Blood results

[trents]

Possibly gluten withdrawal. Lot's of info on the internet about it. Somewhat controversial but apparently gluten plugs into the same neuro sensors as opiates do and some people get a similar type withdrawal as they do when quitting opiates.

Another issue is that gluten-free facsimile flours are not fortified with vitamins and minerals as is wheat flour (in the U.S. at least) so when the switch is made to gluten-free facsimile foods, especially if a lot of processed gluten-free foods are being used as substitutes, vitamin and mineral deficiencies can result.

There is also the possibility that she has picked up a virus or some but that is totally unrelated to going gluten-free.

[Heatherisle]

Daughter struggling at the moment, has been on gluten free diet for almost 3 weeks now as advised. Felt really good at beginning of this week but today feeling seriously depressed, very tearful and says her life is no good. Had an emergency doctor appointment today, commenced on Diazepam 2mgs and referred to psychiatrist who is going to contact her over the next few days. Has also been given a sick line for work until 4th October.She video called us really upset and distressed which has not done me or her dad any good. Unfortunately we don’t live anywhere near her, she’s on the mainland and we live on an island. Hoping to get her home next week for a few days. Luckily her flat mate is understanding. Just wondering if anyone else has felt like this? Have tried to explain to her it’s not unusual to have these feelings. Having to wait for weeks for biopsy result isn’t helping either. Thanks for any advice anyone has. I’ve told her to get in touch with a coeliac group in her neighbourhood but it’s falling on deaf ears at the moment.

[trents]

 

[knitty kitty]

@Heatherisle,

Your daughter needs to be checked for Vitamin B12 deficiency as soon as possible!  

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia can precipitate a B12 deficiency resulting in severe depression.  Please have her checked immediately!

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia (both gas and injected anesthesia) bind irrevocably with the Cobalt in Cobalamine Vitamin B12.  This precipitates a B12 deficiency in people with a low B12 level.  This can happen immediately, within days or weeks or months depending on B12 stores.   

I've had medical procedures that required anesthesia and been struck down by deep dark depression and uncontrollable crying immediately, and also within weeks of the exposure.  My doctor put me on antidepressants which only made things worse.  Antidepressants don't correct a vitamin deficiency.  

Please have her checked for B12 deficiency as soon as possible!

[Heatherisle]

Hi , Thank you so much. She does have a GP appointment on Tuesday to ask about bloods and I did say to her to mention B12, so I’ll remind her

[Wends]

Hopefully the biopsy gives a conclusive and correct diagnosis for your daughter.

Im in the UK and have been in the situation a few years ago of trying to rule celiac in or out after inconclusive results. Many symptoms pointing to it including the classic symptoms and weight loss and folate and iron deficiency. You have to play a waiting game. I also had the label of IBS and likely food allergy. Genetic test showed low risk for celiac but not no risk.

It sounds like the Gastroenterologist is on it and hopefully will diagnose what it is correctly.

Food hypersensitivity (allergy) can also cause similar symptoms and inflammation as well as mimicking IBS. Milk / dairy and wheat (cereal grains) being the biggest culprits.

The “oesophagitis” and “gastritis” you mentioned can be caused by another gastrointestinal disorder called “eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders”. These are named depending on which part of the gastrointestinal tract is affected. For example eosinophilic oesophagitis, eosinophilic gastritis, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, and more rare eosinophilic colitis. They are antigen (allergen) driven.

When the blood test measuring anti-ttg antibodies is positive in absence of a positive ema test - which is more specific to celiac, this can also suggest food hypersensitivity (allergy). Usually delayed type allergy similar to celiac but not autoimmune if that makes sense. In this case the ttg antibodies are transient. Which happens. I’ve first hand experience.

For info, evidence of villous atrophy too can be caused by food hypersensitivity. Not just by celiac disease.

In Egid disorders the six food elimination diet, under a dietitian and gastroenterologist care, is the dietary protocol to figure out the culprit or culprits. Sometimes only two food elimination diet is used at first. The number one culprit is milk protein / dairy. Followed by wheat, eggs, soy, fish and seafood, and nuts.

Most are only reactive to one food group or two. Most are only reactive to milk.

Hope this is a helpful reply.

[Russ H]

On 10/12/2025 at 12:29 PM, Wends said:

Hopefully the biopsy gives a conclusive and correct diagnosis for your daughter.

Im in the UK and have been in the situation a few years ago of trying to rule celiac in or out after inconclusive results. Many symptoms pointing to it including the classic symptoms and weight loss and folate and iron deficiency. You have to play a waiting game. I also had the label of IBS and likely food allergy. Genetic test showed low risk for celiac but not no risk.

It sounds like the Gastroenterologist is on it and hopefully will diagnose what it is correctly.

Food hypersensitivity (allergy) can also cause similar symptoms and inflammation as well as mimicking IBS. Milk / dairy and wheat (cereal grains) being the biggest culprits.

The “oesophagitis” and “gastritis” you mentioned can be caused by another gastrointestinal disorder called “eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders”. These are named depending on which part of the gastrointestinal tract is affected. For example eosinophilic oesophagitis, eosinophilic gastritis, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, and more rare eosinophilic colitis. They are antigen (allergen) driven.

When the blood test measuring anti-ttg antibodies is positive in absence of a positive ema test - which is more specific to celiac, this can also suggest food hypersensitivity (allergy). Usually delayed type allergy similar to celiac but not autoimmune if that makes sense. In this case the ttg antibodies are transient. Which happens. I’ve first hand experience.

For info, evidence of villous atrophy too can be caused by food hypersensitivity. Not just by celiac disease.

In Egid disorders the six food elimination diet, under a dietitian and gastroenterologist care, is the dietary protocol to figure out the culprit or culprits. Sometimes only two food elimination diet is used at first. The number one culprit is milk protein / dairy. Followed by wheat, eggs, soy, fish and seafood, and nuts.

Most are only reactive to one food group or two. Most are only reactive to milk.

Hope this is a helpful reply.

The EMA test is an old and less sensitive test for anti-tTG2 antibodies. It relies on a technician using a microscope to check for fluorescence of a labelled substrate (typically monkey oesophagus or human umbilicus), giving a simple positive/negative result. It is similar to running a standard anti-tTG2 test but with a high cut-off, making it more specific but less sensitive. Transient rises in tTG2 can be caused by e.g. viral infections and inflammation. Very high levels of anti-tTG2 (>x10 standard range) are almost certainly coeliac disease but moderately raised levels can have several causes apart from coeliac disease.

Other food allergies can cause villi blunting but that is much rarer than coeliac disease or other non-coeliac causes.

Not All That Flattens Villi Is Celiac Disease: A Review of Enteropathies

[Heatherisle]

On 9/19/2025 at 11:07 PM, knitty kitty said:

@Heatherisle,

Your daughter needs to be checked for Vitamin B12 deficiency as soon as possible!  

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia can precipitate a B12 deficiency resulting in severe depression.  Please have her checked immediately!

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia (both gas and injected anesthesia) bind irrevocably with the Cobalt in Cobalamine Vitamin B12.  This precipitates a B12 deficiency in people with a low B12 level.  This can happen immediately, within days or weeks or months depending on B12 stores.   

I've had medical procedures that required anesthesia and been struck down by deep dark depression and uncontrollable crying immediately, and also within weeks of the exposure.  My doctor put me on antidepressants which only made things worse.  Antidepressants don't correct a vitamin deficiency.  

Please have her checked for B12 deficiency as soon as possible!

 

[Heatherisle]

On 9/19/2025 at 11:07 PM, knitty kitty said:

@Heatherisle,

Your daughter needs to be checked for Vitamin B12 deficiency as soon as possible!  

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia can precipitate a B12 deficiency resulting in severe depression.  Please have her checked immediately!

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia (both gas and injected anesthesia) bind irrevocably with the Cobalt in Cobalamine Vitamin B12.  This precipitates a B12 deficiency in people with a low B12 level.  This can happen immediately, within days or weeks or months depending on B12 stores.   

I've had medical procedures that required anesthesia and been struck down by deep dark depression and uncontrollable crying immediately, and also within weeks of the exposure.  My doctor put me on antidepressants which only made things worse.  Antidepressants don't correct a vitamin deficiency.  

Please have her checked for B12 deficiency as soon as possible!

Sorry not been on for a while. My daughter finally got her endoscopy results end of  November and she has coeliac. Also showed Helicobacter so has had treatment for this Persevering with gluten free diet but still having flare ups and is waiting for referral to dietitian Have told her it’s not going to improve overnight. Suffering from lower back pain and also going to have various blood tests done.

[Wheatwacked]

On 9/19/2025 at 1:47 PM, Heatherisle said:

feeling seriously depressed, very tearful and says her life is no good.

Celiac Disease causes more vitamin D deficiency than the general population because of limited UV sunlight in the winter and the little available from food is not absorbed well in the damaged small intestine.  Taking 10,000 IU a day (250 mcg) a day broke my depression. Taking it for eleven years.  Doctor recently said to not stop.  My 25(OH)D is around 200 nmol/L (80 ng/ml) but it took about six years to get there.  Increasing vitamin D also increases absorption of Calcium.

A good start is 100-gram (3.5-ounce) serving of salmon,  vitamin D from 7.5 to 25 mcg (300 to 1,000 IU) but it is going to take additional vitamin D supplement to be effective. 
More importantly salmon has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio 1:10 anti-inflammatory compared to the 15:1 infammatory ratio of the typical Western diet.

Vitamin D and Depression: Where is all the Sunshine?

[Heatherisle]

On 2/9/2026 at 1:15 PM, Heatherisle said:

Sorry not been on for a while. My daughter finally got her endoscopy results end of  November and she has coeliac. Also showed Helicobacter so has had treatment for this Persevering with gluten free diet but still having flare ups and is waiting for referral to dietitian Have told her it’s not going to improve overnight. Suffering from lower back pain and also going to have various blood tests done.

 

[knitty kitty]

@Heatherisle,

Has your daughter been checked for vitamin and mineral deficiencies?  

A combination of Thiamine Hydrochloride (or Benfotiamine) and B12 and Pyridoxine B6 relieves pain as well as over-the-counter pain relievers. 

What sort of food does she eat on the GFD?  Many gluten free processed foods?

[Heatherisle]

She is waiting to get bloods done to check for various things including bone profile. As far as I know she does a lot of cooking from scratch, lots of veg, chicken. She’s never been a fan of processed foods like cold ham but does like bacon and will also buy gluten free sausages. Shares a flat with her friend who is aware of her coeliac. As far as I’m aware they’re very careful about cross contamination but I know it’s possible it happens from time to time

[knitty kitty]

Processed meats and formed meats, like sausage, sandwich meats, chicken nuggets, contain "meat glue" to hold their shape.  

This "meat glue" is produced by bacteria and called microbial transglutaminase.  It's the same structually as tissue transglutaminase that our bodies produce in response to gluten.  Microbial transglutaminase provokes the same autoimmune reaction in our bodies as if we had eaten gluten.  

Microbial transglutaminase is also used in dairy products like yogurt.  

Bacon is high in histamine.  Eating high histamine foods can cause continuing gastrointestinal symptoms.  A low histamine diet helps.

Processed gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins and minerals like gluten containing products are.  

Deficiencies in Thiamine B1, Niacin B3, and  Vitamin C can also result in gastrointestinal symptoms.  

Blood tests for B vitamins are not accurate because they don't measure the amount of a vitamin stored inside cells.  The blood is a transportation system delivering vitamins from the digestive tract around the body.  What's on a truck doesn't tell you that the warehouse is almost empty.  

Supplementing with B vitamins is important!

Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/

[knitty kitty]

On 9/19/2025 at 5:07 PM, knitty kitty said:

Your daughter needs to be checked for Vitamin B12 deficiency as soon as possible!  

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia can precipitate a B12 deficiency resulting in severe depression.  Please have her checked immediately!

The nitrogen compounds in anesthesia (both gas and injected anesthesia) bind irrevocably with the Cobalt in Cobalamine Vitamin B12.  This precipitates a B12 deficiency in people with a low B12 level.  This can happen immediately, within days or weeks or months depending on B12 stores.   

I've had medical procedures that required anesthesia and been struck down by deep dark depression and uncontrollable crying immediately, and also within weeks of the exposure.  My doctor put me on antidepressants which only made things worse.  Antidepressants don't correct a vitamin deficiency.  

Please have her checked for B12 deficiency as soon as possible!

I'm so glad your daughter got her B12 level checked at last!