Throat ulcers - Celiac disease - fatal complication

[Roy Rowlett]

My mother was born in 1918.  She had three children. I am the youngest, born in 1946. She suffered from severe mouth and throat ulcers. I don't know when this started with her. She was treated at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota(?)  She had her mouth and throat ulcers cauterized with silver nitrate regularly.  She could barely eat because of her condition. 

One night when she was 32 and I was 4, her throat ulcers ate into her jugular vein and hemorrhaged.  She bled to death.  The doctor said that if she had been on the operating table when it happened, they would not have been able to save her. Her last words were, "I can't die, the children need me". We have always wondered what her condition was. 

I haven't been able to find a death certificate for her to see what they put down as the cause of death. My sister has gluten intolerance problems and my DNA testing with 23&me.com shows that I have some predisposition for Celiac Disease. I am curious about what was known about Celiac disease in 1950 when she died. If she had gluten intolerance and the throat ulcers were caused by Celiac disease it occurs to me that if she had gone on a gluten free diet she might have survived. 

Have any of you heard of this sort of complication resulting in death?

[trents]

I have not head of throat and mouth ulcers in connection with Celiac Disease. Could this have been some sort of fungal condition like thrush or a vitamin/mineral deficiency disease? Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are common with Celiac Disease.

What about yourself? Have you been tested for Celiac Disease apart from the genetic disposition?

[Scott Adams]

Certainly celiac disease can cause severe canker sores:

 as well as many other issues involving nutrient deficiencies, like beriberi among others. 

Just knowing that she may have had genetic markers for celiac disease isn't enough information, because more than 20% of people have the genetic markers, yet don't ever develop celiac disease. More information would likely be needed.

[Roy Rowlett]

4 hours ago, trents said:

I have not head of throat and mouth ulcers in connection with Celiac Disease. Could this have been some sort of fungal condition like thrush or a vitamin/mineral deficiency disease? Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are common with Celiac Disease.

What about yourself? Have you been tested for Celiac Disease apart from the genetic disposition?

If you Google "celiac disease throat ulcers" you will see a lot about it.

[Roy Rowlett]

4 hours ago, trents said:

I have not head of throat and mouth ulcers in connection with Celiac Disease. Could this have been some sort of fungal condition like thrush or a vitamin/mineral deficiency disease? Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are common with Celiac Disease.

What about yourself? Have you been tested for Celiac Disease apart from the genetic disposition?

I have not been tested for this.  I have no symptoms.

[Roy Rowlett]

4 hours ago, Scott Adams said:

Certainly celiac disease can cause severe canker sores:

 as well as many other issues involving nutrient deficiencies, like beriberi among others. 

Just knowing that she may have had genetic markers for celiac disease isn't enough information, because more than 20% of people have the genetic markers, yet don't ever develop celiac disease. More information would likely be needed.

Since she was not cured or helped with her condition, I presume that the doctors did not know what was causing her ulcers. When did Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance become known? She died in 1950 at age 32, 70 years ago.

[trents]

From what I understand, Celiac Disease was first identified during WWII by a Dutch physician. There was a certain area of Holland that was cut off from food supplies by the German army and the population in the area eventually ran out of wheat flour and bread but there was other food available, dairy and some meat I imagine, but some folks cooked their tulip bulbs and ate them. This physician noticed that some of his patients who had been sickly all their lives actually got healthier during the wheat embargo and he made the connection. But it's only been in about the last  25 years that their has been much awareness at all in the medical community about Celiac Disease.

[Posterboy]

Roy,

Here is a couple links on the History of Celiac disease that might help  answer you question.

But the short answer is no....the test for gluten antibodies wasn't discovered until the early to mid 60s..

https://www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-disease/celiac-history/#:~:text=A Brief Timeline of Celiac Disease First Century,with signs of failure to thrive and malnutrition

https://www.uclahealth.org/gastro/celiac/history-of-celiac-disease

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

Posterboy,

Roy,

If you have mouth uclers yourself.  Scott has given you a nice article on it.

Here is  a nice recent thread on Cankers Sore that might help you.

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

Posterboy,

[DJFL77I]

canker soars aint gonna kill anyone

[GFinDC]

Hi Roy,

Here's a link to a list of GI disorders.  I am not sure if Crohn's Disease could cause your mother's symptoms but it does cause ulcers in the lower GI system.  Eisonophilic esopahgitis is also a GI disorder and does affect the throat and esophagus.  But I don't think it causes ulcers like that.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7040-gastrointestinal-disorders

 

[notme]

8 hours ago, DJFL77I said:

canker soars aint gonna kill anyone

says the guy with the bleeding throat........  🙄

i was actually going to refer YOU to this thread, bud.  

[Scott Adams]

This article covers the history of celiac disease, and 1950 would likely have been too early for most doctors to figure it out (actually even today many doctors can't figure it out!):