One Woman’s True Story- Finding Out I Am Celiac

Then about 3 1/2 years ago I developed seborrhic dermatitis ( defn #1) all over my scalp.  The dermatologist said they had no idea what caused it, and gave me medicated shampoo which sort of worked halfway, but never got rid of it.    Then a year ago I suddenly developed terrible heartburn out of the blue which just would not resolve and mild antacids were no help at all.   A few months after that, I started having diarrhea every day for no reason I could detect.  I felt more rundown than before, and started craving high fat foods.  My weight started going up.

I should have made the connection, but I had thought that my negative blood antibody test years before meant I just did not have celiac.   When my brother’s son was diagnosed with celiac several months later, a lightbulb finally went off in my head and I said to myself — Oh my god, that’s why I might have diarrhea all the time!   Duh.

After doing a little reading, I learned that blood antibody tests often give false negatives, so after some research I decided to be tested at Enterolab, with the stool antibody test.   Since my daughter was having a lot of trouble with bad stomach aches and fatigue, I sent her stool for testing too.  Results came in positive for both of us.   To confirm the Celiac condition, I sent stool for a further malabsorption test to rule in or out intestinal damage.   Results came back well into the “severe” range with large amounts of undigested fats in the stool, thus explaining the craving for fatty foods!

Both myself and my daughter went gluten free right away.  My diarrhea and heartburn vanished instantly, and the seborrhic dermatitis was totally gone in a week!  I have lost 10 pounds.  My daughter’s stomach aches disappeared, and within a week she had renewed strength and vanishment of fatigue.  She has lost about 8 pounds.

At first the gluten free diet seems scary, but there are so many wonderful things you can do with GF products on the market these days, and lots of alternatives can be found.    If you can do some home cooking, you can have almost anything you want.  Many chain restaurants such as Outback and Carrabas have gluten free menus which you can get if you ask for them.  Other restaurants have seemed very accomodating, often sending the manager to the table to explain which meals they can make gluten free.  Plus this diet is more healthy, leading you toward meats, eggs and fresh fruits and vegetables.  It is well worth the benefits!”

B.A.O.

I welcome your stories, your path to discovery or diagnosis, your doctors names that have helped, your labs you used etc. The more you can share to help others, the more this disease can get better known, and people can get diagnosed that much faster.

defn#1- Seborrheic dermatitis is a common, inflammatory skin condition that causes flaky, white to yellowish scales to form on oily areas such as the scalp or inside the ear. It can occur with or without reddened skin. Cradle cap is the term used when seborrheic dermatitis affects the scalp of infants.

Tina Turbin

www.GlutenFreeHelp.info