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Liver/Gallbladder issues found to be related to gluten?

Karag

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Karag Apprentice
Karag
Posted

My husband has been having tummy issues for the past few years. It started with a severe case of the hiccups leading to a diagnosis of esophageal ulcers, gerd, and then later h.pylori. This year he has had kidney stones and issues with gall-sludge. He had an ultrasound today (because of most current tummy complaints) which showed gall-sludge, mild fatty infiltration liver, and small benign appearing lesions consistent with hemangiomas (all of which are no change from his ultrasound over 9 months ago, he is not overweight and does not drink).  His HIDA scan from the beginning of the year showed a low functioning gallbladder but I'm not sure at what %. The reason he went to his doc was because of his current pain which he describes as a brick in his stomach and feeling sick to his stomach after drinking water when he wakes up (not to mention after eating anything with gluten, dairy, and acidic foods). Other things he has going on include headaches, gas, vertigo, body and joint pain, heartburn, and has lost a fair amount of weight in the past 4 years. He has a cousin with confirmed celiac and our daughter is considered NCGS (negative blood work, negative endoscopy, but positive result from gluten-free diet - she was falling on growth charts, severely constipated, and had strange leg pains).

Curious to know if anyone else has had similar issues which lead to a celiac diagnosis? Or what anyone would recommend he be tested for? I am suggesting he be tested for celiac, diabetes, and hep C.  Also, because of our daughter we eat gluten-free at home so the only time he has gluten in his diet is when we eat out or he is at work, do you think he would have enough gluten in his system for accurate test results?

I have searched past posts but haven't seen what I am looking for. Thank you for your thoughts!

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cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
9 hours ago, Karag said:

My husband has been having tummy issues for the past few years. It started with a severe case of the hiccups leading to a diagnosis of esophageal ulcers, gerd, and then later h.pylori. This year he has had kidney stones and issues with gall-sludge. He had an ultrasound today (because of most current tummy complaints) which showed gall-sludge, mild fatty infiltration liver, and small benign appearing lesions consistent with hemangiomas (all of which are no change from his ultrasound over 9 months ago, he is not overweight and does not drink).  His HIDA scan from the beginning of the year showed a low functioning gallbladder but I'm not sure at what %. The reason he went to his doc was because of his current pain which he describes as a brick in his stomach and feeling sick to his stomach after drinking water when he wakes up (not to mention after eating anything with gluten, dairy, and acidic foods). Other things he has going on include headaches, gas, vertigo, body and joint pain, heartburn, and has lost a fair amount of weight in the past 4 years. He has a cousin with confirmed celiac and our daughter is considered NCGS (negative blood work, negative endoscopy, but positive result from gluten-free diet - she was falling on growth charts, severely constipated, and had strange leg pains).

Curious to know if anyone else has had similar issues which lead to a celiac diagnosis? Or what anyone would recommend he be tested for? I am suggesting he be tested for celiac, diabetes, and hep C.  Also, because of our daughter we eat gluten-free at home so the only time he has gluten in his diet is when we eat out or he is at work, do you think he would have enough gluten in his system for accurate test results?

I have searched past posts but haven't seen what I am looking for. Thank you for your thoughts!

A gluten challenge for the celiac antibodies blood panel does require a person to be on a full gluten diet (8 to 12 weeks).  For an endoscopy the challenge is shorter (2 to 4 weeks).  It is about a slice of bread per day (or equivalent).  

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My house is gluten free too.  When I wanted to test my kid, I made sure she ate gluten daily for 12 weeks in order to get an accurate result (no doubt).  Sometimes that meant eating a donut on the front porch (weekends), but mostly I made sure her school lunch was full of gluten.  

I strongly encourage you to do the challenge and rule out celiac disease.  A huge amount of celiacs have had liver and/or gallbladder issues.  Like me.  HIDA at 0% and infected!  Wish my celiac disease had been diagnosed.  I might still have my gallbladder.  

  • 2 weeks later...
Karag Apprentice
Karag
Posted
  • Author
On 12/21/2017 at 9:38 PM, cyclinglady said:

I strongly encourage you to do the challenge and rule out celiac disease.  A huge amount of celiacs have had liver and/or gallbladder issues.  Like me.  HIDA at 0% and infected!  Wish my celiac disease had been diagnosed.  I might still have my gallbladder.  

thanks... since we were so close to the end of the year (and since he had already met his deductible) we decided to both have his gallbladder removed and be tested for celiac.

unfortunately they didn't do a full panel.  the results that came back are dgp igg @ 2 and dgp iga @ 3, with reference range being negative under 19. the endomysial ab titer says <1:10 with reference range <1:10, so I have no clue what that means.

lisas11lisa Apprentice
lisas11lisa
Posted

Celiac and Gallbladder are def connected..I had mine removed 2 years ago..my scan was at 18..I had 2 horrible attacks...I had a lot of heartburn..stomach issues..and back pain..GB surgery is tough..and living without one is challenging..but doable...goodluck on your journey...never quit researching.

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
4 hours ago, Karag said:

thanks... since we were so close to the end of the year (and since he had already met his deductible) we decided to both have his gallbladder removed and be tested for celiac.

unfortunately they didn't do a full panel.  the results that came back are dgp igg @ 2 and dgp iga @ 3, with reference range being negative under 19. the endomysial ab titer says <1:10 with reference range <1:10, so I have no clue what that means.

Perhaps all the lab results are not in.  The TTG (IgA and IgG) tests are the most common.  The control test, Immunoglobulin A (IgA) should have been done as well.  In the case of celiac disease, it validates any IgA test.  

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