I hav,nt been diagnosed but have symptoms should I go Gluten Free?

[Janlittle]

Would the graves disease,and the b12 etc etc improve,no doctor has thought to do a blood test,but I am feeling much better on a gluten and now dairy free diet,and I have been poorly off and on since getting graves and b12 problems,also bloating,gas,breathlessness and achy limbs,are these to do with this disease,many thanks jan

[pretender]

I bruise easily, get bloated, very breathless, have allergic reactions (panic attacks) Urticaria, walking difficulties which are due to an underlying condition still being investigated.

[Regalbirdy]

Hi JanLittle.

Sorry to have to ask this but did you think to ask/really push your doctor for a blood test?

While I totally understand your decision to go gluten-free, you must understand that the gluten-free diet is not without its own set of problems.

You have to watch your calcium levels for a start. A good way to check for low calcium is a bone density Dexa scan - and you obviously need medical support to get this done.

From what you were saying you seem to have support already with your B12 levels - which can be another issue on the diet. You will also have to monitor your vitamin D levels, your iron levels and your folic acid levels (there are three types of anaemia - B12, folic and iron). Every diagnosed coeliac has (or should have) regular blood test to check these.

I am glad you are feeling better but please do not try to manage too much on your own. In hindsight I should have asked for medical help a long time before I actually did. For years I amended my diet to try and alleviate my symptoms and I am still dealing with the consequences of doing that even now.

I wish you all the best though.

[Janlittle in reply to Regalbirdy]

thanks,yes i asked my doctor if she had done a cd blood test,she said yes and got annoyed said there was nothing wrong,so i checked with the 111 doctors this morning to ask about the results,they accessed my records but could,nt see any blood tests for cd had been done,i have an iron problem as well as the b12,but my doctors dont seem to be able to diagnose anything very quickly took years to work out i had graves,and ended up taking myself to a and e,because of the massive b12 problem,doctors kept saying that there was nothing wrong wi th me,so i dont have much confidence in them,regards jan

[tiger17bear]

Yes, all your symptoms might be caused by coeliacs. An estimated 1 in hundred in UK have it but only 1 in ten of those get a medical diagnosis and average time taken is 11 years! Many, many people "self diagnose" ie they feel better without gluten so just exclude it. Doctors can be very unhelpful, dismissing patients- they don't like being 2nd guessed by internet research or pestered by "the worried well". Although there are benefits; access to dexa scans, blood tests, dietary advice and potentially a limited amount of food on prescription. Fighting with an unhelpful doc and eating gluten 3 times aday for 6 weeks in order to get a positive blood test(false negatives are common) and then getting a biopsy done might not be worth it. Many find that once your gut has repaired 12-18 months you will be able to tolerate lactose. And don't buy into the myth, there is no nutrition in wheat that you can not get from a properly balanced diet. Good luck.