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Hi Group,

I am 27 years of age and would like to share with you some of my medical
history which I believe might relate to gluten intolerance. This is my
history:

At the age of 17, I was diagnosed with hydronephrosis(severly widened renal
pelvis due to calcification within the urinary tracts)and had to undergo
surgery. The doctors noticed similar tendency of the other kidney but
without any clinical significance at the time.

At the age of 25, I had my gallbladder completely removed after a year of
severe stomach cramps. The cramps were so severe that I would sometimes
faint. The doctors told me that my gallbladder was full of stones which was
why they decided to remove it.

At the age of 26, I was diagnosed with duodenitis after continuous tummy
problems (cramps, bloatedness, diarrea and constipation, vomited blood at
one point) and prescribed Losec for 6 months. Losec did not get rid of my
problems and I felt very frustrated that nothing seemed to help my problems.
I was desperate to find something that would help me since I was very weak
at the time and decided to try a homeopath. The homeopath told me that my
pancreas did not seem to be healthy and that it was probably overloaded. She
encouraged me to stay away from gluten and lactose for a while.
This was the best I have ever done. Now, 10 months later, I am still off
gluten and my tummy problems have cleared totally. I am convinced that this
was the root to all of my previous problems. Although I have had gastroscopy
done twice, I was never tested for cd. Had I known better, I would have
asked for a biopsy to be done prior to undertaking the diet. Now, doctors
tell me that in order to properly diagnose it, I would have to revert to a
gluten diet for at least 4-5 weeks. I do not think I can go through all of
that again since I am still kind of weak. Two months ago I had blood tests
done which indicated that I have B12 deficiency , elevated blood
sedimentation rate (B-SR)and low Hb value. I am a little concerned over my
bone structure which I think is getting thinner although I have always been
very active and done loads of sports.

Is there anyone out there that has been through a similar kind of medical
history and it was all related to cd?

regards,
Mikaela/ London/ UK