It's National Celiac Awareness Day!

Today is National Celiac Disease Awareness Day.  

All of us who suffer from celiac disease before getting diagnosed may not have even been aware that there was a day dedicated to this.  

According to the Celiac Sprue Association Sept. 13th was chosen for this day because it is the birth date of Dr. Samuel Gee, M.D. a physician and pediatrician.  Dr. Gee is the first physician that is credited with being the first to identify the link between celiac disease and diet.  One of his famous quotes is: "If the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet."


So i guess we can be very thankful to Dr. Gee because if it weren't for that important link between celiac and diet more of us would be way sicker then we are.

Of course those of us who suffer from this disease know that it is way more complex then it sounds.  We also know that doctors themselves can't even tell us everything about celiac because of their lack of education when it comes to this disease.  The education given to these doctors in medical school is to suspect celiac disease in a child suffering from diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating.  As we know it's much more complicated than this.

Like me, so many of us are getting this disease in our adult years.  Many deal with constipation, itchy rashes, hair loss, bloating etc.  Or many might have just one complaint being neuropathy, tingling in their hands and feet.  It becomes way more complicated and it masks itself as other disorders.  Unfortunately many of us do develop other disorders as well.  Then there are those that have no symptoms at all.

Dr. Green the director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University in NYC was asked in an interview why it is so hard to get doctors to realize that celiac disease could be the culprit for making patients so sick and this is how he responded:

<DGF: Why is it still difficult to get doctors in the U.S. to consider that celiac disease could be the culprit making patients sick—especially the ones with IBS symptomsthat don’t resolve with IBS treatments?

Dr. Green: There are a couple of reasons, actually. Most doctors here are not prominently taught about celiac disease in medical school or in post-graduate education. The latter is often funded by big pharmaceutical companies, and none of them presently offer a medication to treat celiac disease. We really can’t blame the doctors totally because most of them are not going to look for something in their patients that they were taught is extremely rare. Of course, celiac disease is not rare at all, but many doctors still think that it is.>

I got this information from the www.delightglutenfree.com website.  Read the entire article here. It is very informative.

I have to give my experience with a doctor very briefly: 

After i had been diagnosed and had seen the doctors at Jefferson University Hospital at the Celiac Center in Pennsylvania i was trying to get help for my brother who lives a few states away in Ohio.  He was in his doctors office at the time and was asking him to test him for this disease.  My brother couldn't remember the names of the tests so he called me while he was with his doctor and put me on the phone to give him the names of the tests that the doctors at Jefferson had done on me. 

The doctor was not polite at all.  He kept insisting that my brother did not have celiac because he didn't have diarrhea.  I explained to him that i didn't either in fact i suffered from constipation.  I tried to ask him if he would at least test him to see if he carried the gene for this disease.  He said there was no such test. Although i explained that they had just finished these tests on me and found that i carry the gene and i gave him the name of the test he still protested.  Now i'm not a doctor and i understand that many of them have very big egos but i wasn't trying to belittle him in any way i was just trying to help my brother get the proper help he needed.   Unfortunately there are many doctors out there with this same attitude and if this is the case for you i encourage you, just as i did for my brother, to find a new doctor.  Keep looking until you find one that listens!

What can we do to help educate people?  Well there are several things we can do and they don't take a lot of effort.  

It's important to start with our own family and make sure that they have all been tested for this disease.  We can share interesting articles on celiac disease with family and friends through email or social networks. We can email local grocery stores in our area and request that they get more trusted gluten free items in their stores.  Talk to your doctor openly about what you have learned and print out specific articles you have found helpful or that you may have questions on.  Even if you just get the conversation going it is better than them just sending you out the door after diagnosis saying go eat gluten free and see me in a few months.  

There is quite a bit of downloadable guides and articles on the www.celiaccentral.org website that you can use for yourself as well as for your childrens schools.

Another way you can do your part is just to educate those around you.  Yes more and more people are becoming aware of Celiac Disease and being gluten free but they are still very uneducated about it.  You can educate and not bombard people with information with the smallest of phrases such as:  "I suffer from an auto-immune disorder it's not an allergy" ,  "Gluten is a protein that causes damage to my intestines", "I have to be extremely careful to avoid gluten because this disease can lead to developing cancer down the road."  

You don't necessarilly have to give an entire speech but just saying a short phrase that shows the seriousness of the disease will help people to see that this isn't a fad for you and it will give them some much needed information that will leave them thinking.  Who knows maybe they will even go home and do some of their own research,  that is what has happened to me at times.  

Well i hope that this article was enlightening and gave you some encouragement to go out in the world and educate others or even in the very least i hope i encouraged you to educate yourself some more on this disease.  I have found that there is much to learn.  

Please tweet this article to others so that we can raise more awareness on this complex disease.  Thank you!

Stay Healthy!!

References:  celiac sprue association website

                    celiaccentral.org

                    delightglutenfree.com

Link between Celiac Disease and Your Thyroid

 Links between Celiac and Thyroid:

You may have noticed that i changed the titles to a few of my posts having to do with the thyroid.  I'm amending my sequence for the explanation of your thyroid and celiac disease because i really wanted to help people see there is a connection between the two.  I apologize if it causes confusion but i encourage you to read all of my posts that have to do with the thyroid as everything will correlate and make sense.
Thanks for your patience!


There is more and more research that is finding that when you have celiac disease the risk of developing a condition that can affect the thyroid and can compromise a persons overall health is significantlly increased. There is a group of Italian researchers that have conducted studies and have come to the conclusion that the prevalence of celiac disease in those with thyroid disease is significantly high.  They said that "It is also possible that the association between celiac disease and autoimmunity in untreated celiac patients is caused by the gluten intake."  They also wrote that "undiagnosed celiac disease can cause other disorders by switching on some as yet unknown immunological mechanism."  The researchers believe that all those with thyroid disorders can benefit by being screened for celiac disease.  The AGA (American Gastro Association Institute) however does not recommend it.  Why doesn't that surprise me?

Anyway, research has found that people with celiac are four times more likely to develop an autoimmune thyroid condition.  That is why it is so important to stay gluten free and not cheat when you have celiac. Even if you don't have celiac there is quite a bit of information that has come out about wheat and how many people are reacting adversely to it because of the hybridization of it.  It's important to remember that gluten causes inflammation and can affect your overall health and aggravate other autoimmune issues you already have. (see my post on celiac disease issues and helpful tips where i discuss more about wheat).

Celiac disease and autoimmune thyroid disorder seem to have a common genetic predisposition.  This could explain why so many more celiacs, more than the rest of the population, have thyroid issues.

I highly encourage anyone who has thyroid issues to get tested for celiac disease as well.  This will help in thwarting off other health issues that could develop if this disease continues to go on untreated.

There are two common thyroid conditions:
1. Hypothyroidism- which is an underactive thyroid.  This is when there is a decrease in thyroid production.
2. Hyperthyroidism-an overactive thyroid.  This is when there is an increase in thyroid production.

Hashimoto's Disease is a form of hypothyroidism. It's the most common form of hypothyroidism there is. Graves Disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism.

Here are some symptoms of hypothyroidism:

*fatigue
*depression
*dry/brittle hair
*hair loss (especially in front of head)
*swollen/enlarged thyroid
*muscle cramps
*constipation
*weight gain
*low body temp
*dry skin

Here are some symptoms of hyperthyroidism:

*weight loss (even when your apetite is increased)
*rapid heart rate, palpatations
*increased apetite
*sweating
*anxiety,nervousness
*tremors especially in hands and fingers
*fatigue, muscle weakness
*difficulty sleeping
*fine/brittle hair
*enlarged thyroid
*increased sensitivity to heat
*changes in menstrual cycle
*fine/brittle hair
*thinning skin
*more frequent bowel movements

If you have many of these symptoms it is important to consult your physician or naturopath about the possibility of having a thyroid disorder.  It also could be very helpful for you to check your basal temperature first thing in the mornings for a week and take the results to them as well.  The thyroid can be very tricky and hard to diagnose because of the tsh blood test that many physicians order.  The tsh blood test is not very reliable.  (see my post on celiac disease and thyroid part II for more information about the tsh blood test and why it's not reliable when diagnosing a thyroid issue).

I hope that this information is helpful for you and your thyroid issues.  Please read my correlating thyroid posts for more helpful and detailed info on the thyroid.

Always make sure to do your research on any treatments/medications your doctor wants to try you on.  It could even be helpful to get a second opinion.

Remember that i am neither a doctor nor a naturopath.  All of the information in my posts are for educational purposes only and are based on my own experiences and research.  Please, always contact your physician/naturopath before starting or stopping any medications and or treatments.  

Celiac Disease Tests To Request

What tests to request from your doctor:

To get a more accurate diagnosis you should be following a daily diet that contains gluten for at least 4-6 weeks. My doctor told me to eat some bread the day before but some information from the National Institue for Health and Clinical Excellence in the UK explains it is important that you eat some gluten       (for ex. bread, pasta, biscuits or cake) in more than one meal everyday for at least 6 wks.   

If your doctor doesn't listen to
 your requests find one that does!

Specific antibody blood tests are the initial step in screening for Celiac.  Remember to always consult with your physician to ensure a proper diagnosis. Depending on the outcome of these tests a biopsy of your small intestines will more than likely be ordered, make sure they take at least four biopsies and that they have a good reputation in being able to read these specific biopsies.  Your best bet is a specialist that deals with Celiac Disease on a regular basis.  I saw the experts at the Celiac Center in Pennsylvania at the Jefferson University Hospital.

These are the recommended Blood Tests:

• Anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG – IgA and IgG)
  commonly used whether or not symptoms are present and it's the most sensitive test that is available.
• Anti-endomysial antibody (EMA-IgA) 
• Anti-deaminated gliadin peptide (DGP – IgA and IgG)
  used when tTG or EMA is negative and in cases where patient is IgA deficient
• Total serum IgA – used to check levels to exclude selective IgA deficiency that results in a false negative test
• Anti-gliadin antibody (AgA – IgG and IgA) used for children under 2 because tTG and EMA antibodies may be absent. The anti-DGP test is sensitive in this group.

This Info is also found on the celiac.org website.  

Some questions that i encourage you to ask your doctor are as follows:

• Please give me more details about the tests I should have.

• What do the tests involve?

• What exactly are you testing for?

• How long will it take for me to get the results of these tests?

• Can you provide me with help or information about what

   I should and should not eat and for how long?

Questions if your blood test yields positive results:

• Please give me more details about the tests I should have next.

• Should I make any changes to my diet, if so what types of changes and for how long?

• What could or will happen if I choose not to change my diet? Short term and or long term?

For family members and friends of those with Celiac or thought to have Celiac or gluten issues:

• What can I/we do to help and support the person with

celiac disease or gluten issues?

• Is there any other support that I/we might find

helpful or are entitled to?

* How can we show that we are willing to listen, comfort and support our loved ones with these issues and make their lives easier?

It is just as important for your family members to be informed about Celiac Disease or your gluten sensitivity, allergy or intolerance as it is for you.  This is especially the case for your immediate family or family members that you regularly share a living quarters with.  

"Diseases are killing us faster than we're killing them so let's not kill each other's spirits.  Let's be upbuilding to all those who suffer whether we can relate or not.  After all none of us are immune to sickness it may be your burden one day and then, Who will build you up?"

Remember when finding out you have this disease or problem with gluten you will undoubtedly go through a period of grieving.  Take the time necessary because this is a completely new way of living.  It's like a baby learning to walk, there's a lot of discovery that has to happen and a lot of falls that will happen but once you get it down you will see it's not so bad after all.  After you have grieved for your appropriate time period, pick yourself, up dust yourself off and keep moving forward.  With the help of friends and family, support groups and blogs such as this one you can start to feel healthy again!

Side note for friends and family:  Be understanding to those with these diagnoses, allow them to grieve.  You would grieve too if you were told that the way you've been doing everything your entire life needed to change.  They are learning a whole new way of life and their moods will no doubt not always be the greatest.  Now is the time they need your love and support the most.  They will eventually get past this stage and they will be so appreciative for your love and understanding, plus this experience may even draw you closer.  This isn't an easy time for any of you but especially for the newly diagnosed.   

Home

"True friends accept us for the good the bad and sometimes even the ugly"

This blog is intended to be a place where i can vent about how many things in this world are making us all sick or killing us. Especially Gluten! 

I am going to share with you the different diseases i am currently dealing with, how i came to find out i had them and what research i did and am still doing to deal with them.  If you haven't noticed from the tabs one of the big ones is Celiac Disease.  The other sicknesses i am dealing with i believe stem from there.  

I'm hoping that this blog can be helpful to others who are tired of being sick either from gluten issues, Celiac Disease or even from all the chemicals, genetically modified foods, pesticides, off gassing of products etc.  You will come to find that people with Celiac Disease are often very sensitive or intolerant to chemicals and pollution around us.  I want people to learn from my experience and hopefully help them to become more aware of what could be causing some of their issues.  I'm hoping that i can share some products that have helped me and that may be of some help to you.    

I want this to be a place to help others that are tired of being judged for their illnesses instead of being looked at for their good and useful qualities.  I want to help all those that feel frustrated by losing friends because of their having to eat differently or avoid chemicals or because they have to avoid fragrances etc.  Although things may be killing us literally or figuratively this place should be an encouraging  place to come and let it all out but also to be positive because although we may be sick we can live rich and fulfilling lives, especially with the help of our understanding friends.  I'll share solutions and suggestions and ideas that i've learned from others as well.  I find this is cheaper than therapy and in some instances, not all,  maybe even more helpful. lol

Why should we have to feel like outsiders because we want to be healthy or because our bodies demand us to be healthy?  Why should we feel bad or hesitant when we have to ask our friends or family if they have something we can eat that doesn't contain gluten?  Or when we have to ask them exactly how they cooked it and with what?  Why should we feel guilty when we have to ask our friends and associates to avoid wearing perfume/cologne or smelly lotions and hair gel when they're around us?  Why do we have to put up with these things just to keep our friendships in tact, in order not to offend, or just so that we don't have to be talked about behind our backs and judged by them.  Then later we suffer the consequences of stomach pain,diarrhea, rashes, headaches, nausea, itchy watery eyes, body aches, exhaustion etc. Meanwhile they go on their merry way feeling great and then they wonder about us, "Whats wrong with them?"  "Oh they don't feel good, again?" not realizing their insensitivity helped to cause or exacerbate our symptoms. ugh!

So i hope this becomes a place where you and i can go to get away from all the ignorance and judgement in the world and we can learn from one anothers diseases.  We can learn not only how to get by but how we can cope and be happy and healthy.  I hope that you can learn from my disease and from my research and as i help you by relating my experience I'll be helping myself as well.  

Feel free to subscribe and  remember:  Different can be beautiful! Information can be empowering! Let's make a difference!

Just a side note:  blogging is new to me so please, be patient with me.  Thanks!

Disclaimer:  I am in no way a doctor or homeopath.  None of the information on this site is intended to diagnose or prescribe.  Any suggestions of products are all from my own experience and may not give you the same results.  You know your own body so use any supplement etc. at your own risk.  Always discuss with your physician any supplement, medication, diet or exercise regimen you begin.  If you have any need for medical attention seek out help from a medical professional as soon as possible. This site is just for informational purposes only always double check any and all information either by your own research or by contacting and checking it with your own physician or homeopath.  

Celiac Disease Issues & Helpful Tips

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2010.  I had seen seven doctors over the span of seven years. Finally i found a doctor who actually listened and cared enough to ask questions.  After a blood test and a Gene test performed by the Jefferson University Celiac Center in Philadelphia we discovered that i had this auto immune disorder called Celiac Disease.  

At first my family members seemed to be very supportive.  They were happy that i found the cause to why i was so ill and why i had lost so much weight.  This also explained my mood swings, constant exhaustion and skin rashes.  It seemed to be all good for awhile that is until i didn't get better as soon as i started eliminating gluten from my diet.  Everyone who was supportive thought i had to be doing something wrong or that i must not have Celiac because they knew others that had gotten better "right away".  They forget or just didn't realize that everyone is different and our body's react differently to things.  Another thing that i started to realize is that no one seemed to understand the difference between an auto immune disorder and a gluten allergy.  

An autoimmune disorder may affect one or more organs or tissue types. Organs and tissues commonly affected by autoimmune disorders:

• Blood vessels
• Connective tissues
• Endocrine glands like the thyroid or pancreas
• Joints
• Muscles
• Red blood cells
• Skin

Symptoms that often occur with autoimmune diseases:

• Fatigue
• Fever
• General ill-feeling

An allergy is an immune response or reaction to substances that are usually not harmful.   An allergy is not usually inherited where as auto immune disorders are.  However, if both your parents have allergies, you are also likely to have allergies.  You have a greater chance if your mother has allergies.  

There was a study done to define the difference between Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity.  According to the results, individuals with gluten sensitivity showed no signs of intestinal damage or increased permeability, but showed an increase in an innate immunity marker. This is different from the immune response seen in celiac disease, which is noted by an increase in an adaptive immune marker. Among gluten sensitive participants, this adaptive immune marker was lower than the level found in participants with celiac.

Researchers concluded that celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are “different clinical entities,” marked by unique immune responses.  I quoted this information about this study from the NFCA so that i would be sure not to get it wrong. The article is very informative i encourage you to check it out at www.celiaccentral.org.

So for all those family and friends who think you just have to go gluten free and you'll be miraculously feeling great.  It doesn't work that way.  We ask you to please be understanding and patient with us and to understand that we are doing all that we can.  The research that we are doing and all the information we're gathering about our condition isn't because we are hypochondriacs or because we are obsessing or even because we want to draw attention to ourselves.  We are doing the research because we are trying to survive and being informed is vital to us in order for us to live a healthy normal life.  We are trying to do everything possible to make our lives better and in effect you will benefit as well.  Please keep these things in mind next time you want to make a comment that you may feel is supportive but actually comes across as patronizing, unfeeling or just not so understanding.  

Ok, back to the research i did on this disease to learn as much as i could about it.  I found out what the best things to eat were and the not so good things.  I found many companies that were making gluten free foods and found many other people that were discovering that although they didnt have Celiac they did have a gluten sensitivity of some kind.  

This made me start questioning why?  Why are we having such a problem with gluten? First let me back up a bit.   For those of you who may be new to gluten issues you may be asking:  What is gluten?  

Gluten is a protein found in Wheat, Barley, Rye, Spelt and although not found in Oats they are often cross-contaminted with wheat because of them being grown in and around the same area as wheat. Oats also seem to contain a specific protein that Celiacs may find themselves having a problem with because it acts similar to the protein gluten.  

Now, as i did more and more research i started seeing that genetic engineering and hybridized food has caused us so many issues.  Let's take wheat for example.  Seeing as were talking about Celiac it only seems fitting.   Something that i have learned about wheat and something that doctors are finally starting to realize is that wheat is not good for anyone really. Whether you want to believe it or not. This could be why people may still feel crappy even though they are "eating healthy" by switching to wheat products. 

We can't properly digest it wheat.  Why not?  Back in the 1950's scientists began cross-breeding wheat in order to make it hardier, shorter and better growing.  Todays hybridized wheat contains a toxin called sodium azide.  I don't know about you but i get contaminated by enough toxins on a daily basis, why do i have to get it in my foods too?  Todays wheat even goes through a gamma irradiation process during manufacturing.  The hybridized wheat we eat today also contains proteins that aren't found in the plant or the parent and unfortunately for us it's very difficult to digest these, we just don't have the proper enzymes. Now some scientists are saying that gluten and other compounds found in todays wheat could be responsible for the rise in celiac disease and gluten intolerance and sensitivities in people in general.  That's just great!! 

All of this knowledge plus way more made me realize that we're screwing up our bodies and the damage that is being done in many cases is irreversible.  Ugh!  So, what to do? what to do?  Well, we have to learn how and what to eat.  (That's a subject for another time though).

Look for my article:  What foods are safe?  Why aren't all gluten free foods safe for us? coming soon.  

Celiac Disease Signs & Symptoms

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First let's start by defining what Celiac disease is:  

It is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.   Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barely, rye, spelt and sometimes oats can be cross-contaminated with gluten from being grown near wheat fields. When eating foods containing gluten our immune system responds by damaging the small intestine.   It does this by damaging the villi contained within the intestinal wall.  Think of them like little hairs that normally stand straight up and absorb the nutrients released from our food and then send the nutrients into the bloodstream.  

In the case of Celiac disease though, when gluten enters the body the body goes on high alert and attacks in order to save itself.  Unfortunately what it's actually doing is attacking itself, damaging those beautiful hard working villi.  Sometimes they become completely destroyed (this happens more when there has been very long term damage) other times the villi is damaged.  Those hairlike structures that normally start to stand straight up start folding over and not working properly.  The tips of those hairlike villi are also responsible for absorbing dairy and when damaged they can't do it anymore, and we wonder why many of us have dairy issues.  The damage to these villi also cause a person to become malnourished regardless of the quantity of food eaten.  We can seem soo hungry all the time but not feel well, have no energy, even not gain weight although we eat as much as we can, and this can all be from malnourishment.  Of course there are many other factors that help to cause many of those symptoms but a lot of it is from this. 

The damage done to our intestine can take a long while to heal in some cases up to two years unfortunately.  Something to keep in mind though is to remember that this damage in most cases has taken place over many years, so it stands to reason it would take a long while to heal.  Thankfully starting to eat gluten free gets you on your way to recovery.  As you deal with this disease you will see that being that this is an autoimmune disorder and the fact that we are all different, healing differs from one individual to the next.  Some may begin to heal more quickly and others will find that there has been damage to other organs in the body and enzymes that have been destroyed.   Which will take some more time and patience on our part and our physicians part to figure out just what else has gone wrong and how to begin to fix it.   This is especially when it is helpful to have support from our family and friends. Going through this is very difficult for the one suffering all of the symptoms below.  It affects our moods, energy and even zest for life at times.  We need to have patience with ourselves.  Our family and friends need to be patient, kind, loving and understanding with us.  Be our cheerleaders not mockers or murmerers.  Being supportive of your loved ones situation goes a long way in their healing process, it's important to recognize this.  More on support in a later post.

The body’s own immune system causes the damage in celiac disease because of this it is considered an autoimmune disorder. It is also classified as a disease of malabsorption because nutrients are not absorbed. Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

This disease is considered a genetic disease.  It can be inherited from parents either one or both.  The gene can lay dormant for years and then suddenly be triggered or become active for the first time after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection or severe emotional stress.

Being that this disease is considered a genetic disease it is important that if you or a family member has been diagnosed your other family members, especially immediate family, should most definitley get checked for it as well.  

Celiac Disease Symptoms 

This list can also be found on the celiac.org website.  There is said to be at least 300 or more symptoms to this disease.  Even with all of that there are still some people who suffer from this disease and never have one of these symptoms.  

SYMPTOMS MAY INCLUDE:

• Abdominal cramping, intestinal gas
• Acid Reflux
• Distention and bloating of the stomach
• Chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both) (they may misdiagnose you with IBS)
• Fatty stools
• Anemia 
• Unexplained weight loss with large appetite (In my case this was when i had become so sick i was malnourished) or weight gain (In my case this seemed to happen when the disease became active)

OTHER SYMPTOMS:

• Dental enamel defects
• Osteopenia (another thing i developed from malnourishment and possibly from thyroid med they put me on), osteoporosis
• Bone or joint pain (they may try and misdiagnose you with fibromyalgia)
• Fatigue, weakness and lack of energy (they may misdiagnose you with chronic fatigue)
• Infertility – male/female
• Depression (they may say your bi-polar or just chronically depressed and treat with meds)
• Mouth ulcers
• Delayed puberty 
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet (they may try and say you have carpal tunnel)
• Migraine headaches 

SOME LONG-TERM CONDITIONS THAT CAN RESULT IF LEFT UNTREATED:

• Iron deficiency anemia
• Early onset osteoporosis or osteopenia
• Vitamin K deficiency
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Central and peripheral nervous system disorders - usually because of unsuspected nutrient deficiencies
• Pancreatic insufficiency (many of us have diabetes type I or II)
• Intestinal lymphomas and other GI cancers (malignancies)- This alone should warrant further looking into!
• Gall bladder problems
• Neurological problems

I had many of these symptoms throughout the seven years that I sought out help from different doctors. I especially suffered from horrible worsening acid reflux and doctors fixed this nasty little symptom by more and more antacids that just made matters worse by blocking my very much needed B vitamins. UGH. 

None of them ever put it together that I had Celiac.  Instead they treated the symptoms as they often do. Make sure when seeking out medical help that you are thorough when explaining your symptoms and make sure that they look at you as a whole person and not as parts.  Ask for a Celiac Sprue blood test, check out my page with specific blood tests to ask for.  If your doctor doesn't listen to your requests or concerns, FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR WHO DOES.  DO NOT GIVE UP.  THIS LITERALLY CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR LIFE AND DEATH!

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