Could this be something else than Celiac disease? Cause I honestly don't think I have it!

[kasiamarek]

Hi everyone, 

It all started with me having the covid 19 virus, after one week after the virus I started having gut issues like mucus in stool and some diarrea plus normal stomach flu like symptoms. (all these symrpms lasted for a week and a half, then went away on there own)

Went to the doctor  anyway cause I just wanted to check what was up with the mucus and maybe it was some bacteria causing this, and I thought he would prescribe me some antibiotics.

Insted he tested my blood and one of the tests, the transglutaminase Iga showed positive, 24,6 when max should be is 15!

I was in shock to say the least when I read this could be celiac cause I never had any issues with gluten or any symptoms. 

I got the biopsy done this week and waiting for the results, he said everything looked normal during endoscopy, I know it's not conclusive and I gave to wait for the biopsy results. 

My question is, could this small transglutaminase iga alteration be caused by this gut infection post covid, I suffered quite a lot during my covid disease too! Or is this celiac caught by extreme coincidence, even though I feel absolutely perfect and my iron and all vitamins are all normal! 

 

Best regards and thanks for your responses, 

Kasia 

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum! It’s known that certain viruses can trigger celiac disease, so it is interesting that yours may have been triggered by COVID-19. We just published an article showing that Covid does change the microbe balance in the gut:

 

[Scott Adams]

PS - I think the high blood score is unlikely to be caused by anything else, but it’s possible. You could keep eating gluten until you can get another blood test, and next time get a full celiac blood panel done.

[kasiamarek]

56 minutes ago, Scott Adams said:

Welcome to the forum! It’s known that certain viruses can trigger celiac disease, so it is interesting that yours may have been triggered by COVID-19. We just published an article showing that Covid does change the microbe balance in the gut:

Yes   but the question is if this is a transistent problem, cause as I mentioned I had symptoms for a week, like a stomach flu, and then they went away! 

I have read that a transistent gluten intolerance is common after a febril infection!

It's just a little too coincidental that the test showed this number while I had this infection. 

 

[CMCM]

I agree with the above comments, but also be aware that unless you have one of the two main genes that would predispose you to celiac disease, what you are experiencing isn't likely to be celiac disease.  However, it could be effects of gluten sensitivity (perhaps triggered by the virus) which is referred to as Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. 

Also be aware that a biopsy can easily appear negative (villi damage can be spotty and is often missed) and isn't thought to be the "gold standard" of diagnosis that it used to be.  It would be useful at this point to get a gene test to determine if you have the celiac and/or gluten sensitivity genes.  Doctors are increasingly recognizing the value of knowing what your genes are.  You could easily have two genes with the gluten sensitivity pattern (but not celiac), or you could have one celiac gene and one GS gene, or you could have two celiac genes.  It's very helpful to know.  I'd suggest getting this test, especially if your biopsy comes up negative.

[BuddhaBar]

Read somewhere that Celiac can be triggered by strong immune reactions or stress. It is possible that your Celiac was triggered by Covid-19. Antibody levels skyrock pretty quickly, but gut damage takes time. If you have been a celiac for only a short period of time, you won't have any gut damage (yet).
 

[kasiamarek]

29 minutes ago, BuddhaBar said:

Read somewhere that Celiac can be triggered by strong immune reactions or stress. It is possible that your Celiac was triggered by Covid-19. Antibody levels skyrock pretty quickly, but gut damage takes time. If you have been a celiac for only a short period of time, you won't have any gut damage (yet).
 

Yes true. 

But I am wondering if this redaction was a temporary thing as I only had symptoms a week (like typical stomach flu) and then they went away. And my doc took the bloodtest in the end of the symptoms week. 

I am very sad if Covid gave me this permanent disease! 

Anyway I got the biopsy and will trust that whatever the result will be.,, 🙏

Thank you for reply! 

[BuddhaBar]

I'm sorry to say it's not temporary if it's Celiac disease. Symptoms can vary over time. My GI symptoms came and went and so did my other symptoms like neuropathy, headaches, cankers sores etc. None of the symptoms were constant. When one symptom subsided, another one came and it went on like that for years prior to diagnosis. Off and on, off and on. 

You'll be fine, but be prepared that it's hard in the beginning. Gluten is hiding everywhere. Learn as much as you can. Life will become a little more boring, but in the end it will become the new normal. One positive thing is that you haven't been sick for that long at that makes the recovery easier and quicker. 

[kasiamarek]

Thanks, 

But still I don't think I have it and certainly hope I don't! 

[Scott Adams]

I agree and hope it’s a temporary condition, but nowadays having celiac isn’t so bad, at least in comparison to having it in the 90’s of before, where you’d be looked at like a space alien when you talked about it with almost anyone—and especially at restaurants!

[CMCM]

9 hours ago, BuddhaBar said:

Read somewhere that Celiac can be triggered by strong immune reactions or stress. It is possible that your Celiac was triggered by Covid-19. Antibody levels skyrock pretty quickly, but gut damage takes time. If you have been a celiac for only a short period of time, you won't have any gut damage (yet).
 

You make very good points!  If you have the celiac gene, any number of things can trigger active celiac disease and Covid-19 virus could easily be a trigger.  My mother clearly had some sort of gluten sensitivity most of her life until about age 43 when she had a hysterectomy (trigger), and then celiac disease hit her full force immediately and it took several years to figure out what was wrong with her.  I think gut damage in general must take an as yet undetermined period of time to be identifiable via endoscopy and biopsy.  So early on enough in the process, you could get all the symptoms and enough gut damage to cause leaky gut and hence the antibodies showing up in the blood on a test, yet, gut damage could still be hard to identify.  There must be a certain level of continuing damage occurring over time for major villi damage to manifest, it's not an instant process.  When my mother had her biopsy in 1967, they told her that her villi were very nearly gone and her intestinal walls looked smooth as a billiard ball.  Her stomach lining also had damage.  She was in a pretty near total state of malnutrition and her normal 120 lbs was down to 84 or so and if this had gone on much longer, she would have died.  Despite her terrible state, after nearly a year gluten free they did another biopsy and said her villi had regenerated and looked normal, so the body's capacity to heal once the offending foods are removed is amazing.  She lived until age 95, by the way, gluten free for her last 49 years!

Originally my mother's doctors thought her symptoms looked like tropical sprue,  which is caused by bacterial, viral, amoebal, or parasitic infections that are usually found in the tropics, and this leads to abnormal flattening of the villi and inflammation of the lining of the small intestine that resembles what happens with celiac disease.  In 1967 doctors knew a bit about tropical sprue, but not so much about celiac disease.  So they kept asking her if she had been in the tropics at any time in her life, and when she said no, they were clueless and told her it was all in her head.  Fortunately,  she finally encountered a rare doctor who knew about celiac disease and he knew what to do.

 In any case, it's very possible the Covid-19 virus could now start to be a new triggering factor for celiac disease all over the world.   Stay tuned.

Edited March 28, 2021 by CMCM

[BuddhaBar]

@CMCM Yes, the number of Celiac cases will increase after Covid (so will M.E). The number has already increased during the last years and I suspect it's because of the rise of stress disorders.
It's no coincidence my first symptom of Celiac and my first symptom of stress came around the same time. Of course I didn't know back then what either of it was. New job, moved far away from my home town, ran an Youtube-channel (relaxation music, the irony) and I was a competitive online gamer all at the same time. Perfectionist in everything I did, wanted to be "somebody". First stress symptom (pretty severe muscle twitching, borderline shell shock actually) and first Celiac symptom (neuropathy) both happened around 6-7 years ago. I'm pretty sure my Celiac is all my fault.

After Celiac, my immune system changed too. I used to be one of the lucky few who were immune to the winter vomiting disease. Exposed to the virus every year for over 30 years and never got sick. After celiac I've gotten sick every year. For some reason my immunity is gone and I think it has something to do with celiac. 

[Wheatwacked]

Celiac Disease Symptoms: List of 281 Ailments - University Health News. https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/gluten-free-food-allergies/celiac-disease-symptoms/.

I've counted 18 different symptoms in myself that improved once I started a gluten free diet. Add to the list, though rarely mentioned: I was a chronic alcoholic that like 80% of us, no treatment was effective. Even during extended periods of absolute abstinence there was always a craving and anything could set me off. After a week gluten free that craving was gone. Now I can choose to drink socially, the rare champagne at a party for example and not even finish the glass. Whether it is Celiac or NGWS the treatment is the same. A gluten free diet. Most of our cravings for wheat are driven by advertising and peer pressure; there is very little nutritional value.