First follow up hospital appointment following diagnosis. OMG different consultant who actually restored my faith in the NHS

[lessan]

I had my first follow up appointment today with a different consultant. The first consultant confirmed my diagnosis of CD following endoscopy with biopsies, was told yes I am coeliac, join Coeliac UK, I can find all the information I need from there and see you in 6 months to see how I am managing it with a blood test appointment before the next appointment. ta ta. New consultant, younger more eager actually asked more questions, yes I am following the GF diet very well, however I cant understand why I still have the problem with diarrhea, not quite as bad but still causing distress and cannot have quality of life that I am trying to achieve. This doctor actually took the time to ask the right questions, checked my levels, saw that my b12 was low, I am also a little anaemic and from previous examinations saw that there was too much inflamation to not only put my condition down to CD. He also told me that I should have had a bone density scan done on diagnosis and been given an appointment with a dietitian. He has booked me in for an MRI scan as I had a problem with a previous colonoscopy that couldnt be done and he wants to rule out Crohns, he looked at all my info and thinks that I have IBD. My point is, why cant all consultants be that interested in us to look into other underlying factors that may be associated with CD, as he said you cannot put everyting down to CD. He actually restored my faith in the NHS. I would point out that my previous consultant was a bit older so maybe he just couldn't be bothered !!!

[remysmum]

I had the the treatment that you received from the latter doctor, when I was diagnosed. I still also had diarrhea. That was because I also had colitus. They put me on steroids for six months which helped it. I also saw a dietician, who advised me to follow a low fibre diet, which also helped. You also need to check all ingredients on products, as anything with glucose fructose syrup of maltrodextrin should be avoided, as these are derived from wheat, and because they are so low in some products, coeliac uk don't recognise them. I hope this helps and you soon improve. Irene

[Sonianin]

I'm really pleased for you, it really helps when they care enough to cover all bases so you can start moving forward with your life

As someone that's at the opposite end of it, I could cheerfully scream at my consultant right now. But naturally, I can't even speak to him directly and don't get to see him again for months. I'm back off to my GP and I am armed with a list!

[virgolizzy]

Heartening to know that there are some that take the time to look at the bigger picture, to try & resolve the issues properly.

If you are not super sensitive, it may be worth taking really strong probiotics VSL3 for a few months. They have very very low levels of gluten, milk & soya in them, all things i was avoiding, but this stuff seems to have been the final key to balancing everything back out for me & certainly no quick trips to the loo anymore & everything else seems to have calmed down! So glad my Dietician said it was worth giving it a goy & after reading up a lot about probiotics, I'm convinced this is all part of the big picture.

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I've found that avoiding lactose has helped sort out the diarrhoea problem. Good luck!

[FionaGFG Administrator]

Nice to hear a positive story - thanks for posting.