Gluten symptoms and conditions

My husband suffered for a full year with constant burping--not reflux, not heartburn, just air, like colic. He was so bloated that it was painful for him to sit. He went from doctor to doctor, and even to a GI who suspected Celiac's. He also had a feeling that his throat was constricted, and once went to the emergency room, afraid that it might close up. The doctors found nothing.

He has a severe dust allergy (it causes hives, no respiratory symptoms) that was diagnosed last year, at which point he was prescribed Zyrtec and Singulair. He mentioned the prescriptions to every doctor he saw (this is in New York, not the boondocks, btw), and every one said it can't be the Zyrtec or the Singulair. It should be noted that we eat all natural foods, no white flour, no white sugar, so we knew there were no artificial additives that could be causing his reaction. My husband even tried cutting out dairy, then wheat, then all gluten, for over a month.

Finally, about five weeks ago, he told a cousin about his mysterious symptoms, and she asked if he was taking Zyrtec. He said yes, and she said he should try going off it because she'd had a similar problem with that drug. He did, and within four days, the burping and bloating stopped.

Because his itching was uncontrollable with Singulair alone, he decided to try taking one Zyrtec, thinking it might not hurt. Within 24 hours, the burping and throat swelling was back intensely.

The doctor switched him to Allegra. He took one and it helped him. He took a second pill two days later, and the burping reaction started. The allergist confirmed that people who have this "rare" reaction to Zyrtec may also have that reaction to Allegra.

If you are suffering from these symptoms, go off the Zyrtec as soon as you can. I wish someone had told us so that my husband would have saved himself a year of suffering.

My 2 year old son was prescribed Singulair for eczema yesterday and gave him his first dose last night. His bedtime is at 8 and since he is two years old and fights sleep, it normally takes him 30 to 60 minutes to actually fall asleep. He was still awake at 10:30. He couldn't seem to wind down. I knew it was from the Singulair immediately. I woke up this morning and got the prescription literature to see if this is even prescribed for eczema. It didn't say. So I got on Singulair's ...... and nothing about eczema. I then searched ...... and found this website and I am completely blown away by everyone's stories. I think I will take the 30 bucks for next months prescription and buy a humidifier for the apartment and use some Cetaphil lotion. He didn't have breakouts this summer due to the humidity, so I will just make my apartment humid. The doctor not only prescribed Singulair, but also Clarinex. The pharmacy had to order it and I was supposed to pick it up today, but I am going to search the side effects for it first. I will probably just save my money and see what I can do with home remedies.

I have been off Advair for 7 months now. After quitting, I first got my voice back -- it had been cracking and disappearing by the end of the day. Then the swelling in my ankles went down. I was able to stick to a diet, and now I realize I looked like I was pregnant, my stomach was so big. I've lost 15 pounds on a realistically low-carb, low-gluten diet, fairly easily. I'm running again, finally with no muscle pain, and more lung capacity than I had on Advair. I've had a cold virus twice, and didn't become asthmatic, even though EVERY single cold had in the past. I was up to 500/50 when I decided to quit, and my doctor had told me I would likely have to stay on that dosage forever. (I'd had to supplement with Albuterol when I tried to exercise, and frequently had nighttime wheezes.) She was wrong. Advair is BAD NEWS. If you decide to quit, taper off gradually, over a few weeks. I went through a bad spell of painful headaches in the week I tapered.

I have celiac sprue and need to know if Hydrochlorothiazide contains any gluten.

Thank you.