Celiac or ncgs? and 30+ food intolerances?

[sboo]

Hi there,

I gave up wheat about 6 years ago after:

- Feeling tired all the time
- 'Crashing' after eating wheat, feeling extremely tired and becoming very slow at walking etc
- Extremely thirsty
- Being a bit constipated
- Lots of bruises on my legs

Which all cleared up after giving it up. I didn't get tested for celiac disease at the time, to be honest it didn't really occur to me to get tested.

If I accidently eat wheat now, I get really thirsty within 30 mins or so and it can take a week or so to stop feeling like this.

My sister has an underactive thyroid, and she decided to go gluten free to see if it would help. It did and she was able to reduce her thyroid medication. She also found her legs weren't as swollen when she gave up wheat.

Over the last couple of years I've been having constant acid reflux and churning in my throat after eating. It's taken a year but I have now found about 30+ possible food intolerances causing this. I am seeing my gp and have just had a gastrocopy to check everything is OK (awaiting results.)

It seems a bit strange to develop this many intolerances and I am wondering if it might be linked to the wheat issues? I can't face re introducing gluten into my diet to get tested.

I was wondering if anyone can tell me from the symptoms above if it's possible to differentiate between celiac and ncgs?

Or whether anyone has any ideas on why I might have developed a large number of intolerances? Is leaky gut a real thing? I'm in the UK and our health system doesn't recognise it.

Thank you in advance!


 

[trents]

At this point in time, there is not a test or a reliable diagnostic algorithm to distinguish between the two that would not involve an endoscopy/biopsy of the small bowel. And since you have been off of gluten for a significant period of time, the endoscopy/biopsy would not give valid results. You would have to be back on gluten for at least two weeks. Even at that, there is now research showing that a number of meds and medical conditions can cause villi blunting similar to celiac disease. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587842/#!po=13.7097

Yes, leaky gut is very definitely a reality. This porousness in the gut lining allows larger than normal protein fractions from food to pass into the blood stream where they may be interpreted as invaders such that antibodies are produced. All of us who have lived with celiac disease for years experience the development of non gluten food intolerances to one degree or another. Although 30 of them is a larger number.

But I wonder, you say you "gave up wheat" 6 years ago. What do you mean by that? Do you mean that you cut out bread, pasta and all major sources of wheat? Have you also been scrupulous to avoid more minor amounts such as might occur through cross contamination? And it's not just wheat that contains gluten but also barley and rye. And for about 10% of celiacs, the protein in oats is similar enough to that in wheat, barley and rye to produce a gluten reaction. Whether you have non celiac gluten intolerance or celiac disease the need to avoid even trace amounts of gluten is paramount. Recent studies have shown that most who claim to be eating gluten-free are actually practicing lower gluten eating, particularly those still dining out because of cross contamination issues present in most eatery kitchens.

[sboo]

Thank you trents!

I don't eat wheat, barley, rye, oats etc and we don't eat out, maybe once a year however I live in a shared house so there is definitely a high risk of gluten cross contamination in the kitchen here.

I'll do some reading on getting tested and speak to my gp further about it. Would 2 weeks of eating wheat be enough to show up? 

[trents]

Two weeks is considered the minimum gluten challenge period for a valid endoscopy/biopsy. Usually, however, physicians want to start with a serum antibody test because it is less invasive and much cheaper. This might seem counter intuitive, but the gluten challenge period for a valid serum antibody test is 8 weeks - longer than for the endoscopy/biopsy. This would be eating the equivalent of at least 1 slice of wheat bread per day.

[sboo]

OK, thank you so much!

[knitty kitty]

sboo,

You might want to think about thiamine and vitamin C supplementation.

Thiamine is needed to provide energy for your body to function properly.

This article explains well....

"Hashimoto's Disease-Related Fatigue and Thiamine Levels"

https://www.verywellhealth.com/hashimotos-disease-fatigue-thiamine-levels-3232754

 

One of the symptoms or vitamin C deficiency is bruising.

Symptoms of thiamine deficiency include fatigue and constipation (or diarrhea).  

Thiamine is required to digest carbohydrates.  Eating a high carbohydrate diet can lead to a thiamine deficiency.

Eating a high carbohydrate meal can cause your blood glucose level to rise.  This can make you feel tired and thirsty.   You might want to ask your doctor about type two diabetes, also an autoimmune disease and found frequently with Celiac and thyroid problems (both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism).

Hope this helps!

P.S.  forgot to mention the Autoimmune Paleo Diet.  Choosing low histamine foods on the AIP diet will help heal your intestines and calm down your Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.  Here's my favorite book that explains it all.

Dr. Sarah Ballantyne's book

https://www.thepaleomom.com/books/the-paleo-approach/

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by knitty kitty
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