FMs, where did you learn of the gluten connection?
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
FMs, where did you learn of the gluten connection?
BTW, DH reported that Dr. Northrup said on Oprah that 1 out of 4 women has gluten sensitivty.
Here is Dr. Northrup's website:
http://www.drnorthrup.com/womenshealth/ ... opic_id=68
She is right on the money, especially the part where she warns about regularly taking antacids. In fact, I agree with everything she says on that page, (except for the part about taking digestive enzymes). I don't see any mention on that page about any actual statistics on the prevalence of gluten sensitivity among women - 25 % sounds a bit high, (though for all I know she might have mentioned that on the tv show in question).
Tex
P S About 14 months after my GI doc told me that he had given me every possible test, and found nothing wrong with me, I made the gluten connection one day, while reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, about the newly-developed, (at the time), pill camera. It described how the camera might be helpful in diagnosing celiac disease, and the symptoms matched my own, of course. I stopped eating gluten the very next day.
http://www.drnorthrup.com/womenshealth/ ... opic_id=68
She is right on the money, especially the part where she warns about regularly taking antacids. In fact, I agree with everything she says on that page, (except for the part about taking digestive enzymes). I don't see any mention on that page about any actual statistics on the prevalence of gluten sensitivity among women - 25 % sounds a bit high, (though for all I know she might have mentioned that on the tv show in question).
Tex
P S About 14 months after my GI doc told me that he had given me every possible test, and found nothing wrong with me, I made the gluten connection one day, while reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, about the newly-developed, (at the time), pill camera. It described how the camera might be helpful in diagnosing celiac disease, and the symptoms matched my own, of course. I stopped eating gluten the very next day.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Well, generally speaking, you have to know what you're looking for, in order to find it. No one goes to Enterolab unless they suspect a food intolerance, and by then, they've already made the connection, (not a confirmed connection, of course, but still, a connection, of sorts).
My case is unique, because I never got a diagnosis, (my GI doc never took any biopsies). At least, I never got a diagnosis from the local GI doc that I was seeing. I suppose you could call Dr. Fine's conclusion a diagnosis of sorts, since he stated unequivocally that I was gluten sensitive. But originally, I didn't have the foggiest idea what was wrong with me, until I made the gluten connection. My GI doc recommended that I eat cream of wheat whenever I was reacting, because it is "easy to digest". LOL. Once I realized that gluten was the primary problem, and from a food diary that I had been keeping, I determined that I was also intolerant of casein, corn, lettuce, nearly all fruits, nearly all sugars, and beef, then from there, I found a description of MC, and from there, I found Sally's old board. Once you know what you're looking for, you can find it on the internet, but you can't find it without knowing what you're looking for. IOW, you have to have a name, the right key words, or both.
I had some tests done at Enterolab three years after I had been GF. That was too late to test for antibodies, so all they could check was fecal fat score. Based on that, though, they were able to confirm that I still had enough residual damage, three years after adopting the diet, that I was gluten sensitive. I tested negative for soy, eggs, and yeast, and that matches my own experience with those foods. I have one celiac gene, and one non-celiac gene that predisposes me to gluten sensitivity.
So, while I suppose you could say that Enterolab made the gluten connection "official" for me, they couldn't have done that if I hadn't already suspected it several years earlier, because I never would have had the tests done, if I hadn't suspected food intolerance issues.
Many members here have had their gluten sensitivity verified by Enterolab, along with various other food sensitivities. That's also true for many members of various celiac boards.
Tex
My case is unique, because I never got a diagnosis, (my GI doc never took any biopsies). At least, I never got a diagnosis from the local GI doc that I was seeing. I suppose you could call Dr. Fine's conclusion a diagnosis of sorts, since he stated unequivocally that I was gluten sensitive. But originally, I didn't have the foggiest idea what was wrong with me, until I made the gluten connection. My GI doc recommended that I eat cream of wheat whenever I was reacting, because it is "easy to digest". LOL. Once I realized that gluten was the primary problem, and from a food diary that I had been keeping, I determined that I was also intolerant of casein, corn, lettuce, nearly all fruits, nearly all sugars, and beef, then from there, I found a description of MC, and from there, I found Sally's old board. Once you know what you're looking for, you can find it on the internet, but you can't find it without knowing what you're looking for. IOW, you have to have a name, the right key words, or both.
I had some tests done at Enterolab three years after I had been GF. That was too late to test for antibodies, so all they could check was fecal fat score. Based on that, though, they were able to confirm that I still had enough residual damage, three years after adopting the diet, that I was gluten sensitive. I tested negative for soy, eggs, and yeast, and that matches my own experience with those foods. I have one celiac gene, and one non-celiac gene that predisposes me to gluten sensitivity.
So, while I suppose you could say that Enterolab made the gluten connection "official" for me, they couldn't have done that if I hadn't already suspected it several years earlier, because I never would have had the tests done, if I hadn't suspected food intolerance issues.
Many members here have had their gluten sensitivity verified by Enterolab, along with various other food sensitivities. That's also true for many members of various celiac boards.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/health/08glut.html
"People with celiac disease have high levels of anti-tTG, suggesting that the body is attacking its own secretions. This autoimmune response leads to destruction of the lining of the small intestine and consequent malabsorption of nutrients. (The test will not be accurate if someone has already stopped eating gluten.) The blood test is usually followed by a duodenal biopsy before a diagnosis of celiac disease is made. The final proof is reversal of symptoms on a gluten-free diet."
Does this apply to EL tests if I've gone GF?
"People with celiac disease have high levels of anti-tTG, suggesting that the body is attacking its own secretions. This autoimmune response leads to destruction of the lining of the small intestine and consequent malabsorption of nutrients. (The test will not be accurate if someone has already stopped eating gluten.) The blood test is usually followed by a duodenal biopsy before a diagnosis of celiac disease is made. The final proof is reversal of symptoms on a gluten-free diet."
Does this apply to EL tests if I've gone GF?
The stool tests at Enterolab will give valid results for up to a year after you stop ingesting gluten, but after a year, the antibodies begin to fade away, so that the test would no longer be reliable. That's only true for gluten antibodies, though - tests for other food intolerances must be done within a few weeks of the last time you ate those particular foods, generally speaking.
By comparison, the classic celiac blood tests will no longer detect gluten antibodies reliably, after just a few weeks on the GF diet. In fact, the tests are notorious for false negatives, and many celiacs fail to be diagnosed, simply because the blood tests aren't very reliable. They're just not sensitive enough.
Tex
By comparison, the classic celiac blood tests will no longer detect gluten antibodies reliably, after just a few weeks on the GF diet. In fact, the tests are notorious for false negatives, and many celiacs fail to be diagnosed, simply because the blood tests aren't very reliable. They're just not sensitive enough.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
That's always true, of course. So why bother with the blood tests in the first place? If cutting out gluten eliminates the symptoms, who gives a damn what the blood tests show? The answer, of course, is that the GI docs do, because they're hung up on testing procedures, (the tests bring in a lot of money for them, and make them feel that they are "going by the book"), rather than being concerned about their patients' welfare.The final proof is reversal of symptoms on a gluten-free diet.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
