Celiac Disease & Diberticulitus

[Jpmat]

I was wondering if it is common to have Celiac Disease and Diverticulitus? I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease about 8 years ago and have just been told that I have Diverticulitus too. Are there any good books on dealing with this combination? Are there any cookbooks that take in to account having both of these? I would greatly appreciate knowing if anyone out there has this combination too. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you for your time,

Jpmat

[happygirl]

Hello and welcome to the board! We are happy to have you.

I don't know much about diverticulitis (spelled with a V, not a . My grandmother has it, but I don't know much about it.

I did a search on celiac.com and didn't find anything. Maybe someone else on the board has more knowledge.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help. But I wanted to welcome you and encourage you to ask any questions...we are here to help!

Laura

[Jpmat]

Thank you Laura for the welcome. It is encouraging and I sincerely appreciate you taking the time.

Paulette

  happygirl said:

Hello and welcome to the board! We are happy to have you.

I don't know much about diverticulitis (spelled with a V, not a . My grandmother has it, but I don't know much about it.

I did a search on celiac.com and didn't find anything. Maybe someone else on the board has more knowledge.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help. But I wanted to welcome you and encourage you to ask any questions...we are here to help!

Laura

[Guhlia]

Welcome to the board!!! My mother has diverticulitis and I suspect she also has Celiac, though she has had negative bloodwork twice now. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[mouse]

I also can't help. But, I did want to take the time to welcome you. I am sure that someone will be posting that has the two conditions. We are kind of slow on the weekends, so please be patient.

[kbtoyssni]

My grandmother also had diverticulitus and I suspect celiac as well. My mother has celiac and this is her mother so tracing the genetics and the symptoms, I'd say my grandmother had celiac. Sorry I can't be of more help. It seems like most people here know someone diagnosed with diverticulitus and undiagnosed celiac.

[ravenwoodglass]

I have both. The diverticulitis was found 5 years before the celiac. When I first had celiac symptoms I presented with severe constipation and multiple childhood impactions. That is what caused the diverticuli to form. Diverticuli are out pouches in the wall of the large intestine. They are usually found on the left side of the decending large intestine. In my case they are all through the entire intestine and for me it has been confirmed that the celiac and resulting intestinal problems that caused the pouches. As for following the diet for diverticulitis I don't. Until the celiac diagnosis I did but since eliminating gluten I have had no problems with them so I added back in nuts and just make sure I chew them well. For those of us who had severe C before diagnosis divericuli are common.

[DrMom]

I have both and don't seem to notice any additonal symptoms.

DrMom

[Jpmat]

Angie,

Thank you for your response. My son (who is now 25) and I both have Celiac Disease. Would your Mom, now of a good resource to help me with the diverticulitis diet. I have tried to research but keep finding so many mixed results. It would be nice to know what I must restrict.

Sincere thanks,

Jpmat

  Guhlia said:

Welcome to the board!!! My mother has diverticulitis and I suspect she also has Celiac, though she has had negative bloodwork twice now. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[Jpmat]

Kbtoyssni,

I was in my early 40's when I found out I had Celiac Disease. My son was in his early 20's, thanks to knowing I had the diesease, we knew what to look for when it came to my son. I suspect my grandmother had Celiac Disease, but diagnosis wasn't really dealt with much at all then. Bless her heart, she had to wear gloves to cook with flour (like when baking bread) and her stomach was so swollen. I lost weight (one time 12 pounds in two weeks) yet my stomach was really swollen. I looked like I was 6 months pregnant. My son was the opposite of me, as it blew my son up all over. When he went on the Celiac Diet, he lost 90 pounds in year. When he was diagnosed I knew how to cook gluten free well, so his weight loss wasn't from lack of good food. If your grandmother has any info on what restricts to follow on the Diverticulitus Diet, I would greatly appreciate her input.

Thanks,

Jpmat

  kbtoyssni said:

My grandmother also had diverticulitus and I suspect celiac as well. My mother has celiac and this is her mother so tracing the genetics and the symptoms, I'd say my grandmother had celiac. Sorry I can't be of more help. It seems like most people here know someone diagnosed with diverticulitus and undiagnosed celiac.

[Jpmat]

Your post was so interesting, as I am not sure which came first. They were just diagnosed in celiac disease first and the Divertic last. I remember what I would consider my first signs of having Celiac Disease. I was always sick to my stomach as a child. My Mom was a wonderful mother who always tried to cook me a nutrious breakfast (oatmeal, ralstons etc.) and she made wonderful homemade bread. Trying to eat breakfast was a challange and often made me feel worse. I had trouble with my bowels from constipations to bouts of loss bowels and they were of unique consistency at times. Sometimes I wonder if I developed Diverticuli because of the lack of fiber in my Celiac Diet. I have other allergies as well so it was really time to be creative in the kitchen. It was kind of like learning to cook all over again. My signs of diverticulitis were naseau, fever(from infection), pain strong enough to wake me from a sound sleep and it seemed the only time my bowels were normal was when I had been on antibiotics. It was almost like before they figured out I had Celiac Disease. I had cut out popcorn, whole kernal corn and some seeds like flax seed (on my own) because I new they bothered me but I never put it all together. The swelling got so much that it affected my a sciatic nerve that goes down my leg. I kept thinking that I must have gotten an unknown source of gluten. My doctor is great and he immediately put two and two together. I have cut out what I am aware of like nuts. I decided I could get their flavor if I used almond flour etc. Can you eat blueberries and the seeds in cucumbers etc. I have so much to learn. I have just cut out every seed to be safe until I can find out more info.

Thank you for your time,

Jpmat

  ravenwoodglass said:

I have both. The diverticulitis was found 5 years before the celiac. When I first had celiac symptoms I presented with severe constipation and multiple childhood impactions. That is what caused the diverticuli to form. Diverticuli are out pouches in the wall of the large intestine. They are usually found on the left side of the decending large intestine. In my case they are all through the entire intestine and for me it has been confirmed that the celiac and resulting intestinal problems that caused the pouches. As for following the diet for diverticulitis I don't. Until the celiac diagnosis I did but since eliminating gluten I have had no problems with them so I added back in nuts and just make sure I chew them well. For those of us who had severe C before diagnosis divericuli are common.

Dear DrMom,

I just love your name! You are blessed not to have any additional symptoms. I guess I am blessed that I did, as it was making me so sick. The off and on fevers and pain and constant nausea were what really got to me. I ususally do well dealing with pain but this would wake me up from asound sleep. Kind of like labor pains, they just took my breath away. Do you have any tips on what NOT to eat or could recommend a book to read for the Diverticulitus?

Thank you for your time.

Jpmat

  DrMom said:

I have both and don't seem to notice any additonal symptoms.

DrMom

Thank you for your welcomes! Being welcomed is a help. It is hard to open yourself up, but it certainly makes it easier when you feel welcome.

Thanks,

Jpmat

[happygirl]

jpmat,

I am happy you found others who can offer some knowledge...I was confident that someone would speak up and offer help.

have you done any searches on amazon for books dealing with diverticulitis? I would *hope* that there is something out there. Search pubmed for medical abstracts. and then googling is always a good shot...hopefully the combo of this board and your searches will lead you in the right direction. Do you have a good doctor?

Laura

[Guhlia]

  Jpmat said:

Angie,

Thank you for your response. My son (who is now 25) and I both have Celiac Disease. Would your Mom, now of a good resource to help me with the diverticulitis diet. I have tried to research but keep finding so many mixed results. It would be nice to know what I must restrict.

Sincere thanks,

Jpmat

She hasn't started any diet for the diverticulitis. The doctors didn't even tell her what it was when she was diagnosed. They just threw out the term and sent her home. We're still looking for more answers because she is VERY ill and not getting any better. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Google "diverticulitis diet" and see what turns up.

[Jpmat]

Hi Laura,

I am very thankful for the people who have responded. I have indeed done searches on amazon but don't know how to choose which book is a good resource. It would be great if I could find someone who has

Diverticulitis who could recommend a book. The newest publication I found was from 2001. I would think there would be a newer publications. Google and yahoo searches have proved interesting but again, I have no way to filter the information I am finding and a lot of it is conflicting info. A lot of the info I come across is someone just trying to sell a product too.

My doctor is a wonderful doctor. He has helped me through dealing with the many aspects of my latex allergy (which I one point made it so I couldn't work-I am pleased to say that I am able to work part time now), Celiac Disease and he is the one who put it all together and told me my symptoms and their relation to Diverticulitis. He isn't afraid to sent me on to a specialist as needed either. He has been great in helping with dealing with things naturally too, as most medications don't seem to agree with me. Being a Celiac, I had had to drastically change my diet and try to find creative methods to get the right balance of nutrition. Unfortunately, one thing I was eating about 3 days a week was a nut bar with dried fruit in it. I thought this would be a great snack to carry me over to lunch while I was teaching. The other thing I ate almost everyday was a handful of almonds, as they also have a lot of health benefits. Of course I loved salted peanuts on my icecream as a treat too! Ok, let's just say that I was nut crazy as it was always an easy snack to mix with my homemade trail mix too. The Lord certainly have provided every step of the way and I know He will continue to this. I have met some wonderful people on this journery including the nice people here.

Thank you

[Jpmat]

Sorry to hear that she is so ill. Hopefully the postings here can help her too. I wish I could be of more help to you. I was put on a strong course of antibiotics for almost 28 days. This got my infection under control. Next was the basic elimination of things I new and some I had already done. I had already eliminated popcorn, peelings, some seeds like flax seed and I had changed to eating seedless jams Nuts was a new elimination and I am trying to learn what I can here. I have tried searches but the info was so conflicting. I wish somehow I could help her too. Thank you so much for taking time to post.

[Canadian Karen]

My mom just got out of the hospital after her second bout with diverticulitis. Her first attack was about 1 1/2 years ago, she had a terrible attack, bloody diarrhea, the whole nine yards..... colonoscopy that they did in the hospital confirmed diverticulitis. When she had this attack, it was totally different - the x-ray and ct-scan showed she was incredibly "bound up" with stool and gas. But either way, since the wall of the bowel gets irritated, hence the attack of diverticulitis rearing it's ugly head........

She goes to the GI doctor in 4 weeks and he is going to schedule a colonoscopy just to check things out again.... I will of course accompany her as I do for all her appts, and I am specifically going to ask the GI doctor to check Mom for celiac as she has never been checked and I am almost 100% sure I got it from my grandfather on my mom's side based on what I have been told and what I remember of him (the last 20 years of his life, all he could eat was baby food, rice cereal, etc. and both him and his brother apparently had stomach problems their whole life)......

Sorry I don't have more info, but thought it would help to add that my mom also suffers from this and also to welcome you to the forum!

Hugs!

Karen

[kbtoyssni]

  Jpmat said:

Kbtoyssni,

I was in my early 40's when I found out I had Celiac Disease. My son was in his early 20's, thanks to knowing I had the diesease, we knew what to look for when it came to my son. I suspect my grandmother had Celiac Disease, but diagnosis wasn't really dealt with much at all then. Bless her heart, she had to wear gloves to cook with flour (like when baking bread) and her stomach was so swollen. I lost weight (one time 12 pounds in two weeks) yet my stomach was really swollen. I looked like I was 6 months pregnant. My son was the opposite of me, as it blew my son up all over. When he went on the Celiac Diet, he lost 90 pounds in year. When he was diagnosed I knew how to cook gluten free well, so his weight loss wasn't from lack of good food. If your grandmother has any info on what restricts to follow on the Diverticulitus Diet, I would greatly appreciate her input.

Thanks,

Jpmat

My grandmother recently passed away, so I can't ask her about her diverticulitus diet. As far as I know, I don't think she had a specific diet to help with it, though. I saw someone posted about not eating nuts and I know my Grannie ate those. She would often visit for six weeks at a time and I never once remember making any alterations in what we ate for her. I should ask my mother. She might know better.

[Jpmat]

Karen,

I am sorry to hear that your Mom has been so sick. She certainly is blessed to have you to accompany her for her appointments. I am with you in that my family is so important to me. We all try to be there for each other. I pray that she finds some answers when she goes for the colonoscopy with her GI doc. When you think of your grandfather we are blessed that we know what we do today. I wish my grandmother had know about Celiac disease too. Actually my grandmother on my Dad's side had trouble too. I can remember that we would compare notes. neither of us knew about Celiac Disease at the time but we had each other to talk to. I believe she had it too. I guess in reality I feel it comes from both sides of my family. Thank you for your welcome. I pray your Mom gets some much needed answers too.

  Canadian Karen said:

My mom just got out of the hospital after her second bout with diverticulitis. Her first attack was about 1 1/2 years ago, she had a terrible attack, bloody diarrhea, the whole nine yards..... colonoscopy that they did in the hospital confirmed diverticulitis. When she had this attack, it was totally different - the x-ray and ct-scan showed she was incredibly "bound up" with stool and gas. But either way, since the wall of the bowel gets irritated, hence the attack of diverticulitis rearing it's ugly head........

She goes to the GI doctor in 4 weeks and he is going to schedule a colonoscopy just to check things out again.... I will of course accompany her as I do for all her appts, and I am specifically going to ask the GI doctor to check Mom for celiac as she has never been checked and I am almost 100% sure I got it from my grandfather on my mom's side based on what I have been told and what I remember of him (the last 20 years of his life, all he could eat was baby food, rice cereal, etc. and both him and his brother apparently had stomach problems their whole life)......

Sorry I don't have more info, but thought it would help to add that my mom also suffers from this and also to welcome you to the forum!

Hugs!

Karen

I am sorry to hear that your grandmother has recently passed away. I know what a significant loss that can be in your life. Both of my grandmothers are now gone and I was truly blessed to have them as part of my life. Thank you for your heartfelt response.

  kbtoyssni said:

My grandmother recently passed away, so I can't ask her about her diverticulitus diet. As far as I know, I don't think she had a specific diet to help with it, though. I saw someone posted about not eating nuts and I know my Grannie ate those. She would often visit for six weeks at a time and I never once remember making any alterations in what we ate for her. I should ask my mother. She might know better.

[darlindeb25]

My father has both. He was diagnosed with the diverticulitist first, then the celiacs. I really don't think they have much to do with each other, you just are one of those people who have mulitple diseases. Not fair, but happens all too often. My aunt has diverticulitist, but not celiacs. Deb

[Jpmat]

Hi Deb,

Do you a website or could you recommend or a book that would give me the details of the diet for diverticulitus. The Celiac Diet I have been managing for year. Maybe managing too well, as I even began to gain weight. I have tried to research but there is just so much conflicting info. Give my best to your Dad.

Thank you,

Paulette

  darlindeb25 said:

My father has both. He was diagnosed with the diverticulitist first, then the celiacs. I really don't think they have much to do with each other, you just are one of those people who have mulitple diseases. Not fair, but happens all too often. My aunt has diverticulitist, but not celiacs. Deb

[bonnieboo]

Hi! I am convinced there is a link between the two, though I have not yet been diagnosed with celiac (blod was drawn yesterday). I am 36, and I had an open colon resection a month and a half ago for diverticultis. I was back in the hospital two weeks ago with an infection in my colon, and the cat scan shows evidence of new outpouched tics, and my bowel was apprently overly full. My gall bladder walls are also thickening. I believe undiagnosed celiac may be causing the constipation which causes the pressure problems in the colon which causes diverticulitis.

I am not waiting for the b/w to come back to go gluten free. I started today.

Yay!

B

PS...I have long eaten a high fiber diet (the diet for diverticulitis). Because of this, doctors are stumped as to it's early cause, and that it so quickly became bad enough to warrant major surgery. I am convinced there is a connection. I'll keep you informed about how gluten free living goes.

[bonnieboo]

PPS...Just found this on IVillage...

"Diagnosing celiac disease can be difficult because some of its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis , intestinal infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression."

Open Original Shared Link

Cool!

b

[Jpmat]

I think that there is a link too. Once you have gone gluten free, I think it is hard to maintain the right level of fiber in your diet. I think more should be studied on this and how a celiac can get the right balance of fiber. I am eating the Celiac diet and now am doing my best to also eat the diverticulitus diet as well. There is so much mixed information out that that conflicts on what you can eat if you have diverticulitus. I wish there was a combined resource for both diets out there. Hope eating gluten free has been going well for you. Did you get your blood test back?

God bless,

Paulette

  bonnieboo said:

Hi! I am convinced there is a link between the two, though I have not yet been diagnosed with celiac (blod was drawn yesterday). I am 36, and I had an open colon resection a month and a half ago for diverticultis. I was back in the hospital two weeks ago with an infection in my colon, and the cat scan shows evidence of new outpouched tics, and my bowel was apprently overly full. My gall bladder walls are also thickening. I believe undiagnosed celiac may be causing the constipation which causes the pressure problems in the colon which causes diverticulitis.

I am not waiting for the b/w to come back to go gluten free. I started today.

Yay!

B

PS...I have long eaten a high fiber diet (the diet for diverticulitis). Because of this, doctors are stumped as to it's early cause, and that it so quickly became bad enough to warrant major surgery. I am convinced there is a connection. I'll keep you informed about how gluten free living goes.