Timing Of Celiac Onset As It Relates To Stress

[surfgolden]

Based on my understanding, the onset of celiac can be brought on by childbirth, surgery, viral infection or emotional stress. Diagnosed as celiac from a biopsy, I have been gluten free for 5 weeks and feeling great. Since I have not had a child, surgery or a viral infection, I can only assume that emotional stress brought on my celiac. Is this celiac-triggering emotional stress a cumulative effect of various stressors or a single identifiable event. How quickly does the onset take place after the stressful event or events.

I dinstinctly the remember the day I started feeling bad. It was 5 weeks later that I received my diagnosis. I am just trying to ascertain the specific stress source as nothing really stands ou. If anyone can offer some insight on the timing of the onset of celiac relative to stress, I would appreciate it.

[dionnek]

I'm curious about this too (not necessarily the stress trigger but any trigger) - I've had some symptoms since age 12 (dizzyness and passing out), which got progressively worse (and new symptoms added) as I went to college and graduated. Then, after I had a baby 2 years ago, my intestinal problems started (those were never a part of my symptoms), so I'm wondering if the pregnancy/birth caused the celiac to be kicked off, or if I've had it all along (I know I have the gene, but was it "active"?). I wasn't dx until this past May, after 5 years and 10 doctors trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Just curious if others had a sure "kick off" point, with no prior symptoms?

[Kaycee]

I can't remember exactly when I started to get symptoms, but they gradually got worse. I have had traumatic times, and children and surgery, so it could be any of those. Acutally I think my symptoms became more noticable when there wasn't as much stress in my life. But I feel my body had been building up to coeliac most of its life, but slowly, with odd little symptoms that I put down to just being me. I too would like to know when it all started for , but I might get a horrible shock if I found out it kicked in when I was a teenager, as that is so long ago.

You must also remember, that there is genetics involved with coeliac. From what I gather you can't have coeliac if you are not genetically predisposed to it, and that is where the trigger comes into it, it sets it off. Does that make sense?

Cathy

[jayhawkmom]

I am one of the lucky folks who has had gi problems my entire life. They seemed to disappear once I hit my teenage years. Over the years, I've had miscellaneous episodes of GI issues but I could never pinpoint anything, and always just assumed I just simply had random tummy problems.

My third child arrived in August of 05. When he was a week old, I developed a terrible thrush infection, it was so bad that I could not continue to nurse - and I was unsuccessful at pumping, causing my entire supply to diminish. I was stressed beyond belief. My body failed me, I failed my child.... and all of a sudden, my tummy problems were back with a vengeance.

Was it the pregnancy? Was it the stress of breastfeeding? I have no idea. But, I can directly correlate the return of all my gi issues, and then some, to this last pregnancy.

[happygirl]

In general, the overall premise behind almost all autoimmune disorders is a combination of:

genes (some which are identified) and the environment (for us, the "environment" is gluten)

When they describe stress, it is *usually* meant more in terms of severe, traumatic stress, versus everyday stress that everyone goes through.

Another thing to consider is that you may have gotten a little virus or something minor, that might not have wrecked havoc on you, but could have triggered your system to "on." (For example, the vase majority of the population will test positive for having had Epstein Barr Virus. EBV is something that can cause mono....but in most people, they might just be "under the weather" for a day or two....even as a kid. Not everyone has the full expression of mono. So you could have gotten something and not "known" it, hypothetically)

Also, young babies can be dx'ed with Celiac (essentially from getting gluten passed through their mother's breastmilk). They are not "stressed" as we like to think of it , so what is causing it for them? Why were they already "turned on?" (Just things to think about!)

Finally, you technically could have had Celiac for much longer, as a "silent Celiac"---an asymptomatic Celiac. Then, for some reason, maybe your body was damaged enough, maybe you had another trigger---who knows?----you began having symptoms.

Hope this helps.

Laura