How to approach my GP?

[Darthvadersmuuuum]

Sorry if this is long, I do have a degree of health anxiety around this issue...

I have visited my GP several times over the years with symptoms of anxiety, depression and PMS. ADs have been prescribed or I've been left feeling dismissed after asking for further investigations to find the root cause of the issues.

Recently, I went GF for a month and I have honestly never felt better: No bloating, mental clarity and emotionally balanced.

Towards the end of the elimination month I caught a nasty cold virus. When I started to feel better I went back to eating glutenous foods and immediately started to feel worse again. The lymph nodes in my neck swelled, my sinuses became inflamed and my wrist & knee joints ached. This now happens every time I eat gluten containing foods.

I have been doing some googling and wonder if the gluten is setting off an autoimmune response? I am particularly worried about this as my DM, who is only in her early 60s, is riddled with rheumatoid arthritis (among other things). She has very poor mobility these days and she too suffered with anxiety, depression and pms through her life.

My googling has led me to believe I may have coeliac or hashimotos or something along those lines as these conditions are linked with RA so I would like a blood test to investigate the cause of these longstanding issues (i should say that I am often constipated too). If I know what I'm dealing with I can make the necessary lifestyle changes to mitigate against future health issues as much as possible.

However, I am not very assertive when it comes to visiting the GP - due to my anxiety I probably come across as being a bit of an arse. I generally avoid visiting the GP unless it's necessary as I resent being fobbed off with ADs. I'm also aware that GPs don't appreciate patients presenting with food intolerances/allergies and I'm worried I'll be dismissed as neurotic (which I probably am).

Therefore, how do I approach my GP to get the blood tests I believe I need?

If you got this far, thank you for reading.

Why don't you write everything you've said here, down on a piece of paper and talk through it with the doctor? That way you can be sure you've covered it all and it might be easier to stay calm?
If you are asking for a coeliac blood screen (I'm coeliac) then please be aware that you need to have been eating a fully gluteny (i.e./ not just 1 piece of toast a day) diet for the last 6 weeks or the antibodies that the test detects will not be present sufficiently to be screened.
Good luck.

Yes, speak to your GP, for ceoliac you need to be eating gluten as poster said above and for thyroid disease you probably will have more of a battle as you would need a thyroid screen and most gps only like to test for TSH, but ensure your thyroid is actually ok you need T3 and T4 and antibodies. ( my endo will only test antibodies the Gp refuses too).

If you have an issue getting proper thyroid bloods medichecks offer an brilliant thyroid screen with all the auto immune antibodies and they usually have offers for thyroid bloods on a Thursday.

Good luck

By the way my ceoliac disease causes massive joint pain if I have been glutened and the reaction can be so bizarre I was being tested for lupus when a routine test came back as strongly postaive for ceoliac, since then my mum, brother and eldest daughter have all tested positive.

Thank you for 'listening' 0llenbrody0. Writing it down for the GP is a good idea. I'm a professional ffs but I feel about 6 years old when I visit the GP. As a person with coeliac disease, do any of my symptoms ring true to you?

Thank you so much kyz1981. Part of my worry is that DD reacts similarly.

OK I should stop googling now! DM has a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease with cognitive decline. There is some research suggesting a link between coeliac and Parkinson's

I'd be happy to do bloods if you came to me with that story (GP here)

Thank you, that's reassuring. Back to a full on gluten diet for 6 weeks and I hope my GP is as understanding as you are hiyasminitsme.

My symptoms for ceoliac were anxiety, brain fog, bloating, constipation, anemia that would never resolve with tablets, joint pain, I had a rash and I started to get neurological symptoms after reintroducing Gluten after going paleo ( this was when I got diagnosed), I now get much more immediate and severe reactions as my body is not used to gluten.

Ceoliac is multi organ autoimmune disease so can cause all sorts of weird stuff, and I only know it was caused by ceoliac as when I went 100% gluten free it all resolved.

My thyroid was overactive so my symptoms were dramatic weight loss, jittery and very very fast heart rate and anxiety.

Those are not my personal symptoms, however, many (online) coeliac friends of mine have reported similar and I have read about the correlation between coeliac and other auto immune diseases such as RA.
Auto immune diseases often run in families. My mum is coeliac as was my grandfather.
Hope you get answers,
.