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

Pneumococcal Vaccine....have You Gotten Yours Yet?

mamabear

Recommended Posts

mamabear Explorer
mamabear
Posted

There are 2 common diseases that are associated with a hypofunctioning spleen. Sickle cell anemia is one and Celiac disease is the other. The biggest problem for us celiacs from hyposplenia is the risk of serious infection from certain common bacteria since our spleens don't effectively clear them out. A Pneumococcal conjugated vaccine is the preferred vaccine . This can be a life saver, so please check with your doctors about doing this immunization.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular
Fiddle-Faddle
Posted

Hmmm. Isn't sickle cell a chromosomal abnormality, primarily associated with those of African heritage?

And I googled "celiac and spleen" and nothing concrete came up. Only one site mentioned that celiacs might have a smaller spleen (the hyposplenia you mention), but wouldn't our spleens be working just fine if we are gluten-free?

I'm not trying to argue with you--I'm just trying to think it all through. Do you have any sites/research you can post?

mamabear Explorer
mamabear
Posted
  • Author
Hmmm. Isn't sickle cell a chromosomal abnormality, primarily associated with those of African heritage?

And I googled "celiac and spleen" and nothing concrete came up. Only one site mentioned that celiacs might have a smaller spleen (the hyposplenia you mention), but wouldn't our spleens be working just fine if we are gluten-free?

I'm not trying to argue with you--I'm just trying to think it all through. Do you have any sites/research you can post?

No argument taken. I wish I knew how to link a site, but go to the Entrez Pub Med website and put celiac disease/ pneumococcal vaccine/ hyposplenia on their search. I'll try and figure how to do the link, but I'm leaving the house for a few hours .

One additional word of caution.....these are not given annually! Usually given at or near diagnosis, and then POSSIBLY a booster at age 65. These things change, so I'll post if other recommendations occur. So, ask your doctor whether or not you (the general you) shpuld get it.

Sorry I can't do it the IT way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blueeyedmanda Community Regular
blueeyedmanda
Posted

Fiddle-Faddle you are right about sickle cell.

I got the vaccine my doctor suggested it due to me working in a hospital. I got it two years ago, maybe longer. I seem to have gotten sinus infections since then....I never had those before. I also got the flu shot this year too....

Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular
Fiddle-Faddle
Posted
So, ask your doctor whether or not you (the general you) shpuld get it.

I'm glad you posted this, as this may be yet one more thing we all (we celiacs) need to worry about (like we really needed something else???!?!!). However, I'm not yet convinced that the medical community has shown that we are at risk for hyposplenia AFTER having gone gluten-free.

And unfortunately, my doctor is still recommending flu shots for everyone, and the full complement of 26 vaccines for infants by the age of 15-18 months. While I am not anti-vaccine, I am vehemently against the way vaccines are currently used (and marketed), so I don't trust my doctor's opinion on this one. :(

However, if it turns out that we are at high risk for hyposplenia even after going off gluten, then I think the pneumococcal vaccine may very well be a good idea after all. :huh:

mamabear Explorer
mamabear
Posted
  • Author
I'm glad you posted this, as this may be yet one more thing we all (we celiacs) need to worry about (like we really needed something else???!?!!). However, I'm not yet convinced that the medical community has shown that we are at risk for hyposplenia AFTER having gone gluten-free.

And unfortunately, my doctor is still recommending flu shots for everyone, and the full complement of 26 vaccines for infants by the age of 15-18 months. While I am not anti-vaccine, I am vehemently against the way vaccines are currently used (and marketed), so I don't trust my doctor's opinion on this one. :(

However, if it turns out that we are at high risk for hyposplenia even after going off gluten, then I think the pneumococcal vaccine may very well be a good idea after all. :huh:

Open Original Shared Link

See if this one comes through. It's from 1995 but still quite relevant. I will continue to look for the more recent one I found earlier today.

I think I figured out how to link........

mamabear Explorer
mamabear
Posted
  • Author
Open Original Shared Link

See if this one comes through. It's from 1995 but still quite relevant. I will continue to look for the more recent one I found earlier today.

I think I figured out how to link........

Open Original Shared Link

Here is the main article I wanted to link. I guess it still doesn't make it 100% clear by the abstract that the celiacs were gluten-free compliant. My general thought is that it only is talking about celiac patients and not delineating dietary adherence. What are your thoughts now?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Not to be negative here but..... I have been strictly, very strictly gluten-free now for almost 5 years. I have not even caught a cold. My personal take on this is that my body had built up a 'hyperdrive' immune response in response to my constant glutenings. I was always catching everything before I was gluten-free because my immune system was too busy trying to protect me from the toxin gluten to fight off 'little bugs'. Now that hyperimmunity seems to be working in my favor. I even worked in the school system for a couple years after diagnosis, a sure way to catch lots of stuff, and never caught anything.

That said do I think I need, or for that matter trust, any vaccine? Absolutely not.

mamabear Explorer
mamabear
Posted
  • Author
However, if it turns out that we are at high risk for hyposplenia even after going off gluten, then I think the pneumococcal vaccine may very well be a good idea after all. :huh:

Open Original Shared Link

One more link( and then I'm done!! ) which does address gluten-free diet compliance. This study is from Italy, and I think most of us agree the Europeans are farther along in their celiac science! It is recent... a 2006 article.

Of course, we should have a say in what parts of medicine we choose to use.....but I figured since a lot of the really good GI docs don't remember to mention this..I would bring it up. It's best to receive it through your health care provider,public health department and keep the date in your medical records in case reimmunization status ever changes.

darlindeb25 Collaborator
darlindeb25
Posted

Not to be negative here but..... I have been strictly, very strictly gluten-free now for almost 5 years. I have not even caught a cold. My personal take on this is that my body had built up a 'hyperdrive' immune response in response to my constant glutenings. I read somewhere the other day that celiacs are not as prone to picking up viruses because our immune systems are in overdrive.

Seems there is one plus side to celiac disease!

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

My doctor also noted that a pneumococcal vaccine was important as celiacs tend to be more susceptible to more severe effects from it (blood borne, not respiratory). She had me get it (I have other risk factors - asthma). I had a pretty bad reaction to it, but they last, on average, about 10 years.

happygirl Collaborator
happygirl
Posted

Open Original Shared Link

Dr. Green also mentions spleen and the vaccine.

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. Colleen H
      - Colleen H replied to Colleen H's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      2

      Gluten related ??

      Thank you so much for your response Yes it seems as though things get very painful as time goes on. I'm not eating gluten as far as I know. However, I'm not sure of cross contamination. My system seems to weaken to hidden spices and other possibilities. ??? if cross contamination is possible...I am in a super sensitive mode of celiac disease...
    2. Jmartes71
      - Jmartes71 replied to Jmartes71's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      4

      My only proof

      EXACTLY! I was asked yesterday on my LAST video call with Standford and I stated exactly yes absolutely this is why I need the name! One, get proper care, two, not get worse.Im falling apart, stressed out, in pain and just opened email from Stanford stating I was rude ect.I want that video reviewed by higher ups and see if that women still has a job or not...
    3. AlwaysLearning
      - AlwaysLearning replied to Jmartes71's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      4

      My only proof

      We feel your pain. It took me 20+ years of regularly going to doctors desperate for answers only to be told there was nothing wrong with me … when I was 20 pounds underweight, suffering from severe nutritional deficiencies, and in a great deal of pain. I had to figure it out for myself. If you're in the U.S., not having an official diagnosis does m...
    4. AlwaysLearning
      - AlwaysLearning replied to Colleen H's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      2

      Gluten related ??

      If you're just starting out in being gluten free, I would expect it to take months before you learned enough about hidden sources of gluten before you stopped making major mistakes. Ice cream? Not safe unless they say it is gluten free. Spaghetti sauce? Not safe unless is says gluten-free. Natural ingredients? Who knows what's in there. You pretty much...
    5. Scott Adams
      0

      Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Dark Chocolate Mini Bars Recall Due to Undeclared Wheat and Gluten

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,077
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Deb baker
    Newest Member
    Deb baker
    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

    • Colleen H
      Gluten related ??

      By Colleen H · Posted

      Thank you so much for your response  Yes it seems as though things get very painful as time goes on.  I'm not eating gluten as far as I know.  However, I'm not sure of cross contamination.  My system seems to weaken to hidden spices and other possibilities. ???  if cross contamination is possible...I am in a super sensitive mode of celiac disease.. Neuropathy from head to toes
    • Jmartes71
      My only proof

      By Jmartes71 · Posted

      EXACTLY! I was asked yesterday on my LAST video call with Standford and I stated exactly yes absolutely this is why I need the name! One, get proper care, two, not get worse.Im falling apart, stressed out, in pain and just opened email from Stanford stating I was rude ect.I want that video reviewed by higher ups and see if that women still has a job or not.Im saying this because I've been medically screwed and asking for help because bills don't pay itself. This could be malpratice siit but im not good at finding lawyers
    • AlwaysLearning
      My only proof

      By AlwaysLearning · Posted

      We feel your pain. It took me 20+ years of regularly going to doctors desperate for answers only to be told there was nothing wrong with me … when I was 20 pounds underweight, suffering from severe nutritional deficiencies, and in a great deal of pain. I had to figure it out for myself. If you're in the U.S., not having an official diagnosis does mean you can't claim a tax deduction for the extra expense of gluten-free foods. But it can also be a good thing. Pre-existing conditions might be a reason why a health insurance company might reject your application or charge you more money. No official diagnosis means you don't have a pre-existing condition. I really hope you don't live in the U.S. and don't have these challenges. Do you need an official diagnosis for a specific reason? Else, I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you're diligent in remaining gluten free, your body should be healing as much as possible so there isn't much else you could do anyway. And there are plenty of us out here who never got that official diagnosis because we couldn't eat enough gluten to get tested. Now that the IL-2 test is available, I suppose I could take it, but I don't feel the need. Someone else not believing me really isn't my problem as long as I can stay in control of my own food.
    • AlwaysLearning
      Gluten related ??

      By AlwaysLearning · Posted

      If you're just starting out in being gluten free, I would expect it to take months before you learned enough about hidden sources of gluten before you stopped making major mistakes. Ice cream? Not safe unless they say it is gluten free. Spaghetti sauce? Not safe unless is says gluten-free. Natural ingredients? Who knows what's in there. You pretty much need to cook with whole ingredients yourself to avoid it completely. Most gluten-free products should be safe, but while you're in the hypersensitive phase right after going gluten free, you may notice that when something like a microwave meal seems to not be gluten-free … then you find out that it is produced in a shared facility where it can become contaminated. My reactions were much-more severe after going gluten free. The analogy that I use is that you had a whole army of soldiers waiting for some gluten to attack, and now that you took away their target, when the stragglers from the gluten army accidentally wander onto the battlefield, you still have your entire army going out and attacking them. Expect it to take two years before all of the training facilities that were producing your soldiers have fallen into disrepair and are no longer producing soldiers. But that is two years after you stop accidentally glutening yourself. Every time you do eat gluten, another training facility can be built and more soldiers will be waiting to attack. Good luck figuring things out.   
    • Russ H
      KAN-101 Treatment for Coeliac Disease

      By Russ H · Posted

      This treatment looks promising. Its aim is to provoke immune tolerance of gluten, possibly curing the disease. It passed the phase 2 trial with flying colours, and I came across a post on Reddit by one of the study volunteers. Apparently, the results were good enough that the company is applying for fast track approval.  Anokion Announces Positive Symptom Data from its Phase 2 Trial Evaluating KAN-101 for the Treatment of Celiac Disease https://www.reddit.com/r/Celiac/comments/1krx2wh/kan_101_trial_put_on_hold/
×
×
  • 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.