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

Immune Question?

BeckyW

By BeckyW
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

BeckyW Contributor
BeckyW
Posted

Hi, my daughter and I have recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and are still learning. I was wondering since this is an autoimmune disease, is our immune system suppressed and do I need to be more concerned with the cold and flu season approaching? I also have hypothyroidism and hypoparathyroidism which are both autoimmune diseases. My daughter is having a slow recovery and is still very weak. Thanks for any help you can give me on this!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


lorka150 Collaborator
lorka150
Posted

Hi Becky,

This was brought up a few weeks ago, and there were different responses. Personally, when I first was diagnosed, and went gluten-free, I got very ill (from the celiac), however I did not get one cold or flu or sore throat or anything. I was prone to these (usually the flu twice a winter, plus a plethora of colds since I can remember). However, again, this is probably different per person.

Ruth52 Newbie
Ruth52
Posted

I don't know how compromised your immune system would be. But you may find that now you have taken the gluten out of your diet, your body has more resistance because it is not having to fight the gluten invaders. Just my thoughts!

gfp Enthusiast
gfp
Posted

This is obviously personal by person but I don't think that celaics have a weak immune system, rather the opposite.

I used to think I got colds which I now recognise as allergies .... (my colds were never the same time as anyone else).

Whne i take away my gluten symptoms like thick heads, migranes and GI issues I have hardly ever been sick and even things like Measles I just fought off without being ill.

I never get infections from cuts and the only real illness that ever knocked me flat was a very virulent strain of typhoid I fought it off in 4 days, my ex was hospitalised and the Dr told me it probably should have killed me. I'm naturally immune to TB... (I just found out how rare this is)

I view my immune system as hyperactive, it even wants to attack gluten!

What I do suffer from is allergy and this seems to be the base of all my problems. My body just massively over reacts.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

I tend to get very few colds and that sort of thing. For years, before I was diagnosed, I would get "sick" a lot--but I now know that these "illnesses" were as a result of the Celiac.

I've been gluten-free for 14 months, and (knock on wood) have not had one cold!

You may find that as your system dosen't have the gluten to deal with anymore, you won't get sick as often. From what I read here, it seems like an individual thing. :)

debmidge Rising Star
debmidge
Posted

Hubby does not get colds,flu or sore throats in all the years we've been married (27) and he has had celiac disease. I get sick all the time, he never catches it. Only once he came down with something that he needed antibiotic for. Me I look at someone who has a cold and I'm sick too.

It's funny but he is getting other immune stuff that would be the result of an "overactive" immune system, for example, neuropathy, and damage to his knee bursa (not from physical damage, internal). He gets so many strange immune complaints that I say to him "Can't you just come down with a cold instead?" So far he has developed a cyst in the palm of his hand and now has intermittent strange & extreme pain down his calf. I believe this has to do with the nerve damage he has from going so long misdiagnosed with celiac disease.

nikki-uk Enthusiast
nikki-uk
Posted
Hubby does not get colds,flu or sore throats in all the years we've been married (27) and he has had celiac disease. I get sick all the time, he never catches it. Only once he came down with something that he needed antibiotic for. Me I look at someone who has a cold and I'm sick too.

The same here!!

In the 18 years I've been married I've never known my hubby to get a 'cold' or the 'flu'.Lots of weird symptoms before being dx with celiac disease though-but he never caught viruses,even if me and the kids all went down with something.

My hubby used to say I was 'weak' because I always seem to go down with a flu virus every winter and need a week in bed!!

Now that my hubby is G.F,last winter was the first time he caught a cold.So,I take this to mean that his immune system is no longer in a 'heightened' state of response.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Guest Norah022
Guest Norah022
Posted

I have been gluten free since June 1st and my immune system is still really weak.

I am constantly sick with a cold or an ear infection. I definitely feel my body is weaker since being gluten free

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I am another one for never getting sick. Virus anyway. I have been gluten-free now for going on 4 years, my constant stuffy nose and coughing were from allergies, I skin tested allergic to everything but beech trees prediagnosis. My allergist did agree with what was said about my immune system being in hyperdrive, in fact to such an extent that it was doing destruction to some organs, brain, joints and pancreas in particular. He was a very wise and well past retirement age doctor who strongly suspected the celiac when he saw my allergy panel. In my case within a year gluten free my allergies had subsided a lot. Now they are virtually non-existant. I still never catch anything but am knocking real hard on wood when I say that. :)

All-about-March Newbie
All-about-March
Posted

I am yet another one who appears to be super resistant to colds and other viruses. I rarely catch whatever it is that is "going around". Yet, on the occasion that I do catch something....wow! does my body goes ALL out! I can be down and out for several weeks to a couple of months from what started as a cold and then it just goes beserk from there.

I was only just diagnosed with Celiacs in June and it will be interesting to see if all of the changes in my diet and lifestyle will alter my susceptibility once cold and flu season kicks off. Hope not though.... I am perfectly content with my apparent 'immunity' to most bugs!

par18 Explorer
par18
Posted
I tend to get very few colds and that sort of thing. For years, before I was diagnosed, I would get "sick" a lot--but I now know that these "illnesses" were as a result of the Celiac.

I've been gluten-free for 14 months, and (knock on wood) have not had one cold!

You may find that as your system dosen't have the gluten to deal with anymore, you won't get sick as often. From what I read here, it seems like an individual thing. :)

Same here 16 months without so much as a cold. I think the immune system that can make one so ill detecting gluten must be pretty strong to keep you well after you exclude the offending substance from your diet.

elonwy Enthusiast
elonwy
Posted

Autoimmunity just means your immune system is confused, and can't discern between bad things, like viruses, and your own body. Usually people with auto-immune disorders have a hyperactive immune system.

While the body is busy dealing with its reaction to gluten, it can be easier to get sick, since you're not absorbing important nutrients and your immune system is busy attacking you, instead of the stuff it should.

I used to get sick all the time, and now that I'm gluten free, I hardly ever get sick. My damage was pretty minimal though, so I bounced back pretty quickly.

Autoimmunity generally does not mean a weakened immune system as many people think, however. Obviously, eveyone is different, and there are many factors to it, but in most cases it should not make us more susceptable to other illnesses once we have the immune reaction under control through diet.

HTH

Elonwy

BeckyW Contributor
BeckyW
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the explaination and the encouraging words! I wasn't sure what to expect as a newly diagnosed Celiac!

Shalia Apprentice
Shalia
Posted

Wow, this is an interesting thread. I've wondered why everyone around me gets really sick and I don't. My husband can get incredibly ill, and I might get a sniffle.

But I'm like someone else said on here... rarely sick, but when I am, I'm out to the world.

Thanks for putting together another piece of the Celiac puzzle for me! It helps so much to be on this board!

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Wheatwacked
      - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium. A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake. With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones. Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 1...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it. Gluten is the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part. Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein. Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3. Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C. Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine. Weight...
    4. Florence Lillian
      - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free. I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree...
    5. catnapt
      - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      highly unlikely NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,356
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    JAGAPG
    Newest Member
    JAGAPG
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By catnapt · Posted

      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
×
×
  • 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.