I started having major diarrhea with alternating constipation in my mid 20's. Docs diagnosed me with IBS and lactose intolerance and sent me home. That diagnosis stuck. I was told to eat more fiber and take a fiber supplement. Of course most of them contained gluten and only made things worse. Early 30's started getting constant left upper abdominal pain and lower back/spinal pressure. Pizza started giving me instant diarrhea. After eating pasta, the next morning's (or the morning after that) bathroom moment would be horrible: I would get that roller coaster feeling you normally get in your gut, but in my bum, and my feet would ache something fierce. I avoided pizza, pasta, and cakes like the plague. I asked my GI about celiac and he looked at me like I was a loon. "That's a European disease!" (I'm black.) He tested for IgA and EmA, both negative. Said I probably had a wheat allergy and I should get tested for food allergies. That was several years ago. I started to avoid wheat/gluten somewhat on my own, and just lived with the stomach and back pain.
Fast forward to this year. I read up on all the things celiac can cause neurologically. My roaming muscle twitching and voice spasms (since 20s) have morphed into upper body myoclonic jerks. I refused the drugs the neurologist was offering. My night terrors (since 20s) had abated but still had occasional sleep paralysis. I was having problems shaking the depression that would sometimes come over me. Usually exercise did wonders, now it did nothing. I decided to rule out food allergies. I got tested for wheat, soy, rye, eggs, oats, milk. All came back negative. So she ordered a celiac panel. Not sure what all tests were actually performed, but she said it was negative. Neither she nor my GI had me do a gluten challenge prior to blood work. I had a endoscopy coming up for bad GERD and asked my GI would he do a biopsy for celiac. "OK OK, I will do a little side show for your wheat allergy" I knew he was lying.
So I decided to give Enterolabs a try. My results:
Fecal Antigliadin IgA 15
Fecal Antitissue Transglutaminase IgA 26 Units
Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score 355 Units
Fecal anti-casein (cow's milk) IgA antibody 17 Units
HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0201
HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0301
Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 2,3 (Subtype 2,7)
Fecal anti-ovalbumin (chicken egg) IgA antibody 26 Units
Fecal Anti-Soy IgA 32 Units
I expected the gluten, but the casein, soy, and egg caught me by surprise. I was eating those just about *every* day! So I eliminated all those things as best I could. There were and still are slip ups.
It has been 10 weeks. I have lost 20lbs. I have been trying for years to lose just 10-20 lbs and could never do it! And I am an exercise nut! I most likely will be able to come off my hypertension meds. My stomach and back pain are gone. My reflux is much improved. Muscle twitching and voice spasms are gone. Myoclonic jerks few and far between. I CAN SLEEP! Migraines are gone.
In doing some research I am pretty sure I have had a gluten problem all my life. My mother was told I had a wheat and milk "allergy" as a kid, but since I didn't seem to react most people ignored the warning and fed whatever they wanted. The result: seizures until I was 5, migraines until recently, vomiting and constipation until late teens, terribly aching feet until recently. Always getting blisters on my lips and the corners of my mouth. I am the runt of the family. I was under 5' until about 16. You get the picture.
OK OK I am done! Please forgive me for the length. That was cathartic(sp?)!
