Celiac diagnosis

[Katherhn]

I got diagnosed with celiac disease roughly around 3 months ago. However my whole life (23 years) I have been eating a gluten based diet. The symptoms seemed to occur following a stomach bug I caught from work. Although a gluten free diet has helped. I don’t truly believe being celiac was the problem?

Is it possible to have similar symptoms but a different diagnosis? 

[GFinDC]

Hi Katherhn,

When you say you were diagnosed, do you mean you had positive antibodies and a positive endoscopy?  If the answer is yes, then you have celiac disease.

The trigger that causes the immune system to start reacting to gluten (causing celiac disease) is unknown.  Some ideas on the trigger are stress, like an illness, a virus, or any other stress event.  In other words, it's guess work at this point.  A virus has been suggested by some research though.

I became lactose intolerant after a cold type thing went around the office I was working in years ago.  So I think the virus idea has something going for it.  My lactose intolerance was/is a symptom of celiac disease, although I didn't know that at the time.

Tropical sprue is a condition with similar symptoms to celiac disease.  But I
 doubt you have that if you don't live in that region of the world.

https://www.healthline.com/health/tropical-sprue#causes-and-risk-factors

Edited February 18, 2020 by GFinDC

[Fenrir]

Only three months of gluten-free isn't enough time for many celiacs to heal fully. So if you were diagnosed with celiac disease you can continue to have symptoms for upwards of 6-8 months in some cases longer than that. Also, many people new to eating gluten-free get exposed to gluten a lot because they're not educated about eating gluten-free and cross contamination.

[cyclinglady]

Autoimmune issues and many illnesses can share the same exact symptoms.  It is why antibodies blood testing and intestinal biopsies are used to diagnose celiac disease.