The Doctor Gluten Project

“I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance 2 years ago, and going lactose free settled some of my gastrointestinal problems, but not everything.

I tried going fructose free for a month earlier this year as things like coconut cream and apples upset my stomach. Things were still not right, I was incredibly tired even after a good night’s sleep and had difficulty concentrating.  I would wake with headaches frequently.

I knew there was no medical reason for the tiredness. So I tried going gluten-free as a desperate measure a few months ago and felt less tired within two days.  My fuzzy head disappeared too which meant I could concentrate better.

Then I found your website and read a couple of your books – this all made a lot of sense at this point.  I tried going back on a small amount of gluten after a month and I was back with the tiredness, headaches, stomach upsets.  In addition, when I went back onto a normal amount of gluten, I had marked muscle weakness initially in my legs but frequently my whole body.

At this point I went to my GP to request coeliac blood tests - I'd been tested before, but I wondered if anything had changed after my accident and didn't know if the IgG-gliadin test was one of the previous tests.  My results were:  The results were tTg 0, total IgA 0.77, IgG-gliadin 6 (normal range 0-20).

I really don't understand the numbers in light of the symptoms (I am a scientist by training and am used to dealing with numbers).