GI Update

Well, I went to the GI today. I was really nervous. He was my third choice, but I couldn't get into the other two for a couple of weeks. And I really didn't want to wait that long. I have had gluten in my system within the last week, and I didn't want to wait any longer and have to reintroduce it for testing cause the reactions are very unpleasant. I had done a ton of my own research and knew I just needed someone to confirm things, so I was okay if he wasn't the best out there.

After going over my symptoms, he basically presented three options. I could:

1. Go to a dermatologist and get the rash biopsied. If it comes back as dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), then that is fairly conclusive that I have celiac.

2. Do a small bowel biopsy. A lot more invasive, a lot more expensive, but usually a lot more certain. Would have to eat more gluten a few days beforehand though.

3. Do a blood test. Not really invasive, probably not too expensive, but could yield a false negative if I haven't had a heavy diet of gluten lately.

So I opted for #1. Least expensive, least yucky reactions, conclusive enough for me. If I do have DH, then we will need to test Ian for celiac. And my siblings ought to get tested for it too because it is genetic. And according to a lot of the figures I am reading, about 90% of people who have celiac don't know it because they are either asymptomatic or attribute their symptoms to something else.

At that point, I still won't know how damaged (or if at all) my intestines are. I'm not sure I need to know that right now though. I'd rather wait until James goes full time and we have better insurance to see how my intestines are doing. Or maybe the DH biopsy will come back negative. If that's the case, I might still have blood testing done on Ian just to make sure, but I will be happy to just consider it a gluten intolerance for now.

If it is DH, I will need to follow a low iodine diet for a couple of months to help it go away faster. Not a big deal (I thought) until I started researching and realized salt has iodine. Duh! I totally forgot that. Sigh. There go the safe french fries when I need something on the go. Oh well. Could be worse...that would only be for a few months, not for a lifetime.

In the meantime, I am starting to come across some awesome resources. I just found this blog: notmissingathing.blogspot.com. She cooks gluten-, dairy-, and egg-free. Since dairy and egg products have higher iodine levels, I need to leave them out of my food for right now. I am thrilled to find this resource and look forward to perusing her recipes.