Update on gastroenterologist

Got a second call from the gastroenterologist. For those of you who actually pay for your healthcare (my American visitors) it might seem strange (or not at all, I have no idea) that a doctor who does tests on you would not take five seconds to call you back. In my experience, most tell you that you will not hear from them unless there is a problem. Like, taking the 1 minute needed to leave a message and tell someone they're fine is just too much. But this guy called, left a message, then called again. Whether it was because he forgot that he'd already rung me or not, I'm thrilled at the outcome. I was sooo happy to talk to him.

Here's the gist of our conversation:

• no he doesn't have the genetic test back- could be a month
• my antibody test (IgA) looked normal, but no, he wouldn't know if it had been positive before I stopped eating gluten (he called that "the million dollar question")
• yes, it is possible I have food intolerances, and lots of people with them feel much better on a gluten-free diet
• I can try and eat wheat again, but I should do it gently in case it makes me sick, or I can wait till I have the genetic test back first
• my iron is low AGAIN- ferretin level is 9, though I'm not anemic. When I started my course of shots last time, my ferretin level was 6 (and I wasn't anemic back then either).

So, really, until that genetic screen comes back, I won't know anything. Once he tells me conclusively that I cannot have Celiac simply because I don't have the genetic make-up, I will attempt to eat a small amount of wheat (maybe a cracker or something) and eat nothing else that I might react to for a few days ( no corn, no dairy, nothing I don't know I can handle) while I guage my reaction. I might just be fine...then I could drink beer. And that would be good. :)

Update on gastroenterologist