Saturday, March 23, 2013

To be or not to be Gluten free.. soon to be determined

It's been a while since I have had a chance to log in,  between work, and school and giving up cheese for lent my world has been crazy  ha ha :)      

A while back,  I posted about gluten intolerance and my postulation that perhaps I may have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity.       Unfortunately,  I have yet to find out any answers, however I have continued to "experiment" with it a little bit.     I did go to a gastroenterologist,   he basically kind of indicated that I was a candidate for someone who needed to be tested, since I do have Hashimotos, however because I am not stick thin he also debunked the idea.  I was supposed to go during my Spring Break, however they called to let me know that he would be out of town and needed to reschedule.  So, on that note, I won't be going until may.    I however, decided to do my own research, and of course I have read that not everyone loses weight when they have a gluten sensitivity or a gluten intolerance such as Celiac, some people actually gain weight....  hmm  Mr. Doctor I may take some of this information to you.      Of course, I also read that it can be difficult to diagnose especially if it is a sensitivity rather then Celiac. So,  like I said in my previous post whether it reveals itself as positive or negative I am still going to make every effort to cut it out of my diet eventually.   I haven't completely cut it out because I have also read that in order for it to be diagnosed you have to be eating it.     So here is what I have noticed, when I don't eat it I feel pretty good,  when I do eat it I don't feel all that great and get that weird feeling in my stomach sometimes, or sometimes I get that foggy brain feeling.   Of course, some of it is denial that it could be that, because how can anyone give up glorious bread lol, but if that is what has to be done that is what has to be done.     Basically,  what the Gastro told me, was that if I am not gluten intolerant then I could still cut it out, but at least I would know that I didn't have to cut it out.           

Well,   the plot thickens   I had a conference in Dallas and before I left I had been feeling kind of funny, so I decided to call my endocrinologist to see if he would move up my appointment.  I started thinking that maybe my thyroid medication was to high or to low.   Luckily, they moved up my appointment and I went in yesterday.    Described my symptoms, and .......   he said he is going to do a blood test for Celiac.    Yippee!!!!!    He said it was very possible that I do have it, and that it often goes under diagnosed.    He also said that since I have Hashimotos, and don't have a thyroid I should cut back on carbs in general.     So here was the freak out moment:  He said that while I don't have diabetes or prediabetes I have a tendency to lean towards being prediabetic and that basically I should be cutting back "breads/carbs" anyway.   He was happy to see I had lost some weight, and of course when I went into him that day I felt great so who knows if my levels will actually show anything.    Except now of course I have to play the waiting game.. ugh and here comes the questions????  Did my blood sugar levels spike up into the prediabetic category and is that why I feel weird?  Is there something with my TSH level,  my parathyroid level, my calcium, .... ugh what is it?  If it comes back negative for Celiac will  people  think I am crazy, because I feel there is something there?   Maybe I have a gluten sensitivity and not an intolerance?? Maybe I need to work out more? Maybe, Maybe,  Maybe???        Either way I have decided that if it is prediabetes I am going to do every thing in my power to get rid of it.   I have also decided which I had decided before that even if my blood test for gluten comes back negative I am still going to try to eliminate it when I can, but not completely until I can get into the gastro.       I think this pretty much describes how I feel


2 comments:

  1. Hi janelle, I was tested for celiac quite early in my "thyroid journey" the test was negative so I carried on eating gluten, you are smart to keep eating it till you have the test but even if the test shows nothing it could be well worth a trial of gluten free. When I eventually cut it out I felt a lot better and it's clear now that I have an intolerance, as many thyroid patients seem to do. It's interesting your endo also says thyroid patients should eat low carb generally, I wish there was more reliable info available to guide us re. Diet but it does seem that low carb and gluten free makes a big difference for many of us. Good luck with the test and deciding your next steps!

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    1. Thanks Lorraine!! The blood work actually did come back negative , but I still have a feeling in my gut, pun intended lol , that there is something there. So my next step is to go through with going to gastro doctor and see what he finds. However, like you did , I am planning on going on a gluten free trial to see if there is a difference. The question is when to do the trial!! I want and hope to do it soon. I have to admit that when I got the results I kind of did opposite and started experimenting again with bread , but I know it isn't doing me any good. I think it will be worth a shot to try going gluten free

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