Stomach ulcer

[Caterina0909]

Hello everyone. 
 

This is a bit of a long shot. I’ve been having episodes (every 2/3 months) of severe pain in my upper abdomen. Been to hospital every time and each time my CRP is raised and my iron, folate, bicarbonate and inorganic phosphate has been low. Celiac bloods normal (although not sure which ones were taken). 
 

In between times I feel tired, irritable, nauseous and have really bad bloating/wind. I have mild stomach pain every day approximately 3 hours after meals. 
 

I had an endoscopy yesterday which showed a “healing linear ulcer” in my stomach. The consultant pretty much ended the procedure there and then as “this was the most likely cause of my symptoms”

 

But I’ve been Googling because I was so sure I was getting a diagnosis of celiac given my GI symptoms and deficiencies. I have a good diet so why would I be low in iron, folate and phosphate? 
 

Added to this, the vast majority of stomach ulcers are caused by h pylori or NSAIDs and I’m negative for h pylori and haven’t taken an NSAID for years.
 

Could there be more to this? Has any made a link between stomach ulcer and celiac disease before? 
 

Thanks in advance :) 

[trents]

While they were doing the endoscopy they didn't take a biopsy of the small intestine to check for the blunted villi characteristic of celiac disease?

Do you have access to the blood work so that you can post the actual tests done and numbers online and the baseline reference values? It is not all that unusual for people who do have celiac disease to not show it in the blood tests, particularly if their IGA is low or if they have already been trying to eat gluten free.

Some of your lab values (esp iron and folate) and some symptoms (bloating, nausea, gas) are characteristic of celiac disease but also could be due to other issues.

[Caterina0909]

Hello and thank-you for your reply. They did not take biopsies of small intestine, I genuinely believe they clocked off once they saw the ulcer! I don’t have my celiac blood work results but I am going to try and find out. 
My other blood work is as follows:

Ferritin: 6.4

Folic acid: 2.9

Serum inorganic phosphate: 0.71

Serum bicarbonate: 20

Vit b12: 512

I’m so disappointed that no biopsies were taken! 
 

 

[trents]

If you can access those celiac blood values it's important to include the lab reference values as the numbers from the tests are meaningless otherwise. Please include the total IGA value.

Yeah, it sounds like when they did the endoscopy they stopped when they found the ulcer, especially since the celiac blood tests were negative. Too bad.

[Scott Adams]

At the time of my diagnosis I was also diagnosed with h pylori, and I’ve heard this happening to others as well. After I went gluten-free this cleared up as well. It’s too bad they didn’t do a biopsy, as you can have a ulcer AND celiac disease.

Feel free to share your blood tests if you can, but no matter what it could be time to try a gluten-free diet out to see if it relieves your symptoms.

[Caterina0909]

Thanks everyone. A diagnosis is never simple it seems! 

[Posterboy]

On 6/3/2021 at 12:50 PM, Caterina0909 said:

Been to hospital every time and each time my CRP is raised and my iron, folate, bicarbonate and inorganic phosphate has been low. Celiac bloods normal (although not sure which ones were taken). 
 

Caterina,

The Low Phosphate is probably from Refeeding Syndrome....going undiagnosed.

I had similar problems....I have elevated CRP levels too but the doctor's didn't know why...

I wrote a Posterboy blog post about  Refeeding Syndrome that might help you to read it.

The Low Phosphorus SHOULD of been a dead give away.....but doctor's don't recognize it today unless you are the ER or you an alcohol and have been drinking...

Here is the research on how Low Phosphorus levels a key sign of Refeeding Syndrome.

Entitled "The refeeding syndrome. Importance of phosphorus"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29448987/

I will quote the full abstract so it might help someone else.....

Abstract

"Refeeding syndrome (RS) is a complex disease that occurs when nutritional support is initiated after a period of starvation. The hallmark feature is the hypophosphataemia, however other biochemical abnormalities like hypokalaemia, hypomagnesaemia, thiamine deficiency and disorder of sodium and fluid balance are common. The incidence of RS is unknown as no universally accepted definition exists, but it is frequently underdiagnosed. RS is a potentially fatal, but preventable, disorder. The identification of patients at risk is crucial to improve their management. If RS is diagnosed, there is one guideline (NICE 2006) in place to help its treatment (but it is based on low quality of evidence). The aims of this review are: highlight the importance of this problem in malnourished patients, discuss the pathophysiology and clinical characteristics, with a final series of recommendations to reduce the risk of the syndrome and facilitate the treatment."

So in layman's term essentially 100% of time some one has Refeeding syndrome they ALWAYS get low in Phosphorous FIRST.

CRP can also be high and can be treated by both Magnesium (Citrate works well) and a Fat Soluble B-1 (Benfotiamine) can be helpful and always with meals.

Here is a good thread on Thiamine...

Where I will quote about the Magnesium and Thiamine deficiency link to elevated CRP levels.

quoting

"Entitled "The Effect of Benfotiamine on High Sensitivity-CRP (hs-CRP) Level In Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus"

IE the damage caused by high C reactive proteins can be controlled by Benfotiamine in Type 2 Diabetics.

https://professional.diabetes.org/abstract/effect-benfotiamine-high-sensitivity-crp-hs-crp-level-patients-type-2-diabetes-mellitus

It is amazing how much suffering could be avoided if more people knew about the Power of Magnesium and Thiamine to  heal all kinds of medical problems.

The same research has been found to be true for Magnesium as well!

Entitled "Relationship between serum magnesium levels and C-reactive protein concentration, in non-diabetic, non-hypertensive obese subjects"

https://www.nature.com/articles/0801954

This research is 15 to 20 year often and still people are still suffering from conditions that can be treated with a Vitamin (Thiamine) and Mineral (Magnesium) because doctor's don't know these connections."

I also highly recommend this article on Thiamine role in Autonomic diseases...

https://awaken.com/2021/02/the-overlooked-vitamin-that-improves-autoimmune-disease-and-autonomic-dysfunction/

It it time doctor's awaken to the role of a Thiamine and a Magnesium deficiency in Systemic disease...

It would help their patients heath's considerably....

Dr. Londsdale gets it.....he runs the Hormones Matter website that talks about these connections.

It is the best website on the world wide web about Thiamine and all the many ways a Thiamine deficiency can affect us.....including elevated CRP Protein levels!

He said both Magnesium and Thiamine deficiencies were the "Keys to Disease".

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25542071/

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

Posterboy,

[JenniK]

Did you ever get any clarification about your ulcer and especially the cause?

i have what my doctor believes is Duodenal ulcer. I also tested negative for h pylori and have no history of NSAIDS. 
Dr did prescribe Famotidine (prescription strength ‘pepcid’) which i took for three weeks. It did help the pain and excessive bloating, but from day 1 on the meds, I had joint pain and muscle pain all over my body. So, now I am off all medication too and Dr expects the ulcer to return.  

i have been referred for an endoscopy but have not had the first appointment yet.