Help! Symptom check - could I have CD or some other gluten intolerance?

Hello,

For the last 3 months I've been battling an unknown ailment, and I've had some recent clues that it could be gluten related. Although I'm sure there are a lot of people that mistakenly think they have a gluten issue! It all started on vacation to my in-laws, after dinner the last couple nights of our trip I started to get an uneasy feeling in my chest. Over the course of the next week it turned into what I thought were heart palpitations, along with sensation of food being stuck in my esophagus and mild shooting pains in the sternum and pectoral areas. ER to check my ticker, lab work and CT scan came back picture perfect. My MD suspected acid reflux, and recommended an H2 blocker and Prilosec if that didn't work. Long story short, I think these medications both gave the illusion of working, and may have helped some, but I would start them when I was feeling especially bad which coincided with having to really limit my diet, basically to salad, yogurt, and protein shakes (low gluten unbeknownst to me at the time). Then I would start to feel better for a couple weeks, my diet would return to normal, and then I would relapse. These relapses would also cause me to lose about 15 pounds over 2 week periods.

I did have a Barium Swallow that confirmed reflux, so I know that's the cause of much of the discomfort, I'm just seeking to see if gluten could be causing my reflux. In the last week, I've distinctly noticed feeling bad after consuming gluten items (beer, flour tortillas, Naan bread), which all caused slight burning pain in my stomach. On the other hand, many common reflux triggers don't bother me at all - Indian (separate day from the Naan), coffee. So for the last week I could feel that I was headed back into a bad spell, and decided to cut gluten starting yesterday. By the end of the day my esophagus was wide open. I had Mexican for dinner lastnight, including chips and salsa, realized I forgot to take my Prilosec, and quite frankly felt awesome all night in spite of it.

Other symptoms I've had include back and neck pain, headaches, and yellowish stools since this started. I'm suddenly back ache and headache free yesterday and today. I know I need to stay off the gluten for a while longer and get the tests done to see if this is real or just a fluke. But, I am actually very excited that I could possibly have found the cause of my problems, this has been an anxiety nightmare for me. I'm 29, healthy, and usually very laid back, but haven't been myself for a while now.

I've heard Eosinophilic Esophagitis and CD can cause reflux and some of my other symptoms. Can anyone tell me if this sounds like a gluten issue?

I had similar symptoms and was diagnosed with hiatal hernia and spastic esophagus. Was told to stay away from foods with acid, orange juice, pickles, etc. and sit up straight when eating. Also, I tended to slump at my desk when working and I was told to sit straight and hold my shoulders back. Hope this helps.

I disagree. Experts recommend gettng tested prior to going gluten free? Why? Some folks with CD are symptom free. Some folks take 1 to three years to heal. A few weeks of a GF is not going to help someone who has CD. Why so long to heal? The learning curve for a truly GF diet is steep. Intestinal damage varies from person to person.

I would advise more research. The University of Chicag's celiac website is a grat place to start!

Captaindd said...
Go 100% gluten free for a couple of weeks and see if any of the problems you are having disappear. It is easy to do just take a little will power.

This is premature. In order to have accurate results, she needs to be eating gluten for about, I believe, four weeks, and lots of it.

Post Edited (Susan Littlefield) : 3/4/2016 6:45:27 PM (GMT-7)