliaden and tissue transglutaminase. The Dr. I saw who suggested Celiac Disease ordered a Celiac blood panel (not Prometheus) and only one test was positive the alpha antigliaden antibody. She became uncertain and thought maybe I didn't have celiac disease. By this time I had started a gluten-free diet and could feel that avoiding gluten was right for me. Instead of dealing with the now uncertain Dr I ordered the genetic marker test from Enterolab and have never regretted spending the money. The results showed that I have 2 Celiac markers, was at very high risk for developing celiac disease and had the symptoms. That convinced me that I am gluten sensitive and it is me who needed to be convinced, not any Dr. I also had skin tests which were all negative even tho I was allergic to a number of things. By the time I was diagnosed later in life I had symptoms of RA and Lupus which have mostly gone away unless I am glutened.

I felt the difference within a few days. My restless legs calmed down after a short while but that proble comes back now and again and with me seems to be set off by other food intolerances or anytime my intestine is reacting to something. If it doesn't go away you may have to start eliminating foods from your diet and you may have to do something to get your bowel bacteria and yeasts back into balance.

If it seems that you have a gall bladder problem - many celiacs do - don't agree to have it out until you read how other people flush them out without surgery. See the Liver Flush Support Forum at Curezone.com. I have been flushing gall stones out for years and used it as a part of a program which improved my digestive system and general health. You might want to look at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It was put together by a physician for Irritable Bowel Syndrome and works well for many celiacs. I have been using it and found it very helpful. I don't have nausea often but with me it usually means that food is piling up in my small intestine and not going on through me normally. I take a herbal laxative to increase peristalsis (Magnesium laxatives won't work on the small intestine), drink more fluid, sit up straight while eating and when I feel congested firmly but gently massaging the abdomen pressing downward. If your not having the urge to move your bowel within an hour after eating your intestine is congested. Taking Betaine-HCl to acidify the stomach helps and I usually eat a grapefruit - half in the morning and the other half later on.

If you decide to see a Dr you may be advised to stay on gluten until you have the tests done but you can eat less gluten foods. Hopefully your Dr will give you a diet to follow but some people have reported their diets here if he/she doesn't.

Your symptoms suggest you may have picked up a toxin producing enteria bacteria which is hanging around in your gut and giving its toxin gene to its close relatives - other enteric bacteria. There are some common spices - turmeric (instructions online), cayenne, cinnamon which may help you.

You may also have an overgrowth of intestinal yeasts and some of the herbal Candida programs have helped many people. Yeasts can over grow after taking antibiotics and can cause problems for years. The CureZone forms will tell you what helped them.

He is 12, type 1 diabetic but doesn't complain about typical celiac symptoms. He is high functioning austic.

The Prometheus Celiac Plus tests states:

Serological markers for celiac disease not detected.

HLA DQB1*02 detected. This represents half of the DQ2 heterodier (heterodimer) associated with celiac disease.

What would you do in my situation?

The terminology used in the serologic test is different than that used in the genetic marker test but are so similar that a person who has not studied the different doesn't realize that what looks like the same term really means something different. Just assume that your child has a problem (He has a DQ2) with gluten and put all your family on a gluten-free diet for now until you have the genetic test done.

I have Celiac Disease and my brother has Type 1 Diabetes. He denies that he has any symptoms of celiac disease but his teeth are discolored which is diagnostic of celiac disease and he does have some problems common to people with celiac disease. My genetic marker DNA test at Enterolab reported DQ2 B 0302 and DQ2 B 0602.

The serological test used by Prometheus was the test used to help diagnose Celiac Disease before the DNA marker test was available. It is a less expensive test than the DNA marker test but the results can be very confusing. In your case I would suggest you order the genetic DNA marker test and because of your child's diabetes order from the lab that tests both the DQA and DQB markers. Enterolab tests only the DQB markers.

Enterolab reported that DQ B 302 is a main celiac marker and having the second DQ 0602 made the disease worse. DQB2 0302 in combination with some DQA markers also predisposes to Type 1 Diabetes. In this situation where a person is predisposed to both problems men are more likely to develop the diabetes and women more likely to develop celiac disease. Some people develop both. In the literature I found that DQB2 0602 gives some protection against developing Type 1 Diabetes so this might be the reason why I did not develop Diabetes.

If you are still confused about heterodimers let me know.

I knew after just a few days on a gluten-free diet that it was helping, I felt a sense of relief tho it has taken a long time to get my digestive tract working again.

I wouldn't wait to go on a strict gluten-free diet as you have had most of the tests and are just waiting for the results. I used Enterolab to do the DNA marker test and they offer fecal tests for the autoimmune antibodies and allergies which are more sensitive than the blood tests. Their website is very informative.

Celiac Disease is often set of by the type of intestinal 'flu' which may be caused by a toxin producing bacteria. Not only can these toxin producing bacteria hang around in your gut but they can give the normal similar bacteria the toxin gene. There are several ways to get rid of these bacteria - some of them are easy to kill of just by using the spice turmeric (recepies and instructions online) and also helpful are cayenne, cinnamon and ginger.

Hope this helps.

I agree that going on a gluten free diet may prove helpful. If you need help with figuring out a diet look at the Specific Carbohydrate diet which is good for both IBS and gluten intolerance.

Problems in the digestive system are caused by many factors. She probably has an unbalanced intestinal flora - the mixture of different bacteria -and the presence of parasites and possibly gall stones. Physicians can test for some of these problems but many people use herbal and natural remedies with success. If you would like to learn more about the alternative methods let me know.