Q:

Hi there,

I'm hoping you will have some insight or suggestions for my unhappy guts.

I was up all last night with really intense abdominal cramping, fever, chills and puking. I know it sounds like food poisoning or the flu, but this happens kind of often, and I have had the runs and pretty consistent cramping for about 2 years now. The really bad cramps last night were in the same places (stomach and lower left quadrant) that my normal cramps show up. And I had intense referred pain in my back in the same places that usually hurt. So I think last night was just a bad flare-up of a long-standing underlying problem.

I recently had some blood work done for Celiac's disease and it came back negative. But from what I've learned from my research, the Celiac's blood tests are not super accurate. So I tried taking gluten out of my diet anyway, and my poo has firmed up and the cramping, gas, and bloating has subsided.

Alas, this hasn't totally solved the problem. And since I am on Basic Health, I don't have access to my doctor other than office visits- which take a really long time to get, and they are not particularly helpful or organized. What avenue would you suggest next? More Ciliac testing? Parasite tests? Anything else come to mind?

Thank you for your time. I hope to sleuth this out soon, its kind of annoying.

 

A:

You do need a gastroenterology referral next. It is sometimes necessary to do an intestinal biopsy to diagnose celiac disease, but there are other inflammatory conditions that need to be ruled out as well. If you are covered under Basic Health, you can be referred by your BHP doctor and assuming your celiac workup was being coordinated by that doctor, you should just be able to call to make that arrangement.

~The Doc