Proteinuria

[Lyns5201]

Hello,I’m just wondering if anyone else here has delt with odd protein levels in their urine or higher levels then they should be ? My doctor is currently not too concerned about it but I honestly am and have had horrible anxiety about it,please no scary comments but wondering if anyone else has had this or for how long without explanation or why you might have it other then kidney disease/failure or something major? Can it be related to newly diagnosed celiac and go away over time or just stay at what its at possibly ? Any advice appreciated! 

[trents]

Lyns5201, welcome to the forum!

I have not heard of proteinuria be connected with celiac disease but we are discovering new health issues connected with celiac disease all the time.

Have you been diagnosed with celiac disease?

 

[Lyns5201]

5 hours ago, trents said:

Lyns5201, welcome to the forum!

I have not heard of proteinuria be connected with celiac disease but we are discovering new health issues connected with celiac disease all the time.

Have you been diagnosed with celiac disease?

 

Yes I have and I have two odd tests that keep coming back odd which is the amount of protein in trine as well as my bilirubin tends to be pretty elevated but ultrasound everything looked good on..also, 3 months gluten free now 

[trents]

You mention elevated bilirubin. One of the known health risks associated with celiac disease is hepatitis. About 18% of celiacs will have elevated liver enzymes. In fact, that is what led to my celiac diagnosis about 20 years ago. I had chronically elevated liver enzymes (ALT, AST) which was idiopathic. I had very minor GI symptoms and was almost a "silent" celiac in that sense. I had some other labs that were getting out of whack over a period of years such as dropping iron stores, low total protein and albumin and I also had developed osteopenia. My PCP had no clue as to what was going on. I finally made my own appointment with a GI doc who tested me right away for celiac disease and it was positive. After a few months of gluten-free eating my liver enzymes returned to normal. All my labs are now normal except the total protein and albumin are a little on the low side. That's probably due to the leaky gut syndrome caused by celiac disease.

Having said all that, if celiac disease can cause inflammation in the liver, I wonder if it could also do the same for kidneys.

I also wonder if you are still getting some gluten in your diet. Recent studies have shown that most people who believe they are eating gluten free are actually eating a lower gluten diet. This was especially true for those still eating out. It can be quite an education process to arrive at true gluten free eating as gluten is hidden in so many processed foods that you would never expect to find it in. And most newly diagnosed celiacs under appreciate the threat that cross contamination poses. That is to say, how gluten free food items come in contact with non gluten free food items. This is huge problem in restaurants.

You would do well to consider a follow-up antibody test to check for compliance.

 

[Lyns5201]

11 hours ago, trents said:

You mention elevated bilirubin. One of the known health risks associated with celiac disease is hepatitis. About 18% of celiacs will have elevated liver enzymes. In fact, that is what led to my celiac diagnosis about 20 years ago. I had chronically elevated liver enzymes (ALT, AST) which was idiopathic. I had very minor GI symptoms and was almost a "silent" celiac in that sense. I had some other labs that were getting out of whack over a period of years such as dropping iron stores, low total protein and albumin and I also had developed osteopenia. My PCP had no clue as to what was going on. I finally made my own appointment with a GI doc who tested me right away for celiac disease and it was positive. After a few months of gluten-free eating my liver enzymes returned to normal. All my labs are now normal except the total protein and albumin are a little on the low side. That's probably due to the leaky gut syndrome caused by celiac disease.

Having said all that, if celiac disease can cause inflammation in the liver, I wonder if it could also do the same for kidneys.

I also wonder if you are still getting some gluten in your diet. Recent studies have shown that most people who believe they are eating gluten free are actually eating a lower gluten diet. This was especially true for those still eating out. It can be quite an education process to arrive at true gluten free eating as gluten is hidden in so many processed foods that you would never expect to find it in. And most newly diagnosed celiacs under appreciate the threat that cross contamination poses. That is to say, how gluten free food items come in contact with non gluten free food items. This is huge problem in restaurants.

You would do well to consider a follow-up antibody test to check for compliance.

 

Thankyou for all the info,,,I really appreciate the response...as in elevated liver enzyme’s could bilirubin be one of those? Was yours ever elevated before... theyve done ultrasounds on me before and don’t ever see inflammation in my liver or kidneys which is good I’m just so concerned as to what’s all causing the odd test numbers though I wonder if my high stress levels and not eating or drinking enough fluids can contribute to these tests?

[trents]

"Bilirubin is a brown and yellow fluid that’s a byproduct of the essential process of the breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs). This substance is a major component of bile, an important digestive fluid that’s cleaned from the blood by the liver.

If the liver is damaged, bilirubin may leak into the bloodstream, which can lead to jaundice, characterized by a yellowing of the skin and eyes, among other symptoms. As such, the bilirubin test, which measures these levels, helps healthcare providers screen for diseases affecting the liver." https://www.verywellhealth.com/bilirubin-5076079

Bilirubin is not a liver enzyme but elevated bilirubin indicates the liver is not functioning properly for some reason or is under stress. So, it has that in common with liver enzyme levels. No, my bilirubin was never out of spec.

I would not think an ultrasound would be much use in checking for organ inflammation unless the inflammation was so bad and so prolonged that it resulted in significant enlargement of the organ. Ultrasound is used to detect abnormalities in shape or structure and therefore can be helpful in detecting masses.

[Wheatwacked]

Quote

Supplementation with flaxseed meal in the diet may provide a novel therapeutic strategy to reduce proteinuria and preserve renal function.    https://www.kidney-international.org/article/S0085-2538(15)49578-X/fulltext

Quote

In the 1920s, scientists began to discover that mammals on low-choline diets develop serious liver, kidney, and pancreas diseases; they also suffer from poor memory, infertility, bony abnormalities, hypertension, and growth disorders....In 1998, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board decided that a 154-pound adult human should eat 550 mg of choline every day. Unfortunately, the 2005 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that very few Americans in any age group ate enough choline to gain any of its benefits...We have been told to avoid fatty, high-cholesterol foods, so it’s not surprising that our national choline levels are so low. However, the benefits of choline-rich food far outweigh the risks, especially for young women who may become pregnant.   https://uncnri.org/2015/02/02/choline-2/

The minimum RDA for Choline is 550. That is the equivalent of 4 1/2 large eggs or 9 cups of cooked chopped broccoli. The safe upper RDA is 3500 mg, but the negative side effects of too much choline; fishy body odor, low blood pressure; are usually not seen until 7,000 mg (24 ounces of lean beef a day)

[Russ H]

On 12/29/2021 at 5:52 PM, trents said:

"Bilirubin is a brown and yellow fluid that’s a byproduct of the essential process of the breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs). This substance is a major component of bile, an important digestive fluid that’s cleaned from the blood by the liver.

If the liver is damaged, bilirubin may leak into the bloodstream, which can lead to jaundice, characterized by a yellowing of the skin and eyes, among other symptoms. As such, the bilirubin test, which measures these levels, helps healthcare providers screen for diseases affecting the liver." https://www.verywellhealth.com/bilirubin-5076079

Bilirubin is not a liver enzyme but elevated bilirubin indicates the liver is not functioning properly for some reason or is under stress. So, it has that in common with liver enzyme levels. No, my bilirubin was never out of spec.

I would not think an ultrasound would be much use in checking for organ inflammation unless the inflammation was so bad and so prolonged that it resulted in significant enlargement of the organ. Ultrasound is used to detect abnormalities in shape or structure and therefore can be helpful in detecting masses.

Ultrasound will pick up things like diffuse inflammation - useful for detecting a fatty liver and liver fibrosis for example.

[knitty kitty]

@Lyns5201 and all,

Proteinuria can be caused by dehydration and diabetes.  

Bilirubin is an indication of inflammation.  

Type Two Diabetes is frequently found in Celiac Disease.  

There is a connection between Diabetes and Thiamine deficiency.  The pancreas produces insulin and needs lots of thiamine to do so.  Thiamine is usually reabsorbed in the kidneys, but in diabetics, more thiamine is excreted.  This can result in low or insufficient thiamine levels.  Diabetic medications, like Metformin, and other medications, can cause a higher excretion rate of thiamine, resulting in thiamine deficiency.

The gallbladder also uses lots of thiamine to produce bile.  Stools without enough bile can be light colored.  Gallbladder problems resulting in gallbladder removal are common in Celiac Disease. 

Gastritis is also connected with thiamine deficiency, as the cells in the stomach need thiamine to make and secrete gastric fluids to aid digestion.  Contrary to popular opinion, gastritis is caused by insufficient gastric acid, not overproduction.  

Thiamine is the B vitamin that is stored for the shortest time.  Insufficiency can occur in as little as nine days.  However thiamine supplementation can restore proper functioning in a few hours.  Thiamine insufficiency symptoms can wax and wane because thiamine from the diet may vary.

Your body needs more Thiamine when you are sick, have a fever, are under stress (your brain can use as much Thiamine thinking as your muscles can use during physical exertion), exercise regularly, and in hot weather.  

Early Thiamine deficiency symptoms include anxiety, insomnia, weight loss or gain, emotional lability (mood swings, abrupt inappropriate emotional reactions), fatigue, edema of lower legs, shin cramps (Charlie horses), and depression, among others.

Vitamin deficiencies are not on most doctors' radar because we aren't in a starving country, BUT if you are eating lots of carbohydrate-filled, gluten free processed facsimile foods you may need more thiamine.  Gluten free processed facsimile foods are not enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts. 

The small intestine is damaged in Celiac Disease causing the inability to absorb proper amounts of vitamins and minerals.  Supplementation with B Complex vitamins while healing should be implemented while you are healing.  Discuss this with your doctor.  

More information on diabetes and thiamine....

Metabolic Benefits of Six-month Thiamine Supplementation in Patients With and Without Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3921172/