Symptoms of possible gluten allergy/intolerance and/or celiac disease.

[cardarlin]

Could also be multiple food related allergies/intolerances.  Just wanted to get some feedback.  I have a doctors appt (with a new doctor) on Tuesday and everytime I have mentioned that I think I might have a problem with Gluten to any of my previous doctors they just tell me to stop eating it.  They never want to test me.  I don't know why but for me... Having the tests done seems to make a big differance.  I have gone without gluten for a month or two and then back on.  It's hard to stay with it when you just don't know if the trouble is really "Worth" it.  You always ask yourself.  "Could something else be causing these symptoms and I'm just making myself more crazy by trying to follow this intense diet?"  And then you give up.  Atleast that's my story.

I have these symptoms. They are kind of all over the place. I'm not sure if I could be gluten intolerant or have Celiac Disease. My mother is Gluten Intolerant and apparently she tested her DNA and it's genetic. It was explained to her that her husband (our father) would have to also have the gene in order for their children (me) to be affected. My father has never been tested. He has health problems but I don't think anyones considered him being gluten intolerant as well.

My symptoms are as follows:

All over the place "BM"s. ( Start out normal in the morning and mix between "Toothpasty" to diahrea throughout the day)
My arms have small bumps and they itch frequently ( I have seen photos of the "Gluten rash" and it doesn't really look like what is on my skin. The bumps I have are not as noticeable but it itches like CRAZY!)
Brain fog (extreme! and especially around 1-5pm)
Hard time focusing eyes ( kind of goes hand in hand with the brain fog)
Bloating
stuffy nose (frequently but not always)
Anxiety ( diagnosed with G.A.D. as a small child)
OCD symptoms that have gotten worse since I had my first son 10 months ago.
Pressure in ears and dizziness ( feels like your going through the mountains followed by a brief bout of dizziness)
Heartburn
Ocular Migraines these are not painful.  I just see the "Aura" for about twenty minutes at a time.
I have been to the eye doctor 3 times in the last ten months to check my left optic nerve as well. It is "slightly" thicker than the other but it hasnt gotten worse or better. My eye doctor believed he could be the result of perhaps cerebral spinal fluid swelling in the brain ( as in excess) Does anyone know if this could be related to a Gluten allergy? I have looked online and did find a study talking about "Cerebral Allergy" but it didn't sound exactly like what I have experienced. Although some of it was miliar.

I should also add that I am 5'4" 195lbs and a 25 yr old female.

With this symptom list does it seem like Celiac Disease is a possibility? I havent had any problems with weight loss. I've actually had more problems with "Trying" to loose weight. No matter how hard I exercise and eat right the pounds never seem to come off.

[the sensible celiac]

I think some of your symptoms are consistent with celiac disease, others may not be.  The brain fog can not be explained with your age as you are very young.  The skin rash could conceivably be dermatitis herpetiformis as it manifests differently sometimes, that condition sometimes takes a very long time to respond to a gluten free diet.

The eye issues are not typical of celiac disease. Thyroid issues sometimes manifest with eye related issues.

I am skeptical about your mother having a genetic gluten intolerance.  The only genetic condition I have ever heard of that involves gluten is celiac disease, and it is not necessary for both parents to have the genetic code for celiac disease in order for a child to get it.  Sometimes doctors will refer to a sub-clinical manifestation of celiac disease as gluten intolerance.  At other times people who simply do not tolerate gluten well are diagnosed correctly as being gluten intolerant, but this being genetic is news to me, I'm deeply skeptical about it.

You should know that blood tests for the antigens involved with celiac disease will not be reliable if the patient has not been eating gluten steadily for a matter of weeks.

The gold standard for diagnosing celiac disease is still a biopsy of small intestine villi obtained via an endoscopy.