Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Can Gluten Harm The Colon Too?


sspitzer5

Recommended Posts

sspitzer5 Apprentice

Hi, my boyfriend had ulcerative colitis and had to have surgery for it. His colon was very damaged. I know there are some correlations between Celiac and colitis and I've been urging (aka bugging the hell out of) him to get tested for Celiac - he's half Irish and his cousin has derm. hep.

What I'm wondering is if eating gluten can damage not only the small intestine, but the colon. He never had a small intestine biopsy, so I don't know if there is damage there or not. Any info would be appreciated.

S


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Rusla Enthusiast

Yes, it can. I know someone who ended up with colon cancer from Celiac and now he has to have all his waste drained into a bag for the rest of his life.

luvs2eat Collaborator

That molten lava that rushes from my small intestine thru my large intestine as it fights its way out of me CAN'T be good for any part of me, I'm thinkin'!! We're talking alien acid that melts the space ship floor!!

  • 3 months later...
DeeTee33 Newbie

Oh yes, Gluten can harm the colon!

I had been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis back in 1989 and it never got better. It actually got worse no matter how much medicine I took. The doctor said they didn't know what caused Ulcerative Colitis and there was no cure for it so I did a little research on my own.

Late 2003 I went on a Gluten-Free diet and started digesting food in less than 2 weeks. I went off all my medicine in a couple months and have never felt better. By the time I found a new doctor and had the blood test for Celiac Disease I had already been on a Gluten-Free diet for over 3 months. The test didn't come back negative though, it came back inconclusive. He offered to do the biopsy but I told him it wasn't necessary. For me Gluten-Free is the key to healthy living!

I encourage anyone diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's Disease to get tested for Celiac Disease.

corinne Apprentice

I have collagenous colitis (not celiac) and the symptoms quit when I went off gluten (and other grains). My mother is celiac and many people with collagenous colitis have a first degree relative with celiac. For some people, the inflammation of colitis (including ulcerative or crohn's) may be triggered by gluten. It will be interesting to see when I have my next colonoscopy if the damage is reduced.

DeeTee33 Newbie

Just took my 19 year old daughter for the first time to the GI for digestive problems. Even though I haven't been officially diagnosed with Celiac Disease he has decided to give her the blood test next week. I'm really curious on what the results might say.

My mother passed away at the age of 54 with Cancer of the Pancreas. She previosly also had been diagnosed with Colitis and Osteoporosis. At that time neither one of us had heard of Celiac Disease. Hopefully my daughter doesn't follow in either of our footsteps.

Next month I will be having my 1st Colonoscopy since being on a gluten-free diet for 2 1/2 years. I don't know who is more curious of the results, my doctor or me.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - knitty kitty replied to Thoughtidjoin's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      5

      Dried Chickpeas

    2. - trents replied to ainsleydale1700's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      Confused about HLA-DQ Celiac gene test result

    3. - Scott Adams replied to ainsleydale1700's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      Confused about HLA-DQ Celiac gene test result

    4. - Aretaeus Cappadocia replied to Thoughtidjoin's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      5

      Dried Chickpeas

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,437
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    vahid
    Newest Member
    vahid
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Hello, @Aretaeus Cappadocia, My favorite source of B12 is liver.  😺 I react to nutritional yeast the same way as if I were glutened.  Casein, a protein in dairy, and nutritional yeast have protein segments that match certain antigenic protein segments in gluten.  The proteins in rice, corn (maize), and chicken meat have them as well.   Some people with Celiac might tolerate them without a problem, but I need to avoid them.  For those still having symptoms, cutting these out of our diet may improve symptoms. 
    • trents
      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @ainsleydale1700! First, it is very unlikely, given your genetic results, that you have celiac disease. But it is not a slam dunk. Second, there are some other reasons besides having celiac disease that your blood antibody testing was positive. There are some diseases, some medications and even (for some people) some foods (dairy, the protein "casein") that can cause elevated celiac blood antibody test scores. Usually, the other causes don't produce marginally high test scores and not super high ones. Having said that, by far, the most common reason for elevated tTG-IGA celiac antibody test scores (this is the most common test ordered by doctors when checking for celiac disease) is celiac disease itself. Please post back and list all celiac blood antibody tests that were done with their scores and with their reference ranges. Without the reference ranges for negative vs. positive we can't tell much because they vary from lab to lab. Third, and this is an terrible bum steer by your doc, for the biopsy results to be valid, you need to have been eating generous amounts of gluten up to the day of the procedure for several weeks.  Having said all that, it sounds most likely that you have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) as opposed to celiac disease. The two share many common symptoms but NCGS is not autoimmune in nature and doesn't damage the lining of the small bowel. What symptoms do you have? Do you have any blood work that is out of norm like iron deficiency that would suggest celiac disease?
    • ainsleydale1700
    • Scott Adams
      HLA testing can definitely be confusing. Classic celiac disease risk is most strongly associated with having the full HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 heterodimer, which requires specific DQA1 and DQB1 genes working together. Your report shows you are negative for the common DQ2 and DQ8 combinations, but positive for DQB102, which is one component of the DQ2 pair. On its own, DQB102 does not usually form the full DQ2 molecule most strongly linked to celiac disease, which is likely why your doctor said you do not carry the typical “celiac genes.” However, genetics are only part of the picture. A negative gene test makes celiac disease much less likely, but not absolutely impossible in rare cases. More importantly, both antibody testing and biopsy are only reliable when someone is actively eating gluten; being gluten-free for four years before testing can cause both bloodwork and intestinal biopsy to appear falsely negative. Given your positive antibodies and ongoing symptoms, it may be reasonable to seek clarification from a gastroenterologist experienced in celiac disease about whether proper gluten exposure was done before testing and whether additional evaluation is needed.
    • Aretaeus Cappadocia
      I agree with your post and have had similar experiences. I'm commenting to add the suggestion of also using nutritional yeast as a supplement. It's a rich source of B vitamins and other nutrients, and some brands are further supplemented with additional B12. I sprinkle a modest amount in a variety of savory recipes.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.