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Member
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Posts: 199
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Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Posts: 199
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Tyler, a dermatologist can test for Dermatitis Herpetiformis - that particular test has a spotty record for "catching" DH, but it's worth a shot. The test for CD is a blood test, and I don't know if a dermatologist can do that or not.
The fact that your stomach hurts as well might also indicate CD. As I said on another post, CD can be "triggered" by a trauma/stressful event. In that case, it will come on like gangbusters.....
A Celiac diagnosis is straightforward IF your blood test and/or skin test comes back positive for antibodies. Unfortunately, sometimes neither test will come back positive, EVEN THOUGH you do, in fact, have Celiac Disease (sound familiar?). As I said before, some people are gluten SENSITIVE (and will never test positive for CD) - my husband is one of those people. Even though these folks don't have CD, they still feel much better on a Gluten-Free diet - and chances are that they have some level of damage to their intestinal lining; it just doesn't show up on any tests.
One of the things that I noticed when I went on a GF diet is that I had SO much more energy. That's why it was so frustrating to me to start feeling tired again a couple of years later, before I knew that I had MG. I shudder to think how tired I would be if I hadn't already been on a GF diet!
When I completely eliminated gluten from my diet, my energy level shot up within 24 hours. I don't know how much it might help in your case, but it is worth giving a GF diet a try. Just BE SURE to get tested BEFORE you eliminate gluten from your diet; otherwise, you could skew the results of the test.
Good luck, sweetie - I hope that you get some answers real soon; it's awful to feel bad and not know why!
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