Can You Be Overwieght And Have Celiac Disease?

Can You Be Overwieght And Have Celiac Disease? Rate Topic:

#1 hannahsue01

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Posted 11 August 2006 - 02:04 PM

Everyone I know including my doctor thinks that you can't be overwieght and have this disease. They don't understand how when your body is being starved of nutriants how you can be overwieght. From what I have seen on other posts on here that many celiacs are overwieght. Frankly I don't know either and don't know how to explain it to them. Does anyone know the explanation to this?

Myself-Age 25....I have had symptoms since at least 1998 if not since infancy (was diagnosed with malnutrition as a small child)...Positive results with gluten free diet!

Hannah-Age 5.....Has symptoms....Inconclusive blood tests....Positive diet response to both gluten free and lactose free!

Grace-Age 1.....Born at 29 weeks due to me having celiac....Has reflux and a feeding tube.

Husband-Not Celiac......has found that he does feel better when not eating allot of gluten.....is gluten free at home.

#2 tarnalberry

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Posted 11 August 2006 - 02:07 PM

I don't know any other way to explain it, but if you google for the NIH consensus paper on celiac disease, you'll find that even they note that you don't have to be under- or normal- weight to have celiac.

Tiffany aka "Have I Mentioned Chocolate Lately?"
Inconclusive Blood Tests, Positive Dietary Results, No Endoscopy
G.F. - September 2003; C.F. - July 2004
Hiker, Yoga Teacher, Engineer, Painter, Be-er of Me
Bellevue, WA

#3 jerseyangel

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Posted 11 August 2006 - 02:29 PM

Hi,

According to Dr. Peter Green, in his book "Celiac Disease--A Hidden Epidemic"--

"In a study done by the Mayo Clinic in 2003, approximmately 20 percent of patients diagnosed with Celiac Disease were overweight; many were obese, effectively eliminating the definition of Celiac Disease as a "wasting disease"."

In my own case, I was always about 20 pounds overweight until just before I was diagnosed--I was very ill and lost 15 lbs pretty quickly.

Patti

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans"

"When people show you who they are, believe them"--Maya Angelou

"Bloom where you are planted"--Bev

Celiac.com - Celiac Disease Board Moderator

#4 Guest_nini_*

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Posted 12 August 2006 - 06:43 AM

I've lost 110 pounds since my dx of Celiac and going gluten-free. I was skinny minny growing up, but in my early 20's I started putting on weight despite the fact that I was always on a diet and ate very little. It was explained to me this way, in some people the body is so malnourished and is starving and goes into survival mode, when it does this it holds onto the only thing it can which is the fat cells. I was classified as morbidly obese and I was so frustrated because I didn't eat that much at all. Now that I'm gluten-free, I eat whatever I want as long as it's gluten-free and treats in moderation, but the proof is in the weight loss. I went from a size 3x to a size 10.

#5 jennyj

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Posted 12 August 2006 - 07:11 AM

I was(am some) overweight when I finally was dx. Since Sept. I have lost over 35 pounds. I stayed pretty stable from Jan.-July but started losing again, without trying.

jennyj

Diagnosed March 2006 celiac sprue
Severe iron deficent anemia Jan 2002
Hypoglecemia 2000

"I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me"

#6 jacklyn1981

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Posted 12 August 2006 - 03:31 PM

Ok I saw this thread and felt compelled to post a reply.

YES you can be overweight and be a celiac.

I was Diagnosed months ago and i have been overweight all my life and i mean overweight. When my doctor told me i had celiac i went home and did research and thought ...This cant be me! I've never had trouble gaining weight! In fact i convinced myself it was a miss diagnosis until i went back to the Dr. and questioned him about being overweight and that i did not fit the typical celiac symptom of weight loss or had trouble gaining weight... he told me that it didn't matter ...that they found out that i was a celiac by accident they thought i had IBS till they took a biopsy of my intestines and did blood work to discover i was a celiac.
His final word was : We found out you were a celiac before it got to its advanced stages...had i gone on eating like i always did i would have eventually suffered from severe weight loss. Some people are just in different stages...thankfully they caught mine early.

#7 Guest_nini_*

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Posted 12 August 2006 - 04:15 PM

jacklyn1981, on Aug 12 2006, 07:31 PM, said:

You can also be in advanced stages like I was, and still be overweight.

#8 rinne

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Posted 12 August 2006 - 05:01 PM

I was slim through my twenties but in my thirties gained about 35 pounds which melted away this winter when I finally got really sick. Now I am glad I had the weight to lose.

A family with Celiac disease, two brothers and two sisters.

Lyme Disease, Diagnosis October 19, 2006

May 2006 - December 2008 Gluten and Dairy Free

December 2008, while seeing improvement on the gluten free diet, I did not recover and so in December of 2008 began the SCD and now have hope for recovery.

#9 ianm

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Posted 12 August 2006 - 05:43 PM

I am another former heavyweight. Once I cut the gluten the weight came right off.

If all the world is indeed a stage and we are merely players then will someone give me the script because I have no f!@#$%^ clue as to what is going on!

What does not kill you makes you stronger.
Nobody cares about losers and quitters never win. If you fail with the cowards then what's the message you send?
Can't get it right, no matter what I do. Might as well be me and keep fu@$ing up for you. - Brian Thomas (Halloween, the greatest metal band ever!)

Ian Moore. Self diagnosed at 36 because the doctors were clueless.
Started low-carb diet early 2004, felt better but not totally gluten-free. Went 100% gluten-free early 2005 and life has never been better.

#10 PJKR

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Posted 19 August 2006 - 08:28 AM

The lady that first mentioned Celiac to me(she had it) had always been 40 or so lbs overweight. She said "I'm one of the big ones...lucky me!" She might not have had the perfect weight but she had the best attiude! I remember saying "It CAN'T be wheat! Wheat is in EVERYTHING!!!" She nodded her head yes while laughing her head off. She was right! PJ