The first place to look as at his gluten-free diet. Is it really water-tight? Any chance of cross-contamination? Maybe he’s getting gluten into his diet somewhere.
]]>Could it possibly be that he is one of the people that needs digestive enzymes long term?
]]>Linda,
I have never been tested for celiac disease, yet I know that I have it. How do I know? Because everytime I eat something with gluten in it, I develop stomach troubles; when I stop eating things with gluten in it, my stomach troubles go away.
When I eat gluten I develop a myriad of GI problems. First, the heartburn starts, followed by painful intestinal spasms, and ultimately ending with diarrhea.
My twin sister has the same issues. She saw a gastroenterologist for her symptoms. She didn’t want to undergo (and pay for) yet another procedure for her GI problems, so the Dr. told her that the best way to test for celiac/gluten intolerance is to stop eating it for a month and see if the symptoms go away. Then start eating it again and see if they come back. If they go away, and then come back, you know it’s the gluten. No test necessary.
He said someone could have celiac and get a negative result because the villi that are damaged are farther down into the intestines than they can reach during an endoscope, and not all of the villi are necessarily damaged in a case of celiac. So, my suggestion is to just go gluten free. It certainly can’t hurt you and most likely will help.
]]>Hi Linda,
You should get a celiac test as soon as possible, then go gluten-free. The test may not be accurate if you do it the other way around. Crohn’s and celiac aren’t the same thing, although celiac could be misdiagnosed as Crohn’s, or I suppose you could have both.
Celiacs usually have trouble loosing weight, so gaining weight is not a typical symptom of celiac. However, it does happen sometimes, and this could throw your doctor off. So do insist on a celiac test no matter what your doctor says, and if he/she refuses, find another doctor.
Let us know how it turns out. Good luck!
]]>I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’ve had with your pancreas. It will be interesting to know the results of your test. Feel free to share if you’re comfortable about it.
]]>