Welcome to our group. It sounds like you've been through a lot so far. Celiac disease can be an inherited disease. I was born with the DNA gene from my mother and was Dx'd at 54. I've given it to both my sons. So if you have a cousin with celiac it could be you have it also. My GI doctor tested for the gene, plus a colonoscopy. Not being Dx'd for along time I got numerous autoimmune diseases until I got off gluten.

On the hypothyroid board there are a lot of links that gluten attacks the thyroid causing thyroid disease. I have hypothyroidism too.

It takes the body about 6-12 months to heal the damage that gluten has done to your body. Hopefully Nanny will post the link to Dr. Osborne for you. If you look at some of the older posts you'll see it. It gives you a lot of information. I like Dr. Tom O'Bryan at theDr.com too. Good luck.

Hi, PacificDesigner, and welcome to this forum of nice and helpful people. In 2008 I was almost immobile from the jaw downward, and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Polymyositis, and since then with Lupus. The neuro who diagnosed the myositis started me on 100 mg. prednisone daily. My sed rate was also "off the charts" as you described. At the beginning, no doctor said anything about gluten, but I saw a connection between eating a piece of bread and worsening muscle weakness and inflammation. When I asked about gluten, the neuro said that there was no clinical evidence of a connection, but he added that several of his patients anecdotally attested to the fact that a gluten-free diet helped them. So he had no objection to my eating gluten-free. A year after this, I moved and one new doctor ran blood work, which came back negative for CD. Of course I had been gluten-free for over a year, so it was going to come back negative. But the doctor said that the blood test was only 40% accurate anyway, and he wouldn't do an intestinal biopsy because he feared an infection, which would have been bad for my compromised immune system.

Shortly thereafter I had to change doctors. Whenever this new doctor read my file, the first thing she said was that I should eliminate gluten from my diet, because "gluten is like a poison for anyone with an autoimmune disease" and "gluten likes to attack the thyroid." She was glad I was already gluten-free, but decided to run several thyroid tests, including some that other doctors never ran, such as the antithyroglobulin test, which came back "off the charts." Other doctors suspected that my thyroid was a problem, but didn't run the same tests that she ran. Between the gluten-free diet and the natural thyroid med that she prescribed, my thyroid started to normalize.

I said all that to say this. Two of my doctors said that if anyone suspects gluten is a problem, then that person should take the 90-day challenge, whereby they eat 100% gluten-free for 90 days. After that they should reintroduce gluten. If problems return, or new ones develop, then that person should remain gluten-free for life. Give the challenge a try, and make sure you are 100% gluten-free (no cheating and no hidden gluten). Also, here is a link to a video by Dr. Peter Osborne. It's long, but informative, and definitely worth viewing. Best wishes to you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv5RwxYW8yA

While doing research on fermented foods and gut health, I came across two articles at Real Food Forager that might interest you. One mentions SIBO.
http://realfoodforager.com/new-study-a-compelling-reason-to-eat-fermented-foods/
http://realfoodforager.com/is-your-ibs-really-sibo-small-intestine-bacterial-overgrowth/

Pacific:

I am also new here and I'm no expert on the subject, but I would suggest, if you have not already done so, to find a good natural health practitioner. By that I mean one who is well qualified, experienced and reputable. I've had one such taking care of my family along with medical doctors, for the past 18 years and it would take me a whole book to tell you what he has done for my family. He specialises in kinesiology (very useful if the practitioner is experienced), chiropratic, acupuncture and nutrition amongst other disciplines.

But be wary of any practioner who tells you that you don't also need a medical doctor. The two should complement each other, that's why it is called complementary medicine. There are things that medical doctors are good at and there are others they don't have a clue about. Likewise, a natural care practioner can't perform surgery if you ever need it. All the best to you.

I went 40 years being told that all my symptoms were in my head. My immune system still does not work as well as it should. 4 weeks is a very short time. It is great that you feel better. The body is amazing at healing itself. Give it time and stick with the gluten free.

After my celiac diagnose (almost 6 years ago), I had the camera pill test, and was diagnosed with SIBO also. A couple of weeks on two antibiotics helped clear that up. I was told it may return, but I take daily probiotics and continue a gluten free diet and I've done well.

I hope you find a doctor that knows what they are doing and I wish you strength as you move forward.