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Old 05-05-2011, 10:21 AM
ColorMySoul ColorMySoul is offline
New Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1
10 yr Member
ColorMySoul ColorMySoul is offline
New Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1
10 yr Member
Confused In desparate need of information - Gluten sensitivity

Hello everyone! I'm a new member and am so relieved to have found this forum! I'm desparate to the point of extremes.

I guess I'll start from the beginning. In 2005 at age 16, I started having problems swallowing. It came on suddenly (when I was drunk, I must admit). I took a bite of food, tried to swallow it, but it felt like it hit a wall and wouldn't proceed down my throat. This problem continued on for a while. So I switched to strictly liquids. Soups, drinks, noodles. Things I couldn't choke on. I started having problems with that. So then I just started eating whatever I wanted, in very small portions and bites. I'm still suffering from this problem today.

One day, I started having a problem concentrating. On my way to work, I suddenly didn't recognize the road I was on. It was brief. I was able to get out of it pretty quickly. But it scared me. Over the last few months, I've had troubles with my memory. Not remembering what I was just thinking about or talking about. My thoughts seem to almost collide in my head, then jumble up so that I'm thinking about two separate things at the exact same time. They overlap each other and I'm unable to separate them until I clear my head completely. Sometimes I repeat thoughts in my head. Over and over. I'm also having a hard time spelling. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure out how to spell relieve less then five minutes ago. lol I still don't know if it's right. But I'm a great speller. Or used to be..

Anyway. I was looking up these concentration issues when I stumbled on a dysphasia website. Someone described my exact swallowing symptoms in a forum. I didn't know there was such a thing. So here I am, 6 years later, 22 years old, wondering if maybe my swallowing problems aren't because of some problem with my head. So I called my doctor, told him my problem, and had a Modified Barium Swallow performed. They basically just fed me a lot of food and watched it go down my throat. The results were normal, which means no problem with my throat.

Turns out, my sister has been having a problem swallowing, too. A nurse I know suggested a food allergy. So I started looking, and found gluten.

I have a problem with my ears. I wake up almost every morning, unable to hear out of my left ear because of the wax buildup. My doctor gave me some wax removal stuff once but it didn't work. I used to get canker sores regularly. Not so much anymore. I think the last one I had was two weeks ago or so. I have my concentration issues and swallowing problem, of course. The swallowing problem isn't instant. If I eat fast (which is rare), I can normally get everything down without conflict. But if I eat too slow, my throat feels like it's swelling or it gets tired and I'm too afraid to eat anymore. I've also started noticing a sore throat. It always hurts closer to bedtime, when I talk and swallow. I have a regular problem of my hands hurting terribly and falling asleep. I thought it was because of work, like carpal tunnel. I suppose it still can be. I've been having a hard time breathing recently. Just the slightest thing, like lifting a box, make me breath heavier. I have been a smoker since I was 16, so I could just have bad lungs. But I've also worked in this job for two years and I just started having problems breathing last week. I have a weird rash thing on my elbows and knees and it's spreading. They're just small bumps, almost look like zits or infected hairs, but they don't hurt (unless the hair folicle is trying to come out) and itch rarely. But it's spreading. I have little red dots, barely raised, on my legs and upper arms. I also have a pain regularly in my lower right abdomen.

I went to my doctor yesterday for my Barium results. He said they were normal and the only thing he could do for me was to send me to a motility expert and help me relearn how to swallow. I suggested a food allergy, making my throat swell so that the food can't get down. He said "Ehh, I doubt that's the problem," but recommended me to an allergist anyway. He recognized that my left tonsil was more enlarged than the right and asked if I was having a sore throat recently. I confirmed that I had and he suggested I see someone about it.

Basically, my doctor has been useless. I got home yesterday and just cried because I'm so lost and have no idea what to do anymore. An allergist can't help me figure out if I have a gluten sensitivity. My doctor doesn't think I have a food allergy. I don't know where to turn or what to do. I'm just so nervous, and I want to go on a gluten-free diet, but if it doesn't work, I'm just going to be MORE miserable and lost and confused.

Does what I describe sound like a gluten sensitivity? If not, does anyone know anything else it may be?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
Blessings,
Beth
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