Celiac's And Diebetes-malabsortion Connection?

[dally099]

so heres a question, how many people here have diebetes as well. im wondering becasue it seems to me lots of people here have absortion issues which means that your pancreas which creates the enzymes that help absorb, (not to mention the fact that you intestines are damaged) dont work properly. well if you diebetic you pancreas doesnt work properly. just a thought that i had, i see lots of kids that have diebetes and celiac on this site so im just curious if there is a link maybe. oh well too much time on my hands today.

[glutenfreeinMadisonHeights]

I was diagnosed with diabetes and then with celiac a couple of months later.

Too bad they aren't making gluten free products that are also sugar free. In order to remain gluten free, many of the foods I eat contain sugar.

[2kids4me]

Type 1 diabetics have a higher incidence of celiac disease - both are autoimmune.

In diabetes the islet cells that produce insulin are targeted and destroyed by the immune system. The cells of the pancreas that produce digestive enymes are not. There is a condition called pancreatic insufficiency - that results in malabsorbtion - but there is profound weight loss , emaciation and large volumnous greasy stools along with charactersitic findings on blood work.

Lack of pancreatic enzymes is not the problem with celiac - it is a damaged, leaky gut and constant inflammation in the lining of the intestine that causes the malabsorbtion. The enzymes are there - they just cannot work well with damaged intestine and/or intestine that has rapid transit times.(inflammed gut moves faster - pushing food through before it can be absorbed = diarrhea)

Hope I made sense

Sandy

I am diabetic, son is celiac and diabetic.

With gluten free, Matt is doing great - we make sure he has adequate protein (which slows absorbtion of high glycemic index foods). Fruits and veggies, rice more than pasta, nuts, rice bran muffins - added fiber also helps lower the glycemic index...beans....

[RiceAddict]

I've been diabetic for 17 years now. I was dx with celiac last November. I have other dietary issues and going gluten free made eating a nightmare. I went on an insulin pump right after christmas and that pretty much allows me to eat whatever, and whenever, I want as far as calories and carbs. It has made a huge difference. I can focus on my other dietary issues and not have to worry about the diabetes so much. I don't know if that is an option for you, but definitely something to look into.

By the way, my endocrinologist said that he is seeing more and more of his diabetic patients diagnosed celiac, so yea, there is definitely something there that relates on some level, although indirect I'm sure.

[ravenwoodglass]

I have both. I was diagnosed with diabetes last year during a glutening episode. At that time my doctor stated that it was the autoimmune process that made me diabetic. My blood panels show that I am absorbing nutrients again so it wasn't the malabsrption in my case. I refused drugs and am at this point well controlled by diet. I haven't had a morning reading over 95 now in 6 months. I do have some problems minor with BS when glutened but it just seems to be going too low and it resolves quickly.

[SpikeMoore]

I think we need to differentiate between type I diabetes and type II. My understanding is that it is type I (junvenille onset, acute onset, requiring insulin as the only means of treatment as the pancreas is destroyed by the autoimmune process) that is linked to celiac. The type II (adult onset comes more from the peripheral tissues being resistant to the insulin that the body produces. The pancreas is not destroyed and the oral medication, if required works to either 1. stimulate the pancrease to make more insulin or 2. stimulate the tissues of the body to use the existing insulin (which is required for cells to be able to burn the sugar in the blood stream). Type I diabetics cannot refuse medication without death in the short term. Type II can sometimes go without oral meds by working to control their sugars by diet and excercise.

I should add that I don't know if type II is influenced by celiac.

[ravenwoodglass]

  SpikeMoore said:

I think we need to differentiate between type I diabetes and type II. My understanding is that it is type I (junvenille onset, acute onset, requiring insulin as the only means of treatment as the pancreas is destroyed by the autoimmune process) that is linked to celiac. The type II (adult onset comes more from the peripheral tissues being resistant to the insulin that the body produces. The pancreas is not destroyed and the oral medication, if required works to either 1. stimulate the pancrease to make more insulin or 2. stimulate the tissues of the body to use the existing insulin (which is required for cells to be able to burn the sugar in the blood stream). Type I diabetics cannot refuse medication without death in the short term. Type II can sometimes go without oral meds by working to control their sugars by diet and excercise.

I should add that I don't know if type II is influenced by celiac.

Type II is the type I was diagnosed with. The doctor concluded that it was definately the celiac that caused it mainly because I have none of the risk factors, dietary history or weight that would have caused it. Because the 'Black Box Warning' on these drugs has the same symptoms as a severe glutening we decided that forgoing the drugs and dietary control with close Bs monitoring would be the way to go now. I have been assured that I will eventually need to use insulin, which I will when the time comes. I would not be able to do this if it was Type 1, as you said that would be deadly.

IMHO the only reason they have not found a link between type II and celiac is because they don't look for it. At this time the only group that I know of that the NIH tells doc to check for celiac is Type 1, doctors don't even check for celiac routinely in this country with folks with IBS.

[SpikeMoore]

true ehnough! I suspect that there are different types of type II. One being insidious and weight related and the other being like what you had experienced, ie triggered by something with more of an acute onset. That is to say without the acute and total destruction of the pancreas but with very high sugars at the start. But like you say, we just haven't look for everything yet.

[RiceAddict]

I'm no medical expert, but I think you may be misquoting your doctor. There is no way that caliac can "cause" diabetes (I or II). The original onset and diagnosis of diabetes is frequently brought up (I like SpikeMoore's word, "triggered") by another illness. I was diagnosed after a severe hyperthermia/heat exhaustion episode. In your case it was the celiac. Granted, you probably had both conditions for some time with no or only mild symptoms.

[ravenwoodglass]

  RiceAddict said:

I'm no medical expert, but I think you may be misquoting your doctor. There is no way that caliac can "cause" diabetes (I or II). The original onset and diagnosis of diabetes is frequently brought up (I like SpikeMoore's word, "triggered") by another illness. I was diagnosed after a severe hyperthermia/heat exhaustion episode. In your case it was the celiac. Granted, you probably had both conditions for some time with no or only mild symptoms.

I would not have thought celiac could 'cause' a lot of things, before I was gluten free. I was very far from symptomless and have had celiac since childhood, undiagnosed and misdiagnosed. After I was finally diagnosed almost 5 years ago I was just glad 15 years of D was over with. I never in a million years thought that 'permanent' problems like my severe arthritis, parathesias, skin problems, alopecia and MS type symptoms and chronic recurring depression would go into complete remission. There is so much we do not know about the autoimmune effects that gluten creates in the body. I was not misquoting my doctor, he firmly believes if I had not suffered from undiagnosed celiac for almost 40 years I would not have become diabetic. He could be wrong, who knows. But I tend to agree with him.

[2kids4me]

  Quote

That is to say without the acute and total destruction of the pancreas but with very high sugars at the start. But

....the pancreas is NOT totally destroyed in Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 is the autoimmune attack on the islet cells, it it happens over a period of time and once enough cells have been destroyed - symptoms become apparent. At diagnosis there is often still some remaining islet cells causing what is called "honeymoon period"....I remained on relatively low doses of insulin for about 6 months and gradually increased to a higher dose over 3 months. I was measured for islet cell antibodies and was positive. The endocrinologist explained that the immune process would continue after I started insulin and as all the islets were destroyed, my insulin requirements would increase. Same scenario with my son only his honeymoon lasted only about 3 months.

Your pancreas makes and secretes digestive juices and enzymes that break down fats, carbohydrates and proteins in the foods you eat. If you have pancreatic insufficiency, your pancreas doesn't make or secrete enough of these enzymes for proper digestion to take place.

So the pancreas has 2 functions - endocrine and exocrine. The endocrine pancreas refers to those cells within the pancreas that synthesize and secrete hormones. The exocrine refers to: the pancreas secretes a number of enzymes that collectively have the capacity to reduce virtually all digestible macromolecules into forms that are capable of, or nearly capable of being absorbed. They work in tandem with bile salts from the liver..

Type 2 diabetes has nothing to do with the pancreas - often levels of insulin are HIGHER in Type 2 diabetics. It just cant work effectively. It was explained to my child very well - Think of each cell in your body having a door - insulin is the key that lets glucose in the door so the cell has an energy source.

In Type 1 - there is no key to let the glucose in so it builds up in the blood and excess is dumped in the urine. Which is why hunger occurs - your body is crying for energy but it cant get any - eating lots but losing weight. The body burns fat (leading to ketoacidosis) in an effort to get energy.

In Type 2 - the key is there, it doesnt fit the lock / have to jimmy the key or try several keys. Excess insulin leads to the weight gain typically seen. The patient also eats more because the metabolism is screwed up - sometimes cells are starving for energy other times not.

The meds prescribed help the insulin that is there- work better.

Exercise helps both forms of diabetes as it helps the body utilize insulin more effectively - injected or produced by the body. My son can cut his rapid acting insulin dose by 50% when he does his major scout outings.

Sandy

[happygirl]

The relationship between Celiac and diabetes is probably the most well-known, maybe, except for the thyroid/Celiac connection.

https://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid...-50107434334.dc

do a search on pubmed for celiac and diabetes...you'll get a ton of info!

[dally099]

this is turning into a great discussion!! i have just noticed that lots of people with celiac are also having issues with blood sugur, i know that i have something else going on as lately im very tired!! nothing i eat seems to give me any energy and my last few times ive gone out for my run im dizzy half way through. not to mention im peeing a lot, and drinking oodles of water, ill see my doc again pretty soon here to discuss all this stuff. thanks for all the great info!

[2kids4me]

if you suspect you may have diabetes, see your doctor promptly.

  Quote

The classic symptoms of diabetes are:

frequent urination, with large volumes of urine (polyuria),

excessive thirst (polydipsia),

hunger (polyphagia), and

weight loss.

Other symptoms might include:

fatigue,

blurry vision,

odd aches and pains,

dry mouth,

dry or itchy skin,

impotence (in a male),

vaginal yeast infections (in a female),

poor healing of cuts and scrapes, or

excessive or unusual infections.

from: Open Original Shared Link

[Cam's Mom]

Hi!

My daughter has both Celiac and type 1 diabetes. Below is a link to a (somewhat) interesting study looking at the prevelance of the onset of JD after diagnosis of celiac disease. This is slightly different as most research has focused on the reverse, the onset of celiac disease after diagnosis with JD. It seems to be generally stated that people with type 1 diabetes have a 20% higher risk of developing Celiac. It seems from this study that the converse is true as well.

Open Original Shared Link

barb

[Cam's Mom]

Me again . . .

This article references the same study as my previous post but is a more in depth and informative article.

Open Original Shared Link

b.

[SpikeMoore]

ok, I don't know how to do the quote thing and don't have time to figure it out, but for 2kids4me:

Your right, it would be better to say that in type I, the ability of the pancreas to make insulin is destroyed via the destruction of the islets.

[jcc]

  RiceAddict said:

I'm no medical expert, but I think you may be misquoting your doctor. There is no way that caliac can "cause" diabetes (I or II). The original onset and diagnosis of diabetes is frequently brought up (I like SpikeMoore's word, "triggered") by another illness. I was diagnosed after a severe hyperthermia/heat exhaustion episode. In your case it was the celiac. Granted, you probably had both conditions for some time with no or only mild symptoms.

Hi Rice Addict~

The research is ongoing, but it is looking at both gluten and casein sensitivity in regard to developing autoimmune Type 1 diabetes. Have you seen any of the research about zonulin? I have accumulated a lot of the information here... hope you find it of interest.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

A zonulin blocker is in clinical trials.... hopeful for treating celiac disease, and possibly preventing type 1 diabetes in high risk patients of future generations.

Open Original Shared Link

Cara

[georgie]

This thread is so interesting. I suffer from a few autoimmune conditions and am sitting here waiting for Diabetes to happen. Its not a nice thought. Since being gluten-free - I find that my Insulin Resistance seems worse. I am probably eating gluten-free foods that have too many carbs/ sugar. Does anyone else have this problem with gluten-free foods ? I am also dairy free at the moment, and am finding it hard to stick to my Insulin Resistance Diet. My hypoglycemia seems worse. Any tips ? Or is diabetes type 2 inevitable ?

[ravenwoodglass]

  georgie said:

This thread is so interesting. I suffer from a few autoimmune conditions and am sitting here waiting for Diabetes to happen. Its not a nice thought. Since being gluten-free - I find that my Insulin Resistance seems worse. I am probably eating gluten-free foods that have too many carbs/ sugar. Does anyone else have this problem with gluten-free foods ? I am also dairy free at the moment, and am finding it hard to stick to my Insulin Resistance Diet. My hypoglycemia seems worse. Any tips ? Or is diabetes type 2 inevitable ?

I can only speak from my own experience but after my diabetes diagnosis I cut out almost all carbs other than from fruits and veggies and when I snack I make sure that I am getting some protein.

For example if I have a grain derived carb like crackers or gluten-free bread at lunch I will skip the potato or rice with dinner.

I do not use any artificial sweetners but will use agave nectar, cane sugar, and until I broke out in hives stevia was nice.

I drink no sodas or juice and stick with water or water with a little lemon and just a dash of sugar.

I have not had a high morning sugar since 6 months after diagnosis with diabetes and usually read under 95. I do not take meds. How long I can keep it up who knows, but for now diet and excercise seem to be working.

Many specialty gluten free foods are very carb dense and sugar high. Perhaps some dietary modification may help you.

[georgie]

Yes... the protein rule was helping me before. I must have a think about this. Fruit sends me into a spiral, so can't have that. And now that I can't have cheese ..... I guess I am having more carbs than I was before. Thanks..... (thinking ....)