[Eric_C]

So for all the swine flu hype, and the governements massive attempts to create a crisis out of thin air it left me wondering about people with Celiac's.

Some of the articles I've read say that Cecliac's have an over active immune system and therefore are LESS likely to get sick following a strict gluten-free diet.

I know before my Cecliac's got bad 8 years ago that I was never sick....then I had the flu all the time, now that I've been gluten-free, nothing bothers me.

I've been around people falling down dying with the flu and I will feel crappy for what seems like a few hours then I'm fine again.

I am in the public every day all day. I'm in and our of businesses, meeting people all day, even those with the flu and never catch a cold.

I'd be very interested to see what the winter flu numbers look like for Celiac's on a gluten-free diet versus the general population.

[FMcGee]

The government's massive attempts to create a crisis out of thin air? Huh?

I'd definitely be interested in a study comparing the relative rate of flu among people with diagnosed celiac disease and those without. I'd guess that those of us who got sick all the time pre-diagnosis were getting sick because we were unhealthy, and now that we're healthier, our immune systems are better. I'm not sure it makes intuitive sense to me that a gluten-free diet inherently confers immunity, but it would be interesting. You'd first have to look at those with diagnosed celiac disease against the general population, I think, and then those who follow a gluten-free diet who aren't diagnosed with celiac disease against the general population, and see what you come up with.

(Also, just FYI: It's "celiac," not "Celiac's.")

[Eric_C]

FMcGee, on Nov 6 2009, 12:05 PM, said:

The government's massive attempts to create a crisis out of thin air? Huh?

I'd definitely be interested in a study comparing the relative rate of flu among people with diagnosed celiac disease and those without. I'd guess that those of us who got sick all the time pre-diagnosis were getting sick because we were unhealthy, and now that we're healthier, our immune systems are better. I'm not sure it makes intuitive sense to me that a gluten-free diet inherently confers immunity, but it would be interesting. You'd first have to look at those with diagnosed celiac disease against the general population, I think, and then those who follow a gluten-free diet who aren't diagnosed with celiac disease against the general population, and see what you come up with.

(Also, just FYI: It's "celiac," not "Celiac's.")

Well considering celiac's is an autoimmune disorder and the article I am referring to(have to get the link) stated that part of celiac's is from an overactive immune system.

I did find this:

Quote

Research shows that people with Celiac Disease who are not on a Gluten Free Diet, live an average of 5 years less than the average population. It also shows that people with Celiac Disease who maintain a healthy gluten free life-style, live an average of 5 years longer than the average population.

from http://www.glutenfre....com/gfdiet.php but I had read the original medical documentation that statement came from.

The gist was, celiac's have a better overall immune system than a regular person, so long as they do not eat gluten they are more effective fighting off disease, hence not getting sick.

[Gemini]

Quote

The government's massive attempts to create a crisis out of thin air? Huh?

Yup, that's what they're doing and I'm guessing it's got a lot to do with their attempts to get socialized medicine passed. Plus, if you keep people pre-occupied with fears of a pandemic, they aren't focused on what's really going on. It's happened in many an administration and will happen again. It's politics.

As for my theory on why people may be less prone to the flu after going gluten-free, well....they are definitely healthier and eating better (presumably). However, I wonder if the fact that we have overactive immune systems means that any marauding invader will be set upon and viciously subdued, due to this over-activity? I mean, look what happens when we eat gluten. It doesn't take much to get the immune system angry and go on the attack so what does that say about viruses which may enter the body?

Just my crackpot theory but I have never had a flu shot and certainly am not going to start now, in spite of all the fear mongering. I have also never had the flu and rarely, if ever, get a cold. I may have other immunity problems besides Celiac but they are well under control and I've been fine so far this year.

FYI.....my brother, who I strongly suspect is a Celiac but has chosen the denial path, is now currently sick with the swine flu and now his wife has it. He is sick all the time but also has Type 1 diabetes.
It just makes you wonder.....

[Lisa]

Gemini, on Nov 6 2009, 12:23 PM, said:

Yup, that's what they're doing and I'm guessing it's got a lot to do with their attempts to get socialized medicine passed. Plus, if you keep people pre-occupied with fears of a pandemic, they aren't focused on what's really going on. It's happened in many an administration and will happen again. It's politics.

That's absurd!

Politics does not fare well here. Might be best to stay on topic. I'll take my own advise.

Can't recall being seriously sick in the last five years. I have gotten the flu shot once. But, I'm very pleased and relieved that my seven month pregnant daughter was able to get the H1N1.

[RideAllWays]

I dont understand all the hype about Swine Flu...it's a flu! Just like the flu everybody gets every single year...I had it, my roommate had it, heck about half of my university has had it apparently...we all lived to tell the tale! Most of us only had bad symptoms for a few days, and just stayed in quarantine because we were supposed to.

I talked to the nurse and apparently we celiacs are in the high risk group, so I should get a vaccine...but I'm not going to. I survived it once and to tell you the truth it was really all that bad, it just sucked for a few days.

[srthomas21]

I think the reason it's getting more attention is because H1N1 kills kids and teenagers and young adults because it's a new strain and they can't fight it off as well as the older population who has been exposed to more strains in their lifetime. This is the first time in a long time that it has been fatal for kids and teenagers who were perfectly healthy before. The fatality numbers are not dramatic but its the age group of those fatalities that is dramatic.

[Eric_C]

RideAllWays, on Nov 6 2009, 12:33 PM, said:

I dont understand all the hype about Swine Flu...it's a flu! Just like the flu everybody gets every single year...I had it, my roommate had it, heck about half of my university has had it apparently...we all lived to tell the tale! Most of us only had bad symptoms for a few days, and just stayed in quarantine because we were supposed to.

I talked to the nurse and apparently we celiacs are in the high risk group, so I should get a vaccine...but I'm not going to. I survived it once and to tell you the truth it was really all that bad, it just sucked for a few days.

I do think celiac's are in a high risk group, IF they do not eat gluten-free.

As far as socialized medicine, the minute I took my health into my own hands, started making my own decisions, my health improved. When you put the responsability of care on the individual versus having it all handed to them, they tend to make smarter choices, and spend less money.

We just switched to catastrophic insurance. No covered doctors visits, no RX coverage, 10K deductible. Why?

We called our regular doctor and said we are going to pay cash, 40 percent discount.

I went for a cholesterol test, insurance company charged $480.
Wife went for the same test, $280

Called an independent lab, $69 for the same exact test.

Chiro was dropped from most major medical providers, what happened? Costs dropped dramatically. They started to offer their own plans, competition increased, prices went down, and the consumer now has more power to determine the quality of health care based on where they want to spend their money.

The politics of health care right now will matter more to your future health than eating a gluten-free diet. So few understand how things really work, or how they will work in rationed health care.

Considering the possability of all the things that can go wrong with people with Celiac's are willing to trust someone else to tell you what quality of care you get?

It comes down to numbers. 2 people get a curable form of cancer. One is 40 years old and makes 200,000 a year in income which means they are a good source of tax income. Person 2 is 62, retired, and drawing social security, a burden on the state financially.

If you think they have the same opportunity for the same care then your being naive. The person who is more productive and worth more to the system financially will get better treatment.

If the treat Person 2 over Person 1 then its a financial loss. If they treat person 1 and do not provide adequate treatment to person 2 its a financial GAIN.

Thats how life works in big business and if you believe any differently its pie in the sky thinking.

[summerteeth]

I suspect I have already had swine flu. I was sick for about a week and a half, but did not go to the doctor because when I called her office, she said do not come in unless you are so sick you cannot keep food down - and in that case, go to the ER (and she is well aware of my DX). I was laid up in bed for about three days. I was pretty sick, but it was not earth shattering by any means. My fiance and his brother also had the same flu. Fiance was only sick for about a day and a half, while his brother (who is only 18 and has severe asthma) was extremely sick for about two weeks and had to go to the ER. So, based off of the three of us and our varying general health, I would say don't freak out, but be well aware of the symptoms. And for me, I took off work right when I started feeling ill because I do not want to be responsible in case it affects other people differently then it did me.

But that is just my 2 cents.

[Lisa]

Eric_C, on Nov 6 2009, 01:47 PM, said:

I do think celiac's are in a high risk group, IF they do not eat gluten-free.

As far as socialized medicine, the minute I took my health into my own hands, started making my own decisions, my health improved. When you put the responsability of care on the individual versus having it all handed to them, they tend to make smarter choices, and spend less money.

We just switched to catastrophic insurance. No covered doctors visits, no RX coverage, 10K deductible. Why?

We called our regular doctor and said we are going to pay cash, 40 percent discount.

I went for a cholesterol test, insurance company charged $480.
Wife went for the same test, $280

Called an independent lab, $69 for the same exact test.

Chiro was dropped from most major medical providers, what happened? Costs dropped dramatically. They started to offer their own plans, competition increased, prices went down, and the consumer now has more power to determine the quality of health care based on where they want to spend their money.

The politics of health care right now will matter more to your future health than eating a gluten-free diet. So few understand how things really work, or how they will work in rationed health care.

Considering the possability of all the things that can go wrong with people with Celiac's are willing to trust someone else to tell you what quality of care you get?

It comes down to numbers. 2 people get a curable form of cancer. One is 40 years old and makes 200,000 a year in income which means they are a good source of tax income. Person 2 is 62, retired, and drawing social security, a burden on the state financially.

If you think they have the same opportunity for the same care then your being naive. The person who is more productive and worth more to the system financially will get better treatment.

If the treat Person 2 over Person 1 then its a financial loss. If they treat person 1 and do not provide adequate treatment to person 2 its a financial GAIN.

Thats how life works in big business and if you believe any differently its pie in the sky thinking.

Eric, your topic is H1N1 and Celiac Disease.

[Gemini]

Eric_C, on Nov 6 2009, 01:47 PM, said:

I do think celiac's are in a high risk group, IF they do not eat gluten-free.

As far as socialized medicine, the minute I took my health into my own hands, started making my own decisions, my health improved. When you put the responsability of care on the individual versus having it all handed to them, they tend to make smarter choices, and spend less money.

We just switched to catastrophic insurance. No covered doctors visits, no RX coverage, 10K deductible. Why?

We called our regular doctor and said we are going to pay cash, 40 percent discount.

I went for a cholesterol test, insurance company charged $480.
Wife went for the same test, $280

Called an independent lab, $69 for the same exact test.

Chiro was dropped from most major medical providers, what happened? Costs dropped dramatically. They started to offer their own plans, competition increased, prices went down, and the consumer now has more power to determine the quality of health care based on where they want to spend their money.

The politics of health care right now will matter more to your future health than eating a gluten-free diet. So few understand how things really work, or how they will work in rationed health care.

Considering the possability of all the things that can go wrong with people with Celiac's are willing to trust someone else to tell you what quality of care you get?

It comes down to numbers. 2 people get a curable form of cancer. One is 40 years old and makes 200,000 a year in income which means they are a good source of tax income. Person 2 is 62, retired, and drawing social security, a burden on the state financially.

If you think they have the same opportunity for the same care then your being naive. The person who is more productive and worth more to the system financially will get better treatment.

If the treat Person 2 over Person 1 then its a financial loss. If they treat person 1 and do not provide adequate treatment to person 2 its a financial GAIN.

Thats how life works in big business and if you believe any differently its pie in the sky thinking.

Eric.....you mean there is someone else who understands how the system really works? You are 100% correct and that's all I'll say for now. You notice when the reality of socialized medicine comes up, we are advised to stay on topic. Kind of like what I said about keeping people pre-occupied to keep the focus elsewhere.

I also agree with the logic of Celiacs NOT being high risk, unless they choose not to follow the diet. I think some medical people see the word disease and think you are automatically high risk. Pregnant women, most definitely are, so they can have my dose!

[FMcGee]

Gemini, on Nov 6 2009, 03:57 PM, said:

Eric.....you mean there is someone else who understands how the system really works? You are 100% correct and that's all I'll say for now. You notice when the reality of socialized medicine comes up, we are advised to stay on topic. Kind of like what I said about keeping people pre-occupied to keep the focus elsewhere.

I also agree with the logic of Celiacs NOT being high risk, unless they choose not to follow the diet. I think some medical people see the word disease and think you are automatically high risk. Pregnant women, most definitely are, so they can have my dose!

Anytime anything political comes up, we're told to stay on topic. It gets kind of chafing after awhile, as though we're kids who can't handle civil discourse. I disagree with you and Eric on this one, though. I think that the reaction to swine flu does, at times, seem a bit over the top, but it's actually how public health and prevention is supposed to work. A friend of mine who works in public health (though has nothing to do with swine flu, and is a little jealous that her issues aren't getting the same attention) put it this way in a recent blog post: "But if I stop resenting H1N1 for getting so much attention for a moment, I realize that what I’m complaining about is actually public health at is best. It is probably true that the coordination of government urgency, media attention, medical system mobilization, and common sense precautions will succeed in thwarting a pandemic. We will probably not look back at 2009 and say it was the beginning of a swine flu crisis that devastated a generation.

What feels like hysteria or over-emphasis is actually the way prevention is supposed to look. It is supposed to be widespread and coordinated. Messages about the importance and seriousness of the public health threat are supposed to be so pervasive that they are almost impossible to ignore. I’m so used to caring about public health crises that don’t get the attention and resources they deserve that I almost can’t recognize what the public health system looks like when it does work."

So, I don't think this is the administration trying to drum up support for "socialized medicine." (I'm going to leave that entire issue alone.) I think that, while I roll my eyes at swine flu coverage sometimes, it's more along the lines of a system that's working the way it should, in a way we're not used to.

As for your other point: I agree that people see "disease" and assume high risk, and that people with celiac disease probably aren't at higher risk than anyone else. I'm not going to get vaccinated until the CDC has enough vaccines available for everyone. The high-risk populations need it first. If they have enough to go around while the flu is still a threat, sure, why not? But for now, I'll pass. If I get the swine flu, I'll be okay.

[psawyer]

FMcGee, on Nov 6 2009, 04:06 PM, said:

Anytime anything political comes up, we're told to stay on topic.

This board is about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet that it requires.

There are plenty of other internet forums where politics, religion and other controversial topics can be discussed. This board is not one of them.

There is a Gab/Chat forum on this board, but on the rest of the board, the topics should relate to celiac disease, or the gluten-free diet.