<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Donna Lindner <[log in to unmask]> Wrote: >Hi! I am wondering if anyone can give me any info on the >differences/similarities of celiac and carbohydrate intolerance.......... >My symptoms improved probably by 75% but they never completely went away >On the suggestion of Don Wiss I drastically cut back carbohydrates and I am >getting even healthier... I'm answering this to the list because someone might find it interesting: I spend a lifetime on a diet of high protein/fat - minimum carbs. That's what I liked. In 1987 my Cholesterol was at 302 and Triglycerides at 1200 (+) and couldn't be read. I refused medication - taking too many drugs already. Decided to control by a permanent dietary change to low/no fat - high carbs. (high gluten). I succeeded. After two (2) years the cholesterol was at 202 and triglycerides at 320 (+). I've kept it under control for 10 years, strickly adhering to the new dietary change. THE PROBLEM: By 1988, in going back over medical records, my body started to fall apart. It culminated in 1994 when I ended up in a wheelchair with classic Myasthenia Gravis Symptoms and no clinical proof (Psychiatric, of course). Beard stopped growing. Shaving required only once a week instead of daily. (Psychiatric, of course -- very powerful mind!). There appeared to be two problems, by my research: Anticholinergics and gluten. STopping all anticholinergics improved everything be a factor of 4, stopping all gluten cleared up the rest with remanents of neurological problems remaining plus attacks, exacerbations, whatever where everything shuts down for a couple days (diagosis: panic attacks NOT!). After 'invoking the rath of god' against the doctors and the medical profession, they agreed to test for Celiac but only using the qualitative fatty stool test. If this indicates a problem they will do a quantitative fatty stool test (72 hours collection). So here I am, on gluten again, aching all over, bloodshot eyes in the morning that would put any goulish movie entity to shame, losing sensation to temperature again, drinking boiling soup and perceiving it as comfortably warm, Plus . . . There is another malabsorptive syndrome that they've also agreed to check for. It's called hypolipiproteinanemia (sp?). A fairly rare disease. High chol. & trig. are a symptom. Perhaps by eliminating carbohydrates, by default you're eating more protein and circumventing the problem in some default kind of way? Maybe that's why, if I go for more than a couple days without a good deal of protein, your arm is in danger of being chewed off <grin>. In any case, the test is rather simple. A normal diet (trying to keep proteins to 4 Oz. daily), fasting for at least 12 hours and a blood lipid test. Just some thoughts on the subject. Dennis