Night Elf Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 My dd21 has been having a significant amount of stomach and intestinal distress over the past couple of months. She had a CT a week ago to look at her colon and rule out any problems with her appendix. They felt her colon was irritated and believed it was a virus that just never went away so they put her on antibiotics. She's finished the round of meds but the intestinal pain is still there. Some friends suggested she try going gluten free to see if that might be the problem. How long would it take for her to feel better if it was really a gluten sensitivity issue? I've suggested she get a follow up appt. with her regular doctor, but she's worried they won't know what else to test her for since they did blood work at the same time as the CT scan. The only problem they found was her white cell count was low which is why they figured it was an infection. She was tested for Celiacs a few years ago but the test was negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Did she have the blood test for celiac. It is possible to have false negatives on that. You can develop celiac anytime in your lifetime. So, a person who was fine growing up might have it at 30. Sometimes this change is tied to another physical change (puberty, illness, high stress). There is a genetic test that will show if a person has the genetic markers for celiac--this does not show that the person actually has celiac, but just shows the person has the predisposition to develop it. You cannot have celiac without the genetic markers. It is possible to be gluten sensitive and not have celiac. I believe you need to be fully off gluten (no mistakes) 2-3 months to clear your system. If she really goes off gluten for that long and is feeling better then you likely have your answer. Some people have to go off both gluten and dairy and after their system heals can add dairy back with no problem, but they can't tolerate dairy while their system is healing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I am gluten sensitive, but I don't believe I have celiac. I see improvement within a week when I go off gluten (I'm weak, it's a problem). I see increased improvement as more time passes, definitely, but my intestinal distress definitely lessens within a few days. Also, FWIW, my aunt literally just yesterday told me a similar story about my 16-year-old cousin. He was having stomach pain and trouble for months, and they tried a few different treatments over that time. It wasn't until they ended up at a pediatric gastroenterologist that they found a solution. They believed he'd had a virus that never resolved as well, and they put him on a 14-day course of Prilosec. That reduced his stomach acid enough for his stomach lining to heal, and when the course was done, he was totally back to normal--no more pain or trouble at all. Maybe she could ask the doc about something like that? Or she could also just buy it OTC and give it a try, if she felt comfortable going that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 My dh knew upon reading the symptoms of Celiac in a Wall Street Journal article. He went off gluten and felt better within a day or 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 She needs to take some probiotics as well. Antibiotics are terrible for the gut, and it can take some time to recover from them. Has she been on them this past year at all? As far as Gluten I would think she would see some improvement after a few weeks, but she would need to go totally gluten free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 If gluten is an issue for her, it's a fairly easy solution (after some adjustments) because it can be treated with just dietary changes. The celiac.com forum is great. My son's blood test for celiac was inconclusive and scope was negative, but he was having issues (daily stomach pain and significant weight loss) and there is a family history of gluten problems. Based on the advice at celiac.com, we took him completely off gluten for 8-10 weeks. His belly pain seemed to be less over time (nothing dramatic), but we didn't know if it was a coincidence or not. When gluten was re-introduced, his body had a violent reaction to it. Apparently that's the way to know more conclusively if there is a gluten problem. During that 8-10 weeks, the body has time to do some healing. If gluten is a trigger, it will be much more obvious after that time away from it. HTH! It's really hard to not know exactly what is going on with a loved one's health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 was she tested for Crohn's? She should have the celiac test done again unless she doesn't carry the genes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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