Can Celiac Disease Just Come Out Of Nowhere?

[Killarney]

I've never had any problems like this in my life. I'm 30 years old. For the last year or so, I've had problems (diahhrea, etc) off and on. I finally went to the doctor about it a week ago and he did blood tests. He called me this morning and told me that I tested positive for Gliadin antibodies and he wants me to see a specialist because I might have Celiac disease.

Would Celiac disease just come out of nowhere like this? Granted, it's been a year, but for the previous 29 years of my life I had no problems like this.

Could it be triggered by something? It all started about a year after I had a baby... could that have triggered it?

Also, I'm a vegetarian and all I basically eat is pasta, pizza, and bread. I don't eat any meat, veggies, and only a little fruit. All I eat is carbos! But I don't have digestion problems every day, just a few times a week. Wouldn't it be much much worse if I had this disease because that's all I eat?

Thanks very much for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it.

[lovegrov]

Yes, celiac can just come out of nowhere. Many people carry the genes but only a small percent get it. Nobody knows why. Recognized triggers include surgery, severe illness, stress, and yes, you guessed it, pregnancy.

With symptoms and positive blood tests the odds are strong that you do have it. You are most certainly going to need to learn to eat vegetables and fruit (you should be eating this stuff anyway). Some vegetarians have been able to go gluten-free and not eat meat but others have added a little poultry or fish.

richard

[tarnalberry]

yep - definitely can be triggered at any age. it's genetic - but it also has to be triggered by environmental issues. (some speculation on environmental triggers include viruses, stress, and candida.)

I had contemplated going vegetarian, but on the gluten-free diet, there's no way I'd be able to adequately deal with the hypoglycemia - I just can't have that high of a carb intake. (Though I'm dairy free due to a casein intolerance.) There are a number of gluten-free grains that still have a fair amount of protein (amaranth, quinoa, teff), and beans will be a good way to replace on of those foods, but it's going to be important to expand your diet, even if it takes a while. (It's taken my husband years, and he hasn't expanded his diet _that_ much, but it's still an improvement. ;-) )

[jendenise]

lovegrov pretty much summed it up. You may have had it all your life but it could have just recently been triggered by stress, pregnancy, surgery, illness. I have been a vegetarian for 10 years, and had celiac disease for 2 years. I think mine came from stress and illness at the same time. But thinking back I had a lot of symptoms over the years. I was diagnosed w/ acid reflux, and when I was little they said I might have lactose intolerance. Go to Amys.com for vegetarian gluten-free foods.

[Stoole]

Killarney, I think you can be a gluten-free vegetarian. In fact, maybe it's a plus in your case. You're already used to eating differently from other people, checking ingredients, etc. If you didn't "cheat" as a vegetarian, I bet you will have an easier time eliminating gluten than some other people. You know how you have to search for vegetarian anchovy sauce? Now you have to find gluten-free mustard. I think gluten-free is harder, but it's kind of the same deal.

I was a vegetarian for 14 years (from college until this summer.) One of my son's doctors thought meat would help my son's epilepsy, otherswise I would still be veggie, even with my diagnosis. The health food stores where I live are really helpful. Find the one near you that boycotts the most products. They probably have a really picky buyer who can help make sure you get what you need. They probably even have a gluten free section.

Oh, if you don't know already, you don't need to worry about pasta. You can get gluten-free pasta that is really good. There are all kinds of yummy things you can make with rice pasta, and the quinoa pasta is very similar to pasta made with semolina. I haven't had great luck with pizza and bread but I'm still new at this. I bet others can advise you in some of the other forums here. I made a pizza crust last month but it turned out really flaky--it would have been an awesome scone, though.

Good luck with it all!

[GFHeather]

I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian who occassionally eats fish (have been this for 19 years now). One of the best things I did since being diagnosed with Celiac this summer was to have a visit with a Registered Dietician as an outpatient at my local hospital. She was very knowledgeable on Celiac and helped me craft a gluten-free diet that would get me all the nutrients i should have. She even did a body composition test and a metabolism test to see how many calories I need to have to help me gain back a few pounds I've lost to Celiac disease before being diagnosed.

Pointer: A Registered Dietician qualifies as a Nutritionist, but a Nutritionist does not necessarily qualify as a Registered Dietician. A Registered Dietician must have a degree in it. A nutritionist deosn't have to have a degree. You may find a "nutritionist" or "nutritional counselor" at your local chiropractor (I saw one of these also), but I got a whole lot more out of my visit to the Registered Dietician.

[jendenise]

Go to amys.com, if you're already vegetarian you've probably eaten something from Amy's Kitchen brand foods before, but they also have Gluten Free vegetarian food. If you live near a Whold Food's Market you can request that they special order foods for you, and they should have a list of Gluten Free foods also.