Immune reaction

[Zodako]

Hello

i am new here 

I have been a celiac since three years ? I was misdiagnosed for years and when I figured out with endoscopy it was in MARSH III however started a gluten free diet but sometimes I cheat but I did 3 endoscopies this year I never been over MARSH 2 even though I eat gluten most of days!! 

My question how they tell a little tiny of gluten can damage your villi I mean how much gluten can make full atrophy sorry for weird question but I am curious  to know how this disease work exactly! 

Thank you so much ..

[RMJ]

The amount of gluten that causes visible (under a microscope) damage varies a lot from person to person.  Researchers do studies where they take people with celiac who are on a gluten free diet, feed them known amounts of gluten, then do endoscopies and look for damage.  

Why knowingly cheat when you know you have celiac?  I wouldn’t even want a Marsh 2 level of damage.  And the antibodies can cause damage elsewhere in the body also. For me it is not worth the risk of poor health and possible severe complications, like cancer. 

Why 3 endoscopies in a year?  Do you still have symptoms?

[Ennis-TX]

Well your body detects even the tiniest amounts of gluten....gluten is a protein smaller then a germ. And your antibodies go up and attack your intestines. Some the damage can keep happening and it can take up to 6 weeks for the antibodies to go down. On a gluten free diet you can mostly heal in a year, but many studies show it takes up to 24 months to completely heal.
I will admit smaller amounts do not trigger the violent objections from my body (IE last gluten MEAL I ate served to me at a restaurant had me on the floor for hours with full ataxia unable to move and vomiting for hours), I still get reactions to even tiny amounts, and residue like brain fog, ataxia/numbness, and diarrhea for weeks (I used to not this just started with exposures this year)

I would go on a gluten free diet if I was you.....this disease can have cascading effects. Like new allergies, new intolerance issues, diabetes, leaky gut, SIBO and Candida can move in to the damage intestines, cancer, we have had people get ruptured intestines and need colostomy.
I ended up with allergies to whey, corn, extreme issues with lactose and peanuts where the tiniest amounts will cause massive vomiting. My immune system also started to attack my nervous system and brain so I have brain damage and nerve damage thanks to gluten ataxia. This further damaged my nerve connections to my pancreas so I can not digest meats, and have to take pig derived pancreas enzymes with my meals. And I got Ulcerative Colitis that flares to carbs....so I can not eat sugar, fruits, grains, alcohol, or other ca

[GFinDC]

In classic celiac disease, the immune system attacks the body, usually the gut lining, when gluten is eaten.  This immune attack is called an auto-immune condition/disease.  The immune system is mostly trying to protect you from things like germs, parasites or unknown alien invaders.  So it is very powerful and can do a lot of damage to them or us.  As you can imagine when you have a flu or whatever disease, the immune system, wants to keep attacking until all invaders are long gone.  So it may keep producing antibodies (it's attack warriors) for weeks or months after the threat is eliminated.  That means a small amount of gluten can trigger an immune attack for weeks or months.

Celiac disease is the only autoimmune condition where we know the trigger for the immune attack/reaction.  There are other AI condtions like rhuematoid arthritis, Sogrens' Disease, etc where no trigger is known.  So being able to control our disease state by simply changing our diet is a major advantage over other AI conditions.

Edited August 25, 2018 by GFinDC

[Beverage]

Find that article that was in one of these emails a little while back. It was about getting glutened as little as once a month gets you a 40,000 times more chance of colon cancer. Is that what you are striving for?

[BlueAbyss]

... Why would you cheat? Celiacs is a serious disease, and can lead to additional immune system problems. There are so many gluten free options that are delicious and healthy, why feel the need to eat wheat? Even if your noticed response is mild, your insides are under attack. I too am curious as to why you have gotten 3 endoscopies in a year, that seems excessive imo. Of course, it's your body and your life but if I was in your shoes I would stick to a gluten free lifestyle and let my body heal. Celiacs is not something to mess around with, and even if your symptoms are mild now they may be much worse in the future. 

[ch88]

I wouldn't mess with your health. The risks of cheating on the diet far outway any benefit. If there is any damage to your intestine that is a major health risk and it can cause other types of autoimmune disorders. 

Even trace amounts of can damage the intestine. Anything under 20 parts per million gluten is generally considered safe for most people with celiac disease. This is based on experiments that have been done on celiac patients. 

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[Zodako]

Hi again 

thank you all for the good replies !!

I appreciate that I will not cheat anymore ...