Unusual bright yellow but odourless discharge

[Celiac50]

I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease last August (2024), Marsh Disease 3 c) ie. Total villous atrophy. I was a perfect student and dropped all gluten, to the point that my TTGL is in fact 0 now and was even 6months ago (it was initially >250(!!), then 70, then 17, then 0).

I am still FODMAP intolerant, possibly histamine too but mainly what is concerning me (apologies to the men out there since this most likely will not be of interest;) is that I have had a bright yellow vaginal fluid, which although is entirely odourless is perplexing. I am not worried it may be cancer as have had all the necessary tests and checks, incl pelvic ultrasound. I saw these as totally pointless as I Know it is diet/gut related. I am incredibly surprised no GP, dietician or doctor can explain it! Has anyone suffered or is suffering with this issue?

And another thing, it could(!) Possibly be related to VitaminA toxicity. I have been reading A Lot about this and since I have been starving all my life and now even more so, I was/am eating Huge quantities of food. Til not long ago this involved big portions of salmon, mackerel and tuna (as I don't eat meat), eggs and Masses of leafy greens and pumpkins, carrots, all manner of rainbow veg and fruits... Then, to top it off, I Also was taking  supplements to boost my Calcium and Iron levels, one included beta carotenes, the other AlgaeCal. Now algae are red, yellow and green and apparently contain great amounts of carotenoids. The carotenes in the first supplement were in fact added and were 900mcg. I was taking 2 a day for months, 3xs the max daily amount as I am very slight.

So sorry, that seems now to be 2 topics in one!

But a nutritionist once told me that vitamin A toxicity can cause celiac disease...

Thanks for reading and am hoping someone can shed a bit of light via their own experience!

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @Celiac50!

Vitamin A toxicity is not to be taken lightly. If you suspect that is the case, I would certainly discontinue the beta-carotene supplementation. Vitamin A from natural sources is unlikely to cause toxicity. I would also get labs done to check your levels. 

May we ask your age? It's been over a year since you began the gluten-free journey so it might be a good idea to have a repeat endoscopy/biopsy done to check the status of your villous rebound. You might not be in need of such heavy duty supplementation any longer. Too much of a good thing can be bad.

[Oldturdle]

I just did a quick A.I. check, and vitamin A toxicity has never been associated with a bright yellow vaginal discharge.  Large amounts of B vitamin, aside from causing bright yellow urine, can occasionally cause a yellow tinged vaginal secretion.  I know that older women sometimes develop a fistula from their urethra to their vagina.  If this happened, I suppose a small amount of bright yellow urine could leak into the vagina, becoming a vaginal drainage.    SORRY MEN OUT THERE!  Read at your own risk!

[Celiac50]

Thanks for your reply and yes, needless to say, I discontinued the supplements and also wrote to the companies! It was just yesterday that I ate a bit of Cheddar cheese and whoaaa... not good. It has 0 lactose / sugar so OK both lactose and fodmap wise... Thus am thinking Vitamin A... as I have read there can be between 120 and 225mcg in there.. Sadly in the UK is impossible to find a place to get tested and the NHS doesn't do these tests. Also followup endoscopies in the UK are done only every 5yrs! Same as smear tests. Shameful. But I am 50, diagnosed late,  so my gastroenterologist is checking for refractory celiac disease...

In any case I will continue to consume fruit and veg with beta carotene but will hold off the dairy and oily fish which all have high levels of vitamin A. I will gradually reintroduce the fish at some point. Also I have another Clacium supplement now. The vitamin A toxicity can make your bones a he and eyes feel odd, which is what I had...

[Celiac50]

5 minutes ago, Oldturdle said:

I just did a quick A.I. check, and vitamin A toxicity has never been associated with a bright yellow vaginal discharge.  Large amounts of B vitamin, aside from causing bright yellow urine, can occasionally cause a yellow tinged vaginal secretion.  I know that older women sometimes develop a fistula from their urethra to their vagina.  If this happened, I suppose a small amount of bright yellow urine could leak into the vagina, becoming a vaginal drainage.    SORRY MEN OUT THERE!  Read at your own risk!

Hmm.. the large amounts of vitamin B could be a possibility. As I now eat huge amounts of white fish, c. 350g per serving and would have lots of Bs....

[Celiac50]

Just now, Celiac50 said:

Hmm.. the large amounts of vitamin B could be a possibility. As I now eat huge amounts of white fish, c. 350g per serving and would have lots of Bs....

And the fistula theory is scary but interesting!;)) Will do some research and perhaps mention to my GP... thanks for both of your replies!

3 minutes ago, Celiac50 said:

Hmm.. the large amounts of vitamin B could be a possibility. As I now eat huge amounts of white fish, c. 350g per serving and would have lots of Bs....

Saying that... my urine is not bright yellow....

[cristiana]

1 hour ago, Celiac50 said:

Thanks for your reply and yes, needless to say, I discontinued the supplements and also wrote to the companies! It was just yesterday that I ate a bit of Cheddar cheese and whoaaa... not good. It has 0 lactose / sugar so OK both lactose and fodmap wise... Thus am thinking Vitamin A... as I have read there can be between 120 and 225mcg in there.. Sadly in the UK is impossible to find a place to get tested and the NHS doesn't do these tests. Also followup endoscopies in the UK are done only every 5yrs! Same as smear tests. Shameful. But I am 50, diagnosed late,  so my gastroenterologist is checking for refractory celiac disease...

In any case I will continue to consume fruit and veg with beta carotene but will hold off the dairy and oily fish which all have high levels of vitamin A. I will gradually reintroduce the fish at some point. Also I have another Clacium supplement now. The vitamin A toxicity can make your bones a he and eyes feel odd, which is what I had...

Hi @Celiac50

If you are after a vitamin A test - sorry - I'm tired so not sure if I'm reading this correctly - perhaps you could try a home test?  I'm in the UK and am currently a bit perplexed about my own vitamin issue and thinking of going to a private lab for tests.  My issues is suboptimal Active B12 (only 11 marks off deficient) but no health professionals seem to be taking any interest in it although this is  my fault as last time I saw my Consultant I failed to mention my symptoms - I had so many other questions to ask him.  Anyway - here are the details for an A test:

https://www.medichecks.com/products/vitamin-a-retinol-blood-test?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=11996732820&gbraid=0AAAAAD9XHFyeAOrxlryOpWS_jXwZ8PCc1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyrjj2Pb2jwMVnJJQBh22CTkVEAAYASAAEgIGDPD_BwE

[knitty kitty]

@Celiac50,

Most Celiac patients with a Marsh score as high as yours are more likely to suffer from fat malabsorption and deficiency in fat soluble vitamins, Vitamins A, D, E, and K.   Vitamin A toxicity does not cause Celiac disease.  Your Vitamin A toxicity was probably developed after your diagnosis and subsequent over-supplementation. 

Fish contains thiaminases, chemical compounds that destroy thiamine, Vitamin B 1, making the thiamine unusable.  Excessive intake of foods containing thiaminases can precipitate low thiamine.  

Low thiamine can also be a result of bacterial or yeast infections.  A high carbohydrate diet encourages Candida and bacterial infections.  High carbohydrate diets promote SIBO and Candida because they feed on the excess carbohydrates and suppress the beneficial bacteria.  Other types of bacteria can take advantage of this and set up housekeeping outside the gastrointestinal tract, including bacterial vaginosis.

Thiamine Vitamin B 1 can alter the microbiome.  Thiamine has been shown to suppress Candida, SIBO, and other bacterial and viral infections, and favor the growth of beneficial bacteria. 

My SIBO cleared once I supplemented with Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine that has been shown to promote intestinal healing, and a B Complex.  Thiamine works in concert with the other B vitamins and magnesium.

Thiamine helps to lower histamine levels by calming mast cells that release histamine at the slightest provocation.  

Following the Autoimmune Protocol diet also helped immensely in getting my digestive system calmed and able to tolerate more foods.

Have you discussed with your doctor and dietician supplementing essential B vitamins while healing?  What is your Vitamin D level?  Vitamin D helps calm the immune system.  

Edited September 26 by knitty kitty
Typo correction

[Wheatwacked]

@Celiac50,

Other than finding foods that make your tummy happy, are you feeling well?  No other symptoms?  That's great progress!

You don't mention vitamin D status.  Vitamin D deficiency in the UK has been estimated to be as high as 60% of the population. Celiac Disease causes depleted oral vitamin D from malabsorption.  Most people do not get enough UV light to activate skin creation of vitamin D.

Vitamin D supplementation in the United Kingdom: time for change

Vitamin D Is Not as Toxic as Was Once Thought

It looks like you are going to have to try changing out food by food, until you find the one.  Start with the supplements. 

Quote

 

A rise in estrogen can make your vaginal discharge turn slightly yellow. 

However, salmon can contain phytoestrogens and even human-derived hormones from the environment, which could potentially have effects on the fish's own endocrine system or on humans who consume them.

 

 

  Wild caught vs. farm raised?  Sometimes it is just a subtIe change that can do it. I know that switching to grass fed milk has been good for me.

[Celiac50]

A big Thank you! To all who replied. V informative and interesting.

Re VitD, mine was always good, between 60 and 70. Then on the Bone Support Supplements by Natures Plus it jumped to 90, 110 and then over that! I was getting to be VitD toxic... As the supps had 25mcg VitD, which was obviously enough to tip me over... I always go out with shorts whwnever the sun pops out to make sure I get it naturally. They say the activated form of D3 ie. Cholecalciferol is used as the strongest rat poison that exists!

I also only eat wild caught salmon, only organic, no sugar, bad fats etc etc.... In fact I am 50 yet people think am 35 and am sure is partly genetic but mostly diet(!). But is Not helpful when I need my GP to take my issues seriously. 

Interesting about the oestrogen theory! Will research further, thanks!

And thank you to you who suggested the thiamine B1 deficiency, it is only a small possibility as I have Loads of B1 in my diet, but is an interesting theory and thiaminase is smthg I will look into!

Also thank you to the London person who sent me a VitA test link. I was told these home kits are not worth thr money;( In fact I plan to go abroad where you get every micro and macronutrient as well as all minerals and vita checked for 350euros! Is absolutely crazy London has nothing like that. I did a hair mineral test here, which was interesting, and even that they send off to a lab in Florida!

[Celiac50]

Oh and yes, thanks, other than being permanently RAVENOUS and not yet putting on weight, I am feeling pretty good. I jog, do yoga, today cycled 12km to a food market then to another place to get my fish, then my gluten-free bread... My life is All about food!;( But I shld prob. be less active as obv is keeping the pounds off... And having some muscle makes me feel less depressed with my skeletal appearance.

[Celiac50]

In fact, funny idea, my partner suggested I shld model for the over 50s section, and do it now b4 I start piling on the pounds - if only that would happen! It is over a year now... I am 48kg and should be 54-55, that was my wooonderful Perfect weight before....:( Nothing lasts for ever, as the song goes... To those out there who have a little more rather then less fat on them - celebrate it! Is Healthy!  

[knitty kitty]

Having a RAVENOUS appetite (or conversely no appetite at all - anorexia) and unintended weight loss are symptoms of early thiamine deficiency.  

People who are physically active, athletes, physical laborers, those who exercise outside regularly have a higher metabolic need for thiamine.  Exercising outside regularly can cause more thiamine loss because sunlight breaks down thiamine.  (This is why people with heat stroke are administered thiamine.)  More thiamine is lost through the kidneys in those who exercise regularly. 

Because blood tests for thiamine deficiency is so inaccurate, the World Health Organization suggests, if thiamine deficiency is suspected, give thiamine and look for health improvement.  

Do not take Thiamine Mononitrate as this form is not well absorbed nor utilized in the body.  It is frequently found in foods, and multivitamins and B1 supplements because it will not break down with exposure to light while sitting on a shelf at the store.  Thiamine Mononitrate is shelf stable - it won't break down with light exposure - and this makes it not bioavailable.  The body only absorbs about 30% and utilizes less than that because it's so hard to break down.  

Benfotiamine and the form of thiamine called TTFD (Tetrahydrofurfuryl Disulfide) and thiamine hydrochloride are wonderful forms to take.  

I'm familiar with these symptoms because I dropped sixty pounds in a month because I had developed thiamine deficiency.  I ate well, exercised, and took a multivitamin (with thiamine Mononitrate), but the metabolic needs of my body demanded more.  The years of poor absorption due to undiagnosed Celiac disease had depleted my stores of thiamine.  My doctors did not recognize thiamine deficiency symptoms, even when they progressed to Wernicke's Encephalopathy.  They said I was making things up and sent me home.

With nothing else to lose (I could feel myself dying), I took high dose thiamine hydrochloride as the WHO suggested and had improvement within the hour.   I also tried Benfotiamine and TTFD in the months that followed and had even more significant health improvement.

Please don't wait until your brain starts malfunctioning or other organs start failing.  Please take thiamine soon.  It's nontoxic and safe even in high doses. 

Thiamine works with other B vitamins, especially Riboflavin and Pyridoxine, so supplementing with a B Complex is essential as well.  Magnesium is needed as well to make life sustaining enzymes.

There's no harm, no foul in trying Thiamine.  If for no other reason than to prove it is not thiamine deficiency.  

P. S.  Thiamine is needed to turn on Vitamin D, turning it into its active form.  Otherwise  Vitamin D can't be utilized and just builds up in the system.

Edited September 27 by knitty kitty
Added Post Script

[Celiac50]

Kind thanks for all this valuable information!

Since my Folate was/is low and also my Calcium, there IS a chance I am low in B vitamins... My doctor only measured the first two, oh and Zinc as I has twisted her arm and guess what, that was mega low too. So who knows, until I get myself tested properly, what else I am deficient in...

I did a hair mineral test recently and it said to avoid All sources of Calcium. But this is confusing for me as my Ca is so low and I have osteoporosis because of this. It is my Adjusted Ca that is on the higher side and shouldn't be. So am not sure why the mineral test showed high Ca (well, it was medium in the test but relative to my lowish Magnesium, also via hair sample, it was high I was told).

But anyway, thanks again for the VitB download, I will look into this most certainly!

[trents]

Calcium levels as measured in the blood can be quite deceiving as the body will rob calcium from the bones to meet demands for it by other bodily functions. Also, supplementing with calcium can be counterproductive as it tends to raise gut pH and decrease absorption. More often than not, the problem is poor absorption to begin with rather than deficiency of intake amounts in the diet. Calcium needs an acidic environment to be absorbed. This is why so many people on PPIs develop osteoporosis. The PPIs raise gut pH. And some people have high gut PH for other reasons. Low pH equates to a more acidic environment whereas high pH equates to a more basic (less acidic) environment.

Edited September 29 by trents

[Celiac50]

That sounds so very likely in my case! I will absolutely ask my doctor on my next bone check coming up in March... Thanks a lot! 

[knitty kitty]

Yes, I, too, have osteoporosis from years of malabsorption, too.  Thiamine and magnesium are what keep the calcium in place in the bones.  If one is low in magnesium, boron, selenium, zinc, copper, and other trace minerals, ones bone heath can suffer.  We need more than just calcium and Vitamin D for strong bones.  Riboflavin B 2, Folate B 9 and Pyridoxine B 6 also contribute to bone formation and strength.  

Have you had your thyroid checked?  The thyroid is important to bone health as well.  The thyroid uses lots of thiamine, so a poorly functioning thyroid will affect bone heath.  

[Wheatwacked]

 "Conclusions: The urinary iodine level was significantly lower in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, and iodine replacement may be important in preventing osteoporosis"  Body iodine status in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Low iodine can cause thyroid problems, but Iodine deficiency will not show up in thyroid tests.  Iodine is important for healing, its job is to kill off defective and aging cells (Apoptosis). Skin, brain fog, nails, muscle tone all inproved when I started taking 600 mcg (RDA 150 - 1000 mcg) of Liquid Iodine drops.

Some with dermatitis herpetiformis, Iodine exacerbates the rash.  I started at 1 drop (50 mcg) and worked up to 12 drops, but I don't have dermatitis herpetiformis.