Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Don't Know If I Have Celiac Disease


lauralee

Recommended Posts

lauralee Newbie

I don't know if I have Celiac Disease or not. My gastroenterologist told me that from the blood tests they did that yes, I did have it even though the only symptom I was showing was unexplained anemia. She did an endoscopy and biopsies. When I went back for the followup in her office the next week (this past Thursday) she said that she the endoscopy and the biopsies were all fine. She said she doesn't know if I have Celiac Disease or not. Supposedly of the three tests they do, two of mine were positive and one was negative and one of my positives was just barely positive. So, she suggested I eat gluten-free for two months and then come back to check my blood again.

Basically...can I seek help and guidance here because I'm having a heck of a time deciphering indgredient lists, etc. I've tried to be gluten-free all week but there's a lot of things I still question if I can eat or not and I want to do this as carefully as I can so I can get as accurate results as possible when I go back for my followup.

Sorry to ramble...and thanks.

lauralee


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



jerseyangel Proficient

Lauralee--For heaven's sake, of course you're welcome here! Feel free to ask anything. Actually, since you have a positive blood test, you have it as far as I'm concerned. There's a ton of info on foods, personal care products and tips on how to avoid CC at home and away. Welcome :)

Guest Robbin

:) Welcome. You will get a lot of help and support on this forum. Nini has a "newbie" kit that will help you. I think you can pm her to get it. Also, you can check out the main website -on the list of choices there is a lot of information you can print out and read to make things easier. It is sometimes a comfort to know that you are not alone. We are all here to help each other. Take care,

Also, I agree with Patti, a positive blood test of any kind is a POSITIVE. Not sure what your doc is thinking.

queenofhearts Explorer

This is SUCH a welcoming, comforting place, not to mention an incredible fount of information. I'm newly diagnosed myself & this forum has been a real lifesaver. I see a complete range of folks posting here, from the undiagnosed & curious to old hands sharing years worth of hard-won wisdom! Stick around; you'll be glad you did!

Leah

schuyler Apprentice

Welcome!! As Leah said, everyone here is really nice, so don't be afraid to ask questions. There are plenty of people here who are in the process of getting a diagnosis, so you are not alone. Good luck with everything.

Danielle

jenvan Collaborator

Of course you are welcome here! And, ck out these very helpful ingredient lists--big help for shopping: https://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=12

Guest nini

absolutely you are welcome here, and just e-mail me at nisla@comcast.net for the newbie survival kit in the subject of the e-mail just put "request newbie survival kit" and I will e-mail it to you as soon as I can!

also, since you do have positive blood work (even low positive) you have this as far as I'm concerned too... Too many medical Dr.s are still reluctant to dx this unless they see full blown damage... they are therefore missing too many people in the earlier stages of this... you are lucky, you can start getting better sooner!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



lauralee Newbie

Thanks everyone! You've made me feel welcome. And I will email you in a few mintues, Nini, requesting my newbie kit.

Am I the only person who has trouble deciphering the ingredient labels on foods? Unless it says at the bottom of the list in bold..."contains wheat" I sometimes have no idea what I can and can't have. I've got three books and alot of paperwork with lists on them but sometimes I still cannot identify certain names/ingredients. Can I eat Dannon fruit yogurt or do I have to get plain yogurt and add my own fruit? What about Country Crock mashed potatoes? Should be just potatoes, right? Not according to the ingredients list and I can't decipher all of the things listed.

Thanks,

lauralee

TCA Contributor
Thanks everyone! You've made me feel welcome. And I will email you in a few mintues, Nini, requesting my newbie kit.

Am I the only person who has trouble deciphering the ingredient labels on foods? Unless it says at the bottom of the list in bold..."contains wheat" I sometimes have no idea what I can and can't have. I've got three books and alot of paperwork with lists on them but sometimes I still cannot identify certain names/ingredients. Can I eat Dannon fruit yogurt or do I have to get plain yogurt and add my own fruit? What about Country Crock mashed potatoes? Should be just potatoes, right? Not according to the ingredients list and I can't decipher all of the things listed.

Thanks,

lauralee

Trust me, we all KNOW how overwhelming this is at first. The way I started out is that if it had more than just a few ingredients, then I stayed away from it. It was too hard to know. As I went along, I found more and more mainstream things that were really good. I probably spent more on specialty food in the beginning because I didn't trust mainstream stuff. I recommend starting a notebook with info in it. Then start going through your pantry. Call the 1-800 # ont he back of the packages and ask if the product is gluten-free or not. I divided the things I could use up and separated those from the rest of the foods. I also asked the companies to send me lists of their gluten-free foods when I called. This helped in shopping a LOT. I have a list of foods that I put together for my son. It has a lot of kid type foods on it, but it might be helpful. It also includes a list of companies that will always list gluten in the form of WHEAT, RYE, BARLEY AND OATS. I tend to stick with those brands, so I KNOW what I'm getting. Just PM me and with youre e-mai address and I'll be glad to send it to you. Nini's list is great too.

I hope you feel welcome already! Let us know if you have questions.

Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular

Welcome aboard!

Going off gluten has had one--no, two-- tremendously positive effects for me (besides for the obvious health bnefits, I mean).

One is that I have become a much better cook (and I wasn't bad at all before, judging by my husband's waistline!). I decided that it was EASIER to stay home and cook what I wanted from scratch rather than go to a restaurant and special-order or stand for hours at the grocery reading ingredients.

The other is that I am saving a ton of money not eating out or buying prepared foods!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,979
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    volivier
    Newest Member
    volivier
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      @tiffanygosci, Hello.  I apologize for your thread being hijacked.   I recognize your symptoms as being similar to what I experienced, the migraines, food and chemical sensitivities, hives, nausea, the numbness and tingling, joint pain, tummy problems, sleep problems, emotional lability, and the mom brain.  My cycle returned early after I had my son, and I became pregnant again with all my symptoms worsening.  Unfortunately, I lost that baby.  In hindsight, I recognized that I was suffering so much from Thiamine deficiency and other nutritional deficiencies that I was not able to carry it.   Celiac Disease affects the absorption of nutrients from our food.  There's eight B vitamins that must be replenished every day.  Thiamine Vitamin B1 becomes depleted first because it cannot be stored very long, less than two weeks.  Other B vitamins can be stored for two months or so.  But Thiamine can get low enough to produce symptoms in as little as three days.  As the thiamine level gets lower, symptoms worsen.  Early symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are often attributed to life situations, and so frequently go unrecognized by medical professionals who "have a pill for that".   I used to get severe migraines and vomiting after gluten consumption.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to turn carbohydrates, fats and proteins into fuel for our bodies.  With a large influx of carbohydrates from gluten containing foods, the demand for Thiamine increases greatly.  Available thiamine can be depleted quickly, resulting in suddenly worsening symptoms.  Emotional stress or trauma, physical activity (athletes and laborers) and physiological stresses like pregnancy or injury (even surgery or infection) increase the need for Thiamine and can precipitate a thiamine insufficiency. Pregnancy requires more thiamine, not just for the mother, but for the child as well.  The mother's Thiamine stores are often depleted trying to meet the higher demand of a growing fetus.  Thiamine insufficiency can affect babies in utero and after birth (autism, ADHD).  Having babies close together doesn't allow time for the mother to replenish thiamine stores sufficiently.   Thiamine insufficiency can cause migraines, pins and needles (paresthesia), and gastrointestinal Beriberi (gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, back pain).   Thiamine deficiency can cause blurry vision, difficulty focusing, and affect the eyes in other ways.  Thiamine deficiency can damage the optic nerves.  I have permanent vision problems.  High histamine levels can make your brain feel like it's on fire or swelling inside your cranium.  High histamine levels can affect behavior and mood.  Histamine is released by Mast Cells as part of the immune system response to gluten.  Mast Cells need Thiamine to regulate histamine release.  Mast Cells without sufficient thiamine release histamine at the slightest provocation.  This shows up as sensitivities to foods, smelly chemicals, plants, and dust mites.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to lower histamine levels.  Vitamin D is needed to calm the immune system and to regulate our hormones.  Menstrual irregularities can be caused by low Vitamin D.   Celiac Disease is a disease if Malabsorption of Nutrients.  We must take great care to eat a nutritionally dense diet.  Our bodies cannot make vitamins.  We must get them from what we eat.  Supplementation with essential vitamins and minerals is warranted while we are healing and to ensure we don't become deficient over time.  Our bodies will not function properly without essential vitamins and minerals.  Doctors have swept their importance under the rug in favor of a pill that covers the symptoms but doesn't resolve the underlying issue of malnutrition. Do talk to your doctor and dietician about checking for nutritional deficiencies.  Most blood tests for the eight B vitamins do not reflect how much is available or stored inside cells.  Blood tests reflect how much is circulating in the blood stream, the transportation system.  Blood levels can be "normal" while a deficiency exists inside cells where the vitamins are actually used.  The best way to see if you're low in B vitamins is to take a B Complex, and additional Thiamine and look for improvement.   Most vitamin supplements contain Thiamine Mononitrate, which is not easily absorbed nor utilized by the body.  Only thirty percent of thiamine mononitrate listed on the label is absorbed, less is actually utilized.  This is because thiamine mononitrate is shelf stable, it won't breakdown sitting on a shelf in the grocery store.  It's so hard to breakdown, our bodies don't absorb it and can't turn it into a form the body can use.  Take Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine or TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) which the body can utilize much better.  (Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for Thiamine level.  Though not accurate, this test does better picking up on a thiamine deficiency than a blood test.) Are you keeping your babies on a gluten free diet?  This can prevent genetically susceptible children from developing Celiac Disease.  
    • trents
      @Riley, on this forum we sometimes get reports from people with similar experiences as you. That is, their celiac disease seems to go into remission. Typically, that doesn't last. At age 18 you are at your physical-biological peek in life where your body is stronger than it will ever be and it is able to fight well against many threats and abuses. As Wheatwacked pointed out, absence of symptoms is not always a reliable indicator that no damage is being done to the body. I was one of those "silent" celiacs with no symptoms, or at least very minor symptoms, whose body was being slowly damaged for many years before the damage became pronounced enough to warrant investigation, leading to a diagnosis. By that time I had suffered significant bone demineralization and now I suffer with back and neck problems. Please, if you choose to continue consuming gluten, which I do not recommend, at least get tested regularly so that you won't get caught in the silent celiac trap down the road like I did. You really do not outgrow celiac disease. It is baked into the genes. Once the genes get triggered, as far as we know, they are turned on for good. Social rejection is something most celiacs struggle with. Being compliant with the gluten free diet places restrictions on what we can eat and where we can eat. Our friends usually try to work with us at first but then it gets to be a drag and we begin to get left out. We often lose some friends in the process but we also find out who really are our true friends. I think the hardest hits come at those times when friends spontaneously say, "Hey, let's go get some burgers and fries" and you know you can't safely do that. One way to cope in these situations is to have some ready made gluten-free meals packed in the fridge that you can take with you on the spot and still join them but eat safely. Most "real" friends will get used to this and so will you. Perhaps this little video will be helpful to you.  
    • Wheatwacked
      @Riley., Welcome to the forum.   It was once believed that Celiac Disease was only a childhood disease and it can be outgrown.  That was before 1951, before gluten was discovered to be cause of Celiac Disease, also called Infantilism.  Back then Cileac Disease was thought to be only a gastro intestinal disease, once you  "outgrew" the colicky phase, you were cured. You were so lucky to be diagnosed at 5 years old so your developing years were normal.  Gluten can affect multiple systems.  The nervous system, your intellegence. The muscules, skeleton. It can cause neurological issues like brain fog, anxiety, and peripheral neuropathy.  It can cause joint pain, muscle weakness, and skin rashes. Epilepsy is 1.8 times more prevalent in patients with celiac disease, compared to the general population. Because through malabsorption and food avoidances, it causes vitamin D and numerouus other essential nutrient deficiencies, it allows allergies, infections, poor growth, stuffy sinuses and eustacian tubes. There is even a catagory of celiac disease called "Silent Celiac".  Any symptoms are explained away as this, that or the other thing. Gluten is one of the most addictive substances we consume.  Activating the Opiod receptors in our cells, it can numb us to the damage that it, and other foods are causing.  It has become socially acceptable to eat foods that make us feel sick.  "There's a pill for that".   It is generally accepted that n fact you are weird if you don't. The hardest part is that if you don't eat gluten you will feel great and think why not.  But slowly it will effect you, you'll be diagnosed with real diseases that you don't have. You'll be more susseptable to other autoimmune diseases.  As you read through the posts here, notice how many are finally dianosed, after years of suffering at older ages.  Is it worth it? I think not. Perhaps this book will help:  Here is a list of possible symptoms:   
    • Riley.
      Hi! Im Riley, 18 years old and have been diagnosed for 13 years.. the testing started bc I stopped growing and didn’t gain any weight and was really small and thin for my age.  I got diagnosed when I was 5 and have been living gluten free since, in elementary and middle school it was hard for me and I kept contaminating myself bc I wanted to fit in with my friends so so badly. I ate gluten secretly at school and mostly regretted it 30 minutes later.  I’ve had symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, headaches, stomachaches, threw up a lot and was really emotional.  In 2022 I really started working on myself and tried to stay gluten free and if I did eat gluten I wouldn’t tell anyone and suffer in silence.  Last year in July I begged my mom to let me „cheat“ one day bc I just wanted to fit in… I ate a lot of different stuff, all the stuff I missed out on in my childhood like nuggets, pizza and all that.. I didn’t have symptoms that day and was doing really fine My mom and I wanted to test how far we can go and said we would test it for 12 weeks to get my blood taken after to see if I’m doing good or if symptoms start showing  As a now 18 year old girl who finally gained a normal weight and doesn’t get symptoms I’m to scared to get tested/my blood taken cuz I finally found comfort in food and it got so much easier for me and my family.  A year and 4 months later i still didn’t get any symptoms and have been eating gluten daily.  I’m scared to get tested/my blood taken cuz what if I’m actually not fine and have to go back to eating gluten free. Any tips to get over that fear and „suck it up“ cuz I know I could seriously damage my body… sorry if I seem like a idiot here… just don’t really know what to do :,)
    • Mari
      There is much helpful 'truth' posted on this forum. Truths about Celiac Disease are based on scientific research and people's experience. Celiac disease is inherited. There are 2 main Celiac 'genes' but they are variations of one gene called HLa - DQ What is inherited when a person inherits one or both of the DQ2 or the DQ8 is a predisposition to develop celiac disease after exposure to a environmental trigger. These 2 versions of the DQ gene are useful in diagnosing  celiac disease but there are about 25 other genes that are known to influence celiac disease so this food intolerance is a multigenic autoimmune disease. So with so many genes involved and each person inheriting a different array of these other genes one person's symptoms may be different than another's symptoms.  so many of these other genes.  I don't think that much research on these other genes as yet. So first I wrote something that seem to tie together celiac disease and migraines.  Then you posted that you had migraines and since you went gluten free they only come back when you are glutened. Then Scott showed an article that reported no connection between migraines and celiac disease, Then Trents wrote that it was possible that celiacs had more migraines  and some believed there was a causal effect. You are each telling the truth as you know it or experienced it.   
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.