I have had many symptoms of gluten intolerance these past few years, and they seem to be getting progressively worse. I have had intermittent hair loss (I am 22) and after hormone testing, B-vitamin tests, and the such, I constantly come out as "normal." I get random stomach aches and pains. I had very bad cystic acne, and when I was eating less wheat products I noticed the cystic acne went away. This week I ate many wheat products (pizza, cake, bread, pasta), and I have a huge cystic acne flair-up. I also have lost more hair. I now wake up with a drippy nose that lasts all day even though I have no seasonal allergies. I had testing done awhile ago that indicated I was negative for gluten problems. Is it possible that I have a gluten intolerance problem anyway?
Deamidated gliadin IgA 6 units
Deamidated gliadin IgG 4 units
IgA (serum) 335 mg/dL

Any help in this manner would be greatly appreciated. I feel awful but all my blood tests are always coming out that I am a perfectly healthy individual, but I just dont feel like it. I have been exercising daily and eating healthy but I still feel awful. My hair loss is the most frustrating!

--of people who have shown negative on the serological tests who have had gluten sensitivity, and even biopsy-proven celiac (about 20% of people with villious atrophy show up negative on the serological tests).

Did they also do a transglutaminase IgA assay? That is the test most closely associated with villious damage (at least until some more experimental tests now in the pipeline make it to market).

And, what other tests have you had in your work-ups not specific to gluten? It's certainly possible your symptoms are NOT related to gluten and have to do with something else.

I am new on this site and wanted to share some info with you. My hubby has celiac sprue which is gluten intolerance. He was tested years ago and diagnosed in 1978. They didn't have many tests back then but his folic acid was zero and he had lost weight, had low blood pressure, headaches, horrible abdominal cramping and loose stools. He lookes somewhat like a concentration camp survivor.

Anyway, he went on the gluten free diet which was a darn adventure for me, I will tell you.They didn't have all the gluten free foods out there back then so I had to cook from scratch, read labels and use my head. Our whole family pretty much just ate gluten free.

My hubby is now 73 and still eating gluten free and enjoying all the cakes and cookies that I bake from scratch plus all the breads that can be bought over the counter or on-line.

Now, for the rest of the story. Our youngest son didn't tell us of his symptons when he was in school and when he went to college and left home we found out that he was having some health problems. As the years went by he started to have stomach issues and also was losing weight. He went for testing and everything came back negative.

He started looking so bad that I told him it was time for him to bite the bullet and start the gluten free diet. So he started it a couple of weeks later. In one month he gained 10 pounds and was feeling so much better. Right now he is dealing with his 4 year old son who has been having symptoms. The doc told him because of the family history just skip or all the invasive testing and start the gluten free diet.

The moral of the story is that the diet is not as bad as you think and it might just make a huge difference in your life. Don't be afraid to give it a try. If it makes no difference at least you will know.
Good luck. 69gto73

So true. I am not celiac, but my ex-wife and daughter are. I lived with them for 15 years and spent all that time being sensitive to the gluten-free diet. Back in the 90's there was no gluten-free food to be bought at the local A&P or Piggly Wiggly. And many doctors really didnt know much about it.

But, now you can walk into most grocery stores and find a gluten-free aisle or there are numerous gluten-free webstores. Heck, even many chain restaurants have a gluten-free menu now.

It really isnt that bad. Once you take away the bread products and replace them with the rice equivalents, and watch what you eat when out, its not too hard.

But, the main symptoms of celiac are nausea and stomach pains after eating gluten, facial blemishes (acne) and small red bumps on the skin (arms and legs and stomach mostly) and just feeling like crap.

So, go buy some meat, fruits and vegetables, lotsa rice and read the boxes of stuff you buy. Flour is not to be in them.

As others have said, just try it for like 2 weeks, write down what you ate and keep a journal just for giggles and see if you feel 10x better.

It will be worth it.....

As my daughter says, "who cares what the test results say?!" Try the diet for at least one month to six weeks. If you feel better, you did your own test. Then try to add in something wheat based and see how you feel. Did you get diarrhea? a headache? body aches? the hyperifomus rash?

GF diets have come very far in the last ten years. When my kid was dxd a while back they didnt have fancy isles in the grocery store that had only GF products. you had to make your own, or suffer without. now there are cupcakes, and cereals that are an easy pick. Watch out for things like soy sauces, or seasonings that may have gluten products in them.

I overheard a women in a restaurant being so picky about GF and then she asked for the terryaki chicken without asking what the marinade was. She left feeling itchy and sick to her stomach, and couldnt figure out why. I saw her in the parking lot and suggested that next time she think about the things the meat was soaked in. Many soy sauces have wheat.

YOU MUST READ ALL LABELS till you get to know what does and doesnt have Gluten in it. Once you figure it out, then...you can become creative with cooking, and seasoning, and new dishes.

Best of luck to you.

Your symptoms sound eerily similar to mine.

I constantly had stomach issues, was persistently fatigued, suffered from cystic acne, and lost quite a bit of my hair before I was first diagnosed at 17.


Your best bet is to have an intestinal biopsy performed, as this produces the most accurate results. If you're not willing to do that, just try sticking to a gluten-free diet if you feel that it helps keep your symptoms under control.

My advice (and this is not medical advice mind you) is to start eating a gluten-free diet. Eat as much probiotic yogurt as your heart desires as it's easy to digest and will help restore the good bacteria that your immune system has attacked if you really are a Celiac. Start loading up on supplements as well... ideally you should see doctor or specialist who can help set you up with a good supplement program.