Not yet diagnosed

[Laralou29]

Looking for some help. Since I had my son 2.5 years ago been having stomach problems. It started off around 6 weeks after having him with bloating loose stools especially when eating pasta and bread. Fatigue, irritability & depression. I went to the doctors they diagnosed ibs and gave different pills. I started to feel better but my fatigue continues and stomach problems come and go. Recently my stools are a tan colour and I am so tired I don't know how I'm going to carry on. They are doing yet another coeliac blood test on me but I know it's going to come back normal as it always does. I feel like I don't get energy from food and I really am convinced I have it. I am also underweight and can't put weight on. I don't think my doctors take me seriously because I actually don't have a lot of pain and never diarrhoea just looser stools. I'm starting to worry about my son too if he has it as he has been constipated since birth and sometimes seems so lethargic. Any advice appreciated. 

[hathi999]

People with a compromised gut through allergy to certain foods, let along a coeliac diagnosis have poor absorption of vitamin B12 (and if you have low levels while pregnant and breast feed exclusively you can also pass on your low levels to your baby).  Perhaps ask your doctor for a methylmalonic acid (MMA) B12 test (blood serum analysis won't pick all deficiencies, there are so many reasons for this).  This whole area is poorly understood by most doctors so you may not get much of a reception, but do your own research.  I have a full list of B12 deficiency symptoms on my blog here difficulty-swallowing.com/s... , I became a coeliac after pregnancy and then suffered a bunch of terrible symptoms that I couldn't make sense of until I took some vitamin B12, it was a real turning point in my own health story.  I wrote the blog to help others.  All the best.

[Penel]

Sorry to hear you are having a tough time. Have a look at Coeliac UK, if you haven't already, not all coeliacs have diarrhoea. 

Once you have your results back, you can decide what to do. If it is negative, you could perhaps ask your doctor about 'non-coeliac gluten sensitivity'. It's a fairly newly recognised diagnosis, so it might be a good idea to google it, to get yourself informed.  But if you feel better not eating bread and pasta, then stop eating them, whatever the result. 

Have you talked to your doctor about your son's symptoms? Lethargy in a small child probably needs investigating. Good luck with sorting it all out.

[callistodevi]

I was diagnosed with coeliac disease after the birth of my son 13 years ago. I was bloated, constipated with pale stools, and was diagnosed quickly via blood test and endoscopy. At the time they said there was no connection with the pregnancy, but now, it has been established that the can be.  Paler stools does signify malabsorption, so I would definately get checked out for vitamin and mineral difficiencies.  Hang on in there - it's horrid feeling so low with a small babe.