Gluten Intolerance Help.

[EJOs]

Hi, I am a 23 year old male and I suspect I might have Celiac disease and/or gluten sensitivity. My mom has Rheumatoid arthritis, one of my aunts has Celiac's disease, and another aunt has Crohn's disease - so autoimmune disorders run in the family.

These are my symptoms: I have had fatigue, anxiety, and indigestion since I was little. Now, I have horrible acid reflux (so bad that nexium, omeprazole, prevacid, or tums can barely keep it at bay), a nagging ache in my right upper quadrant (for about 1 year), going bald (although it looks like its probably MPB). I do not have any issues with my bowel movements - even though my aunt with Celiac's disease had diarrhea as her primary symptom. I have already had a vast array of other medical tests done including blood tests, CT scan, upper GI scope, ultrasound, etc. so a lot of other conditions have been ruled out. The upper GI scope noted a fair amount of inflammation in my stomach, but did not detect the presence of H. Pylori.

Because of these symptoms and a family history of autoimmune disorders, I've decided to try out a gluten free diet. I did try this out a while ago and did not have any relief in my acid reflux in about a week, so I decided to stop trying to avoid gluten. The nagging side pain had not started yet. However, this time, I plan on avoiding gluten for longer.

I'd like to ask a question to people with similar symptoms - If gluten sensitivity is the problem, how long after I stopped eating gluten would my heatburn/indigestion and abdominal pain subside? I guess my real question is... How long should I keep the gluten free diet up before I give up on it and move onto the next elimination diet. 2 weeks? 2 months? Right now I'm about 2 days in and I do not notice a difference in my symptoms.

[Icehouse]

Its a pretty easy diet to maintain. I would try it for about a month to be sure. 2 days is not nearly enough time for the body to "wake up" and stop fighting. 2 weeks is on the edge.

I know that when my ex and my daughter went off gluten, they saw a noticeable difference right away with stomach pain and nausea but its took a couple weeks plus to feel "normal"....

Heck, it cant hurt to try.....if it doesnt pan out then get back to the pizza and cake and look for the next option....

[peacheysncream]

You need to be gluten free for 3 months to notice a change. However the upper right quadrant pain and severe acid reflux is not really a main symptom of coeliac disease but is a symptom of gaul bladder issues.

You do not necessarily have bowel issues with gaul bladder problems but you definitely would with coeliac. Becoming gluten free makes everyone feel better so it will not tell you if you definitely have the disease.

Ask for a blood test detecting raised inflammatory markers and an ultra sound. The gauld bladder can become diseased over a very long period of time. In the end you would start throwing up especially after eating dairy.

Good luck