T1D and gluten sensitivity

[ramie.wb]

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in early January and I have been Type 1 Diabetic(aka T1D) for 12.5 years.  I've never had any stomach issues really, but apparently celiac symptoms for T1D are a little different (at least that's what my endo told me).  I was told that gluten can make my blood sugars more erratic, which is big deal, but I'm trying to figure out how cautious I need to be.  Should I still be using a different toaster than the rest of my family (no one else has celiac disease), should I eat only at restaurants that have very specific gluten free menus?  I'm just not sure since I don't really feel "sick", how cautious I need to be.  Hopefully someone else has some experience with this!

[kareng]

45 minutes ago, ramie.wb said:

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in early January and I have been Type 1 Diabetic(aka T1D) for 12.5 years.  I've never had any stomach issues really, but apparently celiac symptoms for T1D are a little different (at least that's what my endo told me).  I was told that gluten can make my blood sugars more erratic, which is big deal, but I'm trying to figure out how cautious I need to be.  Should I still be using a different toaster than the rest of my family (no one else has celiac disease), should I eat only at restaurants that have very specific gluten free menus?  I'm just not sure since I don't really feel "sick", how cautious I need to be.  Hopefully someone else has some experience with this!

If you have Celiac- it doesn’t matter if you have diabetes or an ingrown toenail- you must eat strictly gluten free.  That means no crumbs from a shared toaster or butter tub.  You may find that things you didn’t realize were related to Celiac will disappear. 

[ramie.wb]

Well that really sucks, but I guess it does make sense. I appreciate the knowledge, thank you!

[GFinDC]

Hi ramie,

That's correct, you need to avoid gluten and gluten cross contamination.  The reason tiny amounts of gluten matter is our immune systems are geared towards fighting germs and such microscopic things.  So the immune system detects and reacts to very small amounts of gluten.  And once it starts reacting it can keep attacking for weeks to months.  Great for killing off germs and their offspring, but a bummer for us when it's fighting our intestinal lining.

[Ennis-TX]

If you are celiac, then yes you need to avoid gluten at ALL cost. Eating out is Russian roulette and I would suggest reading the newbie 101 post. 
T1D and Celiac share some of the same genes and often go hand in hand with people. 
Any bit of cross contamination as mentioned can trigger the immune system and it can keep attacking your insides, for me, this can last months. The symptoms and this disease seem to always be changing, any many of your daily issues from it you probably take for granted as life. 

And yes ignoring it can cause much worse issues, other food allergies, food intolerances, and complications like cancer and nerve damage.