Give me all the Giardia information.

[Chellalee76]

I contracted Giardia in 1993 as a teenager after a visit to Mexico.  Treated, I assume, with antibiotics.  Sick for a few weeks and then seemed better.  But shortly after started noticing other issues…. Daily headaches, low energy, low iron, a little anxiety.  Fast forward 15 years, pregnant with my 5th.  New midwife refuses to deliver at my current iron levels as they are beyond disturbingly low, and starts running every test available to figure out my problem.  Celiac panel came back crazy positive.  Went gluten-free that day.  Within a couple months iron levels are normal and daily headaches are gone. Subsequent celiac panels come back negative on the diet.  A couple relapses over the years and would always go back to low iron, headaches, antibodies.  Final committed hard core. Been gluten-free now for 15 years, no relapses in the last 7 or 8 years. Still have crazy low energy, and my ferritin levels are non-existent.   

 

I just had the genetic testing done, for genealogy purposes, but chose the health panel as well, and it turns out I do not have the genetic markers for celiac. Never had a biopsy. After googling my heart out, finding so many stories about Giardia causing the antibodies, and even villous atrophy… and since I know I had that as a teen and never have been fully healthy since, I’m wondering if I just have chronic Giardia, not Celiac.  I’ve been gluten-free so long I can’t eat it without wanting to die afterward, but I have never had issues from cross contamination, or even small amounts as found in soy sauce etc.  Just curious if anyone has any info they could share on the topic of Giardia vs Celiac.

 

Thanks! 

[Scott Adams]

I know that you've seen this abstract from your other post here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29911457/
so it is possible that having active giardia could create a positive tTg celiac antibody test result, but the question is, do you still have active giardia, and if so could it be causing all of your typical celiac disease-related symptoms? To answer this I would say that it would make sense to get tested for giardia, which is pretty simple--a few stool samples are usually taken over a time period.

As far as whether or not giardia could cause your symptoms with gluten, I tend to doubt this. If chronic giardia caused this, then it does not seem likely that your low iron and other health issues would go away on a gluten-free diet, and that either celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity would be more likely.

Regarding not having any celiac genes, can you tell us who did that genetic test? They are still discovering genetic markers that are related to celiac disease, and very few labs are currently testing for all of them. One of the newer markers in on the DQ6 I believe, and genetic testing for this hasn't caught up. 

Last, if you don't have celiac disease you could still have NCGS, and unfortunately there isn't a definitive test for this yet, even though ~10x more people have this than celiac disease.

[knitty kitty]

@Chellalee76,

I'm reposting this here.  I answered this question on another thread.  Having all the related information in one place is good.

"There's some evidence that anti-tTg IgA can be produced during infection with infectious agents, but if the infecting agent is treated the antibodies go away.  

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33895735/

And...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2810390/

 

Giardiasis is known to interfere with the production of ATP (energy) from Thiamine Vitamin B1.  

If your giardiasis has been treated, you may still be suffering from Thiamine deficiency as many of the drugs used to treat Giardia also block thiamine from being properly utilized.  

Thiamine deficiency can present with symptoms similar to untreated Celiac.  Gastrointestinal Beriberi symptoms include nausea, vomiting, cramping, diarrhea, etc.  

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that if a thiamine deficiency is suspected, administration of a minimum of 500 to 1500 mg/day of Thiamine Hydrochloride should be given for several days.  If improvement is seen, Thiamine should be taken for several months, dosage can be adjusted."

😺

It's common to be deficient in many vitamins and minerals across the board in untreated Celiac Disease.  The villus atrophy of Celiac Disease affects the absorption of all the B vitamins and minerals, like iron.

It's common for those on the gluten free diet to develop nutritional deficiencies over the years.  Eating a nutritionally dense diet is important.  Eating gluten free facsimile foods that are not enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts can lead to deficiencies.

It's possible to have borderline deficiencies for years.  Deficiency Symptoms can wax and wane as dietary nutrients vary daily.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent improvement in symptoms.  

Celiac antibodies are only present when gluten is in the diet.  Without the stimulus from gluten, as when a gluten free diet is consumed, the antibodies disappear.  The anti-gluten antibodies are what attacks our bodies (autoimmune reaction) and makes us ill.  If we cut out gluten, there is no stimulus to produce the anti-gluten antibodies.  Subsequent Celiac panels will be negative if there is no gluten in the diet.  

If a person who has been on a gluten free diet for several years gets glutened with a small amount of gluten, the body may not mount a huge reaction.  It takes time and continuing exposure to mount as severe a reaction as when first diagnosed.  

Anemia is common in Celiac Disease.  Problems absorbing Cobalamine Vitamin B12 can be due to insufficient intrinsic factor production.  Thiamine deficiency can affect parietal cell production of the intrinsic factor.  Iron absorption can be affected by villus damage, and deficiencies in B12, Folate, Pyridoxine B6, Riboflavin B2, Vitamin C, and Thiamine affect blood cell production.  These are across the board deficiencies commonly found in Celiac Disease.  

Pregnancy can drain thiamine stores.  Thiamine insufficiency in the children of mothers with Thiamine insufficiency can manifest as ADHD, ADD, autism, Aspergers and SIDS.  

Some genetic tests look only for the HLA DQ 2 and DQ 8.  Other genetic variants exist like HLA DQ  6 and 7.  There's been identification of other non-HLA genes that result in Celiac recently.

Identification of Non-HLA Genes Associated with Celiac Disease and Country-Specific Differences in a Large, International Pediatric Cohort

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4807782/

 

I agree with @Scott Adams, to get rechecked for Giardiasis.  But the fact that your symptoms resolved on the gluten free diet makes me suspect it is Celiac. 

Not a doctor.  Not diagnosing. 

Just a Life Long Celiac.

Best wishes!   Keep us posted on your progress! 

P.S. one more for good measure...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8533683/

Edited May 12, 2023 by knitty kitty
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