Approximately 50% of ER visits are associated with abdominal pain, and the vast majority of those patients are given a diagnosis of ‘abdominal pain of an unknown origin’ and directed to come back if the condition gets worse. This is little comfort to people suffering from severe discomfort who need answers around the cause of their belly pain, not just medication to mask it temporarily. Could undiagnosed celiac disease be the source of their suffering?
Today, the Gluten Free RN is diving into the issue of belly pain and undiagnosed celiac disease, discussing the expensive testing often conducted to determine the cause of abdominal discomfort—testing that rarely includes a celiac panel. She covers several of the common misdiagnoses of celiac patients as well as the incredibly high prevalence of abdominal pain in children.
Nadine shares the case study of a child-patient who was misdiagnosed with appendicitis and the research published in Digestive and Liver Disease outlining the unnecessary surgical interventions endured by undiagnosed celiac patients. Listen in for the Gluten Free RN’s advice to patients with idiopathic abdominal discomfort and learn why no one should suffer from belly pain!
The statistics around ER visits and abdominal pain
The most common abdominal pain diagnoses
How patients are treated for idiopathic abdominal pain
The testing to find the cause of chronic abdominal pain
How many children suffer from belly pain
Nadine’s patient who received a misdiagnosis of appendicitis
A research study around abdominal surgery and celiac disease
Nadine’s advice for patients diagnosed with idiopathic abdominal pain
‘Increased Rate of Abdominal Surgery Both Before and After Diagnosis of Celiac Disease’ in Digestive and Liver Disease
‘Screening for Celiac Disease in Children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain’ in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
‘Effect of a Gluten-Free Diet on Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Celiac Disease’ in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
‘Clinical Features and Symptom Recovery on a Gluten-Free Diet in Canadian Adults with Celiac Disease’ in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology
‘Association of Adult Celiac Disease with Surgical Abdominal Pain’ in Annals of Surgery
‘A New Insight into Non-Specific Abdominal Pain’ in The Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
‘Your Skin on Gluten’ on YouTube
Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine
Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Heal
Two and a half years ago, Nadine was inadvertently hit with gluten—three times in a row. In the past, it had taken about ten weeks for her symptoms to resolve after an accidental exposure, but this time they stuck around. It started with feeling cold. Then she began experiencing abdominal distention and pain. Her dermatitis herpetiformis returned, she was plagued with sinus congestion, and she was gaining weight. Most concerning of all, she developed pulmonary edema, a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs.
Today, the Gluten Free RN is getting real, revealing the health struggles she has been dealing with since 2015. She explains the circumstances that led to her accidental gluten exposure and recounts the ten scary nights she spent in a recliner, forced to sit up in order to breathe.
Nadine takes us along on her global search for the answers that began with a practitioner in Thailand and a tiny container of damp rash lotion, and ended with a diagnosis of myxedema from a naturopath here in the States. Nadine discusses how those three consecutive hits of gluten targeted her thyroid gland and how T3 is working to resolve her symptoms. Listen in and learn how the Gluten Free RN is reclaiming her Superwoman status and how you, too, can reach your full potential with good health and wellbeing!
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Nadine’s health struggle the past 30 months
Nadine’s search for the underlying cause
How Nadine is reclaiming her health
How a damaged thyroid gland impacted Nadine
The importance of support in getting your health back
‘Your Skin on Gluten’ on YouTube
Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine
Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism
If you’ve been following a strict gluten-free diet, but continue to suffer from lingering neurological symptoms, you may need to explore the possibility that you have Lyme disease. In fact, there are many parallels between celiac disease and Lyme, and the Gluten Free RN has called in an expert to discuss the similarities between the two disorders and why a gluten-free diet is part of the proper treatment for both.
Dr. Usha Honeyman, a chiropractic and naturopathic physician out of Corvallis, Oregon, joins Nadine to explain the fundamentals of Lyme disease. She shares her best advice around prevention and treatment, exploring why it can be difficult to get an accurate diagnosis.
Nadine and Usha also cover the inflammation of the gut that plagues both celiac and Lyme patients, the neurological component of Lyme disease, and the relationship between Lyme and illnesses like MS, Parkinson’s and ALS. Listen in to understand what can happen when Lyme goes untreated and how antibiotics coupled with a gluten-free diet may restore your health!
The fundamentals of Lyme disease
How to prevent Lyme infection
How the political controversy in medicine has led to conflicting information around Lyme disease
The treatment for Lyme disease
Why Dr. Honeyman advises Lyme patients to go gluten-free
The neurological component of Lyme disease
The alpha-gal reaction in Lyme patients in the Southeast US
The strange gait and lower-face movement in Lyme patients
The importance of having a Lyme-literate doctor
The consequences of untreated Lyme disease
The three forms of Borrelia
Resources:
Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar—Your Brain’s Silent Killers by David Perlmutter
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society
‘Your Skin on Gluten’ on YouTube
Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine
Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism
The increasing number of gluten-free products on the market can be both a blessing and a curse. Yes, it gives us more options, but are those options truly safe and healthy?
Today the Gluten Free RN goes over the important questions to ask about the products you consume, explaining how the foods promoted by some gluten-free groups may be influenced by their corporate sponsors. She reminds us why we can’t simply trust the products labeled ‘gluten-free’ or ‘gluten removed,’ discussing the lack of oversight and standardization around classification and the cumulative effect of consuming a number of products that are just under the 20 ppm cutoff.
Nadine also shares a list of companies she trusts to consistently produce gluten-free products and offers suggestions around new food options we might explore. Listen in and learn to choose the nutrient-dense foods that will help your body heal!
The importance of questioning the source of your information
Why Nadine avoids the ‘gluten removed’ label
The questions to ask about gluten-free products
The cumulative effect of eating many products just under 20 ppm
Reliable companies that consistently produce truly gluten-free products
The challenges faced by newly diagnosed celiac patients
Why Nadine avoids gluten-free breads
New food options to explore as a celiac patient
Why Nadine recommends reevaluating the foods you consume
Why you can’t trust product labels
Nadine’s rules around choosing products
The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America
‘Your Skin on Gluten’ on YouTube
Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine
Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism
People are suffering. From a feeling of hopelessness. From depression and anxiety. Add to that a despair that no one supports them, and you have a desperate individual at an increased risk of committing suicide.
This topic hits close to home for Nadine, as she lost a nephew to suicide in 2007. Ian struggled with addiction issues, and he took his life at the age of 19. Because her family is predisposed to celiac disease, Nadine wonders if undiagnosed celiac disease may have been partially to blame for her nephew’s issues. Today she explores the mental health disorders that are associated with gluten getting through the blood-brain barrier. She also explains how undiagnosed celiac disease puts patients at an increased risk for morbidity, and stresses the fact that celiac disease can—and will—kill you if it goes untreated.
Listen in as the Gluten Free RN tells her own story of improved mental health on a gluten-free diet. She also covers the types of cancers that might be prevented by going gluten-free, the connection between AFib and celiac disease, and how dermatitis herpetiformis affects patients. Listen and learn the best diet to help you get better, faster, and why medical professionals need to pay more attention to the intestines!
How to define morbidity and mortality
How morbidity presents itself in undiagnosed celiac patients
Information from the World Health Organization (WHO)
The prominent mental health issues associated with celiac disease
How removing gluten from her diet improved Nadine’s mental health
The grains that contain gluten
The Paleo diet Nadine suggests for celiac and gluten-sensitive patients
Nadine’s experience with celiac disease
The connection between AFib and celiac disease
How dermatitis herpetiformis affects patients
The cancers that are potentially preventable on a gluten-free diet
The genes that indicate a predisposition to celiac disease
Other disorders that could be mitigated by a gluten-free diet
How long it takes to receive celiac diagnosis in US
The risks for patients diagnosed with celiac disease in childhood
Nadine’s research around celiac testing in autopsy
How Nadine periodically gives her system a detox
Why medical professionals should give more attention to the intestines
The issues that can result from undiagnosed celiac disease
The definition of refractory celiac disease
Why it’s crucial to remove all gluten from the environment
The connection between undiagnosed celiac disease the despair that leads to suicide
What happens when gluten gets through a leaky blood-brain barrier
The risks associated with eating traditionally grown fruits and vegetables
The goals of the first six months on a gluten-free diet
Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity in Down, Turner and Williams Syndrome
“Necropsy Studies on Adult Coeliac Disease” in the Journal of Clinical Pathology
“Mortality in Celiac Disease” in Gastroenterology
“The Global Burden of Celiac Disease” in PLoSONE
“The Unknown Burden and Cost of Celiac Disease in the US” in Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research
“Long-Term Mortality in People with Celiac Disease Diagnosed in Childhood Compared with Adulthood” in the American Journal of Gastroenterology
“Increased Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Coeliac Disease: A Nationwide Cohort Study” in the European Heart Journal
“Increased Suicide Risk in Coeliac Disease—A Swedish Nationwide Cohort Study” in Digestive and Liver Disease
“The Burden of Celiac Disease and the Value of Having It Diagnosed” by Fredrik Norström of UMEA University
“Complications of Coeliac Disease: Are All Patients at Risk?”
‘Your Skin on Gluten’ on YouTube
Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine
Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism
When boys are hurt, we tell them to ‘rub some dirt on it’ and get back in the game. So it comes as no surprise that men have a tough time admitting weakness, especially to something as innocuous as a slice of bread. Perhaps this explains why celiac disease is considered a women’s issue, when in reality the male-to-female ratio is closer to 1:1.
Today the Gluten Free RN discusses the large numbers of men in the US who go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, sharing several anecdotes of patients whose symptoms resolved on a gluten-free diet. She covers the particular social challenges for men with celiac disease, the laundry list of symptoms men may encounter, and the specifics of nutrition she recommends for gluten-sensitive patients.
Through it may be difficult to give up pizza and beer with the guys, it is worth the effort to go from sick and struggling to happy and healthy. Listen in and learn how to make going gluten-free simple and easy, even for men with limited culinary skills. Add bacon fat to your greens AND regain your abs with advice from the Gluten Free RN!
The myth that men are less likely to suffer from celiac disease
The addictive nature of gluten
Case study of man diagnosed with pancreatitis
Common symptoms of celiac disease in men
Why men with osteoporosis and anemia together should assume they have celiac disease
Nadine’s patient with a climbing PSA (lab indicator of prostate cancer)
How Nadine’s doctor had a change of heart around celiac disease
The lack of celiac understanding exhibited by healthcare practitioners in the US
Doug’s story
How gluten causes excessive gas, explosive diarrhea and constipation
Nadine’s advice around nutrition for gluten sensitive patients
The benefits of bacon
Why men may be more resistant to diet change
Nadine’s advice for men on eating fresh, gluten-free food
Why subsidized ingredients are found in countless products
The social challenges for men with celiac disease
How switching from vegan or vegetarian to Paleo has affected Nadine’s male patients
The Whole 30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig
‘Your Skin on Gluten’ on YouTube
Melodies of the Danube Gluten-Free Cruise with Nadine
Dough Nation: A Nurse's Memoir of Celiac Disease from Missed Diagnosis to Food and Health Activism