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(My aplogies if this post happens to turn up twice. I sent the original on
Monday and it did not appear in the digest and I know my internet provider
was having major mail problems early this week.)

I would appreciate help from this group in understanding my situation and
getting to a firm diagnosis.

I'm a 53 year old male of Russian and Sephardic Jewish heritage, otherwise
in excellent physical condition. 5' 9" and now 147# and trying hard to hold
there. Was about 165# this time last year.

During the second half of last year, I started having frequent bouts of
stomach problems, including acid reflux, indigestion, diarrhea, gas,
stomach cramps and loss of interest in food. I felt full all the time and
lost 15 pounds between August and December. I self-medicated for a while,
using Mylanta and Pepcid AC, but things continued to get worse. I went to a
specialist and had an endoscopy to check for ulcers and helicobacter.
Negative. He put me on Prevacid, but problems continued. I did some reading
on the Internet and found out about Celiac Disease and Lactose Intolerance
and went on a GF, lactose reduced, diet. Felt great, virtually immediately.
Stayed off of lactose and gluten for 3-4 weeks. Back to specialist who
agreed to do biopsies (multiple) and told me to go back on gluten for about
three weeks prior to endoscopy.  By the time of the biopsy, I felt just
terrible. I had indigestion and felt full all the time.

Biopsies were negative. "No sign of damage." Specialist said not CD. Blood
work showed IgG elevated, 27  vs high normal of 22, IgA was normal.
Subsequent hydrogen test for lactose intolerance was clearly positive.

CD? Not CD?

Because I was feeling terrible, I went back on a GF, lactose-reduced diet
for several months and felt somewhat better, but had occasional bouts of
stomach pain. After experiencing stomach pain that I connected to eating
lactose-reduced yogurt, I cut out lactose entirely and really started
feeling good. I had been using lactose reduced milk and yogurt with lactaid
tablets on the assumption that this would take care of the lactose
intolerance problem.

Based on this observation, I wondered whether my problem had been with
lactose all along. To test this, I started re-introducing occasional gluten
into my diet with no problems.

Not CD?

I got brave and started using whole-wheat bread for sandwiches every day
instead of rice bread. Felt fine for about a week. Then, last week I woke
up feeling what I best describe as a "tension" in my stomach. That day and
the following I felt "full" all the time, much like I felt before the
biopsy.

Yes CD?

I'm now off of gluten and lactose and starting to feel better again but I'm
concerned about my lack of a definitive medical diagnosis for CD. I have
made an appointment with a nutritionally aware gastroenterologist,
recommended by people in the Rochester, NY Celiac Support Group for a
second opinion. I will also ask to have the biopsy slides re-evaluated.

At this point, I believe that I must have CD, but have some nagging
questions. Is my experience common? Can you really have CD with a negative
biopsy? How significant are the blood tests? Are there other things I
should be evaluated for? Is it possible to become suddenly (and apparently
totally) lactose intolerant.

I would appreciate members of this group sharing their experiences and
suggestions as I try to get to the root of these problems. Thanks in
advance.

Joel Elias GF/LF

Joel H. Elias - Pittsford, NY
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