I've been doing some research on this topic and wonder if anyone has any input on the subject.
I started my gluten-free diet two days before my official diagnosis of celiac disease. That was January, 20. What I didn't know is that I was almost four weeks pregnant at the time. I've stuck to the gluten-free diet very well. I'm still trying to discern my syptoms as to if I have been cross contaiminated and I believe my first clue was reflux but with pregnancy, it was hard to determine which was which.
Sadly, I lost my twins this week. The doctors think it was a fluke and something went wrong in the dividing process in the very early days. I'm trying to figure out was this due to untreated celiac disease and then only knowing to start treatment after becoming pregnant.
I am so very sorry for your loss. What I can tell you is many with undiagosed Celiac Disease have lost all their children and my wish along with every expectation is you will have many healthy children in the future -- not that this helps right now.
i have heard that having untreated celiac disease can possibly cause miscarriages. I wouldn't be surprised if the withdrawl and body changes that one would experience in the first few weeks could throw a mother's body into enough of a tailspin to make pregnancy difficult. Another problem could be that those with celiac disease may also have other autoimmune disorders that make a pg difficult; thyroiditis is oneAI that is quite common and often affects fertility too. It might be a good idea to have yourself checked for anyother health issues you might have (and hypothyroidism as it mimics many of the celiac disease symptoms.
I have heard (but I can't remember where) that those with treated celiac disease have their fertility improve. There is a chance that your miscarriage was unrelated to celiac (most untreated celiacs are able to have children). I wish you the best with your gluten-free diet and with the expansion of your family.
I did a lot of research, and miscarriage is much.more common than people think. It may or may not be related to the celiac, but it is extremely unlikely you could have done anything differently.
Once diagnosed and on the gluten-free diet pregnancy outcomes are virtually the same as for non celiacs.
Take time and get support if you need it.
Very best wishes for the future, and for each day.
1
- Symptoms from 2001, maybe before. Across 20+ years, these have included, vomiting, D, migraines, headaches, recurrent miscarriage, inflammation problems (failure to heal from injuries) brain fog, anxiety and more! - Elimination diet using Atkins, 2003 – excluded wheat, caffeine, quorn. 2005, excluded sesame, alcohol - Started diagnosis route April 2012, blood tests, endoscopy – said negative, gluten challenge, clearly something very wrong, had to stop after 3 weeks. - Gluten Free, August 2012, Corn Free, September 2012. Removed most processed gluten free foods. - Genetic testing, December 2012 – negative – Diagnosis – Non Celiac Gluten Intolerance (NCGI) - Elimination diet, January 2013 – all of the above plus dairy, legumes, all grains, sugar, additives, white potatoes, soy. Reintroducing sloooowly now. Health improving. It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein Celiac.com - Celiac Disease Board Moderator
I had one miscarriage and the safe birth of 5 children over about 10 years when I had untreated celiac. Since then, I didn't conceive and my last biological child was born in 1997. My age is 49.
