sue1234 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I know, weird question. But, I used to be a sinker pre-POTS, and now am a floater. I am assuming I am not absorbing my fats in my diet. Which brings me to my fat-soluble vitamins, and why I continually drop in the vitamin D department. I'm wondering if, no matter how I off/on take vitamin D supplements, it only goes up a little and then drops again.And, wondering about the A, E and K vitamins. My skin and hair are dry, even though I've really increased foods with good omegas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayjay Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Could be a sign of a gluten problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellgirl Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 I also have vitamin D deficiency, as well, and am very thin, and have always thought that I have malabsorption problems. I have to say that increasing to 4,000 IU's for a month helped my energy level...now I'm on the 2,000 IU maintenance. I need to get my blood work done again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songcanary Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Interesting comment on gluten. Oh, and I couldn't really answer the question directly because I have kind of a combo! Plus, today I had a very bad stomach cramping episode followed by two bathroom visits. And this was directly after eating a PB&J sandwich on whole wheat. Plus, a few days ago I had the same reaction after eating homemade cookies with just a fraction of wheat flour in them. I was blaming it on the walnuts but I usually can eat those just fine. So it was really weird.A few years ago I tested negative twice for celiac disease with both bloodwork and endoscopies. But the second time, I had been gluten free for six weeks so I don't know if that one counts. But I am wondering if it is possible to have a false negative. Can anyone gluten literate answer this? I had pretty much written that off as a problem for me but I am starting to wonder again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayjay Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Yes you can have false negatives. My daughter is gluten intolerant. You cannot get celiac unless you have the gene for it, eat gluten, and then something triggers the disease. It is autoimmune. I have the genes for both gluten intolerance as well as the gene for celiac. When my daughter started having tummy trouble I took her off gluten. She feels much better. I personally think the testing has a long way to go. There is no medication for celiac, the "cure" is removing gluten from your diet. Because so much research today is driven by where drug company can make a profit you can pay for better out of pocket testing. Entrol lab ( if I spelled it correctly) does independent testing. I believe that my genetic testing was done though the red cross.Problems with gluten are on the rise and often misdiagnosed as IBS. I have been gluten free for over 2 years and almost never have tummy trouble. It can be hard to figure out that gluten is a problem if you have celiac disease. If I get gluten I am generally not sick for 2 or 3 days. Not eating gluten has been the single most helpful thing for my health. The first time I spoke with my doctor about not eating gluten, he said if you feel better not eating it... don't eat it! I found Gluten Free for Dummies by Dana Korn very helpful. I also read Elisabeth Hasslebeck's book. It seems like a daunting task to cut out gluten, but once you get the hang of it it is really easy. I cheated a few times when I started, but now it is so helpful I don't want to eat food that makes me feel bad. In our house I but "normal" gluten free food. We have two pantry closets. My daughter and I just don't open the gluten pantry. Some trial and error is needed to find good bread etc. If you ever want to suggestions PM me. Some food labeled "gluten free" tastes like bird seed but a lot of is is really good. ( like udi's bread). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayjay Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Song Canary, I see that you have food allergies. You may want to reconsider going gluten free. Allergies are an immune system issue... so is celiac. I am not going to have my daughter tested although some in the medical profession would encourage me to. She feels sick when she eats it. For me that is proof enough. She was sick about 2 weeks ago and we realized that she had been eating Twizzlers (yes they have gluten in them!). Being careful again with her diet, she just informed me a few days ago that she feels great and doesn't want to eat gluten anymore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songcanary Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Thank you both so much. I am now also remembering a recent episode that involved a hamburger bun. Hmmmm.....the plot thickens. LOL. I actually have been gluten free more than once because my husband was also trialing it last year so I am used to shopping that way. However, I am, unfortunately, terribly allergic to corn. So I can't eat Udi's. Corn allergy is very limiting. But because of your comments and my poor tummy, I am starting GF again today. Kayjay, you are so right about the testing. I don't know why we have to be guinea pigs all the time. But for now, that's all we really have. So here I go again . Gluten or no gluten, I just want a normal stomach. Or a NEW one altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 I love that we can talk about it all on this forum. I did a 72 hr fecal fat test which showed abnormal fat levels in fecal sample, but just barely abnormal. So, the Doc wasn't all that worried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellgirl Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 I usually stay away from breads, cakes, cookies, but this week was my husband's birthday and of course, Father's Day, so I ate cake and cookies, and had trouble, so you may be on to something with the gluten free...I had to make several trips to the BR as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songcanary Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Well, I took the plunge and sent my sample to Enterolab. I did the antigliadin IgA plus the entire IgA food panel. I cannot WAIT to get these results. I spoke with a nurse initially by phone who answered a question, then I emailed later and got a very prompt response to another question. I have read very positive reviews online about this lab and my impression so far is very good. They have been professional in every way. Wish me luck, I'll post my results when I get them!MarshaP.S. The best part is that I am told doxepin does not interfere with the testing. With conventional IgE testing I would need to d/c it for six weeks. I tried and cannot function without this drug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leydengs Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 songcanary - how did your test results come out? I have switched to gluten free but have never tested for celiac. After going through numerous, numerous tests and all coming back normal for years(except the tilt table test), I don't like getting tests done. Now that I'm gluten free I do notice that if I eat anything with gluten (even a couple crackers) my stomach instantly goes into knots and starts making all kinds of noise and hurts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troythe8th Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Wish i could remember where i read it but it was some medical text somewhere.It is said feces floats due to a high amount of fat content. Others say it is because of more air or gas trapped in the feces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulshine Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 For me, sometimes they sink and sometimes they swim...I have been gluten free for years because I had a doctor tell me that going gluten free is beneficial to those with autoimmune problems regardless of the presence of celiac. Also because I was already loosely dx with IBS, it was a good enough assumption that I probably had issues with gluten. He gave me the option of being tested but I just went ahead and cut it out. Now when I eat gluten I get really sick and have problems with joints swelling and horrible bloating/overnight weight gain. There is no doubt in my mind now that I am gluten intolerant. I'm starting to think I have other intolerances that need to be tested for though. I still have way too many problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songcanary Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Leydengs, I have had out of town company all week and they're still here. But briefly, my results were very interesting and indeed I came up positive for gluten intolerance! Been GF since June and it's been a godsend so far. I also found out that in addition to my other allergies, I am allergic to white potato and oats, both of which I had been eating on a regular basis. Now I can eat them occasionally with no problem. Point being, never assume you're not allergic to something, because I found out the hard way that it's not always true! Thanks for asking!Marsha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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