This is a busy week. It is Invisible Illness week which I will post about later. It is also Celiac Awareness Day. I got diagnosed about five years ago with a wheat allergy. I was a mess for about six months prior. The doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I was beyond tired. Actually worse than I am now with CFS. I was dizzy. I would almost pass out. I couldn't concentrate on conversations or driving. My brain barely worked. My joints ached all the time and I had horrible intestinal problems. My doctor never figured out what was wrong and he is a gastroenterologist. You would think he would know to check.
It was a nutritionist I happened to be seeing at the time who figured it out. She had me do a simple thing to test her theory: don't eat wheat for two weeks and see what happens. Turns out this is a lot harder in the US than one would expect. In this country wheat is put in EVERYTHING and I do mean everything. Within the two weeks I felt almost normal. Then I forgot and ate a sub. The plumbing problems returned instantly. The brain fog and tiredness was back the next day. It was confirmed: I had a wheat allergy. I went to my doc and he did a simple blood test on me that showed that I did NOT have celiac but I had a bad reaction to wheat. I started a GF diet and within a month was back to normal. I was ecstatic.
Yes, a lot of my symptoms mimic CFS. Although from experiencing both, the symptoms do have subtle differences. The problem with true celiac is that the symptoms stem from the damage done to the colon by the immune system. Which means, each person will have a different symptom set depending which part of the colon gets damaged. Most of the symptoms are from vitamin and mineral malabsorption. Celiac itself is symptomless.
Here are a few useful links:
Here are a few useful links:
I was just reading on another blog that some athletic teams are now eating GF before big races. There is some anecdotal evidence that going GF reduces inflammation in the body. My Mom has gone GF even though she did have full blown symptoms and she is now experiencing less bloating and fewer achy joints.
WARNING:
If you suspect that you are celiac get the blood test done FIRST. It will only test positive while you are eating wheat. If the blood test comes back negative then try going GF for two weeks and see if you feel better. If you do these steps in reverse you will have to go back to eating wheat for at least a month prior to getting the blood test for it to be accurate.
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