some details about myself:
female, 24, type 1 diabetes since march 2004
1+ year ago blood test for celiac negative after i went to a GI for indigestion/abdominal pain.
the pain eventually stopped bothering me at that time. he prescribed nexium and a reglan, which i no longer take.
i have extremely bad pms, the kind that renders me mostly useless, and extremely irritable and unapproachable. i've been this way since starting insulin in sept 2004.
suffered with depression for many years, have been on and off anti-ds, prefer being off of them because i'm unfortunately really sensitive to having strong side effects.

about two weeks ago i started feeling uncomfortable in my gut. like a weakness almost- a slight pain, something was off. but i had no change in bowel movements, if anything, perhaps a little bit constipated. i wasn't, and still am not nauseous. this past sunday the pain became much worse, i feel very uncomfortable. my stomach/instestines feel a lot of cramping and am having more gas than usual. this pain is about a 6 on the pain scale. on tuesday, the pain became very very prominent and got worse as i ate. it lasts all day long.

this is what i'm wondering, does a gluten intolerance/celiac have a sudden onset like this, and when you guys feel pain/cramping/overall discomfort, is it a constant pain?

i went to the ER last night and spent 10 hours getting tests done. extensive blood work, (turns out my potassium was a little low) urine sample, an ultrasound and a CAT scan. everything came up negative. (no gall bladder problem, not appendicitis, etc) they let me go with a prescription for vicodin (!) which to me is crazy and i don't plan on filling. i left the ER with the same pain that i went in with, even though i hadn't eaten for 14 hours or so at that point. is that a symptom of a gluten problem? because after 14+ hours hasn't all the food left your body?

when i got home this morning, i ate some brown rice fried with egg and some crumbled bacon, i figured, let me try something gluten-free and see how i feel. i went right to bed at 11am and just woke up a little while ago at 4pm! i was exhausted. my stomach feels "better" as in, the pain is much less right now.

i am just looking for some answers. i almost wanted it to be appendicitis just so i knew i would have an explanation and would feel some relief.

i guess all i'm looking for is a little insight, wondering if my symptoms might possibly be a gluten problem. thank you all in advance for helping me. i have an appointment with a GI in about 10 days- believe me, i'm trying to get in sooner, no way i can live with this pain for that long...

thank you

sarah

Hi Sarah,

Yes, it can definitely come on quickly. I would say mine came on over about a 2-3 week period where I went from no symptoms to constant sickness and being unable to leave the house. Depression and other mental/emotional issues can also be symptoms of celiac disease.

Having type 1 diabetes makes you more at risk for Celiac than the general population. Definitely get tested and if your tests come out negative, you could go gluten-free anyway while you keep searching and getting tests to make sure it's not anything else. You may find that you feel better off gluten even if your results turn out negative -- no test can be 100% accurate. If you want to be tested, don't go gluten-free until after the tests because that could invalidate the results.

Yes it can, although it sounds like you have had some indications for a while. Up to 30% of us show up negative on blood work. For some of us doing the diet and the results we see are the best indications of whether we need to be gluten free. Many of us have unexpected effects from the psychotropic drugs they throw at us but the diet can negate the need for any of them.