I've never been to the dr for an official diagnosis, but my primary symptoms were stomach related (lower abdominal cramps, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pains, etc.) My advice would be to give gluten free a try for like a week, and see if it makes any difference.

As for what to eat, look on www.celiaccess.com or www.celiac.com. Also, for most foods you'd buy in a store, the larger name products, there's a lot of info on the manufacturers websites. One that I can tell you right off hand is anything by Kraft foods, will have any gluten containing ingredients clearly listed on the labels.

If there's ANYTHING else you need help with, don't hesitate to drop me a message and I'll try to answer your questions. I'm no expert though.

Hi josh thanks. I don't know what to think about my stomach as some days it settles down. It flares up other days and I have reflux so I think it may be the hiatus hernia,also the gastritis getting irritated. I don't know why. I don't seem to have your symptoms though,no diarrhea or constipation,no lower abdominal cramps or nausea. I just get the gastric pain at the top of my stomach. Its definately acid related I think. I don't know how you cope following a gluten free diet it sounds so difficult. Im fed up of avoiding the foods I avoid. Im not meant to have anything too fatty,I avoid orange juice and coffee also alcohol. I sometimes have coffee but apart from that I don't know why it flares up. Do you eat oat cereal? Is that ok? Do you eat yogurts? Tell me some of the foods you eat and I can try to substitute some things. Do your symptoms ease then on your diet?

FYI, only 85% of people with Celiac Disease experience the "normal" symptoms (abdominal cramping, diarrhea, etc.). The other 15% can have very different symptoms. Also, many people, such as myself, do not have CD, but, rather, are gluten intolerant. For me, gluten flares my muscle inflammation and exacerbates my Polymyositis. I, too, had a blood test that came back negative. But my doctor said that the blood test is only about 40% (?) accurate. He said that the only sure test is a biopsy of the small intestine, which he did not recommend because of infection risks. He was one of 2 doctors who told me that a person should go on a strict 90-day gluten-free diet, and then reintroduce gluten again. If the person's symptoms return or s/he experiences other problems, then that person should remain on a gluten-free diet.

As for what to eat/avoid, it might be helpful to you if you would read the older posts. Some of the threads have extensive lists, or mention helpful websites. BTW, gluten can be associated with many digestive problems. Best wishes to you.

Thanks nanny I had a blood test for gluten intolerance which came back negetive. I don't know if they did a biopsy or not at the hospital when I had my endoscopy. They did biopsies but I don't know whether they did for gluten. I will have a look out for what to eat and what to avoid then. Is it a limited diet or is it ok? I already don't eat tomatoes or spicy foods. I can think about all the foods I don't eat now so adding not eating gluten foods cuts my diet down a lot. I find when you go into a supermarket,whatever one the foodstuffs are the same. There seems to be a lot of booze,biscuits and chocolates. Theres the clothes,electrical and cosmetics. I wonder if they would be a lot smaller if it weren't for these things. Then there is plants. If we don't have box meals I don't think there would be much left in them.

I am sentive to gluten and diary.I had to stay off of them for months. Them rotate them every third day. I hope you figure it out and start to
feel better soon.

Thanks IDonna well its flared up again. Some days its ok and others its awful and very painful. If it was gluten or dairy it would be bad every day wouldn't it? I just don't know what to think. I will have to get the results of the ph test I had and then see. I did have acid coming up, I hate it.

Keep a log of what you eat, not how much and your symptoms--felling okay, cramps, etc. Then look over the food log and perhaps you can discover what food or combination of food triggers your reaction. Also there is a form of celiac that affects the skin causing sort of a rash like condition.Let us know how you are doing.
Basically stay away from bread, cookies, crackers, bakery from the grocery store. Some soups, condiments have gluten in the, Also regulat pasta has gluten in it . You can have rice and corn chex, corn tortillas, rice cakes and lettuce. the last few could make a sandwich.
When you go to the grocery store stay on the outside perimeter of the store. That is where most of the real unaldultered food is. Except no breaded meat or fish. You can bread it yourself with cornstarch, potato flakes or cornmeal. Keep us posted.