Possible (Non)-celiac gluten sensitivity(?)

[green-blossom]

Hi everyone,

I am new here, and have some questions. I recently discovered that ~15 minutes after eating durum wheat semolina pasta, I get a strange feeling in my stomach area.

I have been struggling with stomach aches, bloating and difficulty with bowel movements etc for about 10 years now (im in my mid twenties.) I have tried a lot to fix this, apart from adjusting my diet. Unfortunately I can't cook and mostly eat pasta, pizza, burgers and so on. I tried a lot of other things to fix it, like working out, yoga, meditation and so on. It helps a bit, although I never really felt relaxed in my stomach area, which caused a lot of problems in everyday life.

I tried going gluten free for one day. Everything I normally eat, but gluten-free. And I felt much better all day and had no problems with stomach aches or bloating.

Now my question is: Could this be a case of celiac disease in my case? (I only 'suffer' from digestive symptoms) ... and is it possible to develop this during 'puberty' or at other stages of life in general? No one in my family has coeliac condition. I didn't have the problem until I was 15. When I was 20, a lot of bad things happened and I was very unhappy and also had IBS symptoms due to extreme stress.

Should I see a doctor and is it safe to switch to a gluten-free diet for now? 

Thank you. 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @green-blossom!

You can develop active celiac disease at any stage of life. It involves possessing the genetic potential plus some triggering stress event that turns the relevant genes on. NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) is 10x more common than celiac disease but some experts feel it can be a precursor to the development of celiac disease. There is no test at this point in time available to diagnose NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out to arrive at a diagnosis of NCGS. The difference between the two conditions is that celiac disease damages the lining of the small bowel but NCGS does not. They share many of the same symptoms.

Without formal testing, there is no real way to definitively diagnose celiac disease. About 40% of the general population possess the genetic potential to develop celiac disease but only about 1% actually develop active celiac disease. So, DNA testing can only be used as a rule out measure, not as a diagnostic measure.

Formal testing for celiac disease is normally a two step process. The first step is serum antibody testing. The inflammation of the small bowel lining caused by gluten ingestion in those with celiac disease produces characteristic antibodies that can be detected in the blood. If one or more celiac antibody tests are positive, there is usually a second step of diagnosis involving and endoscopy with biopsy of the small bowel lining to microscopically check for damage to the mucosal lining. This is done for confirmation of the antibody testing but it sometimes foregone if antibody test scores are extremely high.

Please hear this. If you intend to pursue formal testing for celiac disease, you must be consuming generous amounts of gluten leading up to the testing dates. That applies both to the serum antibody testing and to the endoscopy/biopsy. If you eliminate gluten from your diet ahead of testing for even a period of weeks, the inflammation will cease, antibodies will begin to disappear and healing of the small bowel lining will begin. In other words, the things the diagnostic testing is designed to look for will disappear. 

[Scott Adams]

If you suspect celiac disease a blood panel for it would be the best option.

This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.