Pregnant And New To Celiac

[TLT]

Hi I am new to figuring out this Celiac thing, and I haven't been diagnosed yet. For years I have gone to GI docs and Gen. Prac. to find out what is making my lower abdomen hurt all the time and then in the past year I kept getting what I thought was the flu, of course it followed all big gluten meals, eventually I asked my sister who is a nurse if there was something in Bread that could be making me sick since I would eat pizza and be sick for a day or two afterwards, the same with a sandwich or heaven forbid Tabuli. So she directed me to look up Celiac and as soon as I took Gluten out of my diet, the sores in my mouth went away my abdomen got better, even my bowels got fixed, so then a month later when I was in the middle of finding a doc, I also figured out I was pregnant, I asked when they were taking all of the blood for the various pregnancy tests if they could run the one for Celiac and the doc of course said there wasn't one. So now I know I need to find someone more knowledgable on that subject. But here is my problem, I am in my first trimester and everything makes me sick all I want to eat is soda crackers. Any of you ladies out there who have been through this have any advice for me?

Sorry for being so long winded but wanted to give the whole picture. Thanks for any advice. One other question, now that I have taken Gluten out of my diet in order to get tested won't I have to put it back in for a while and if so is it worth it? I don't really want to go back to feeling so horrible.

[gfgypsyqueen]

Congrats on the pregnancy!! Great news!!!

FYI: Don't freak out about what you read on this site. Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming. Take it all in and make your opinions regarding your own comfort levels. Ask tons of questions, this site is a huge help!!!!After all Celiacs is a fun one . Everyone seems to have a different set of symptoms and different comfort levels. That being said, once you get used to the diet it really is not that bad.

Now, about the pregnancy, some people have a very hard time during pregnancy due to celiacs. I am very sensitive to gluten and stay very strict, but when I was pregnant I got even more sensitive. It sucked. As I said, don't freak out, just be very strict during the pregnancy. Lots of restaurants have gluten-free menus. And gluten-free foods are getting more main stream, so life is getting easier.

I seem to produce kids with food allergies, so I always pass this advice along. Don't binge eat anything during the pregnancy just eat a well balanced diet. I gorged on peanut butter crackers and nuts during and after the first baby (I didn't know I was a celiac then) and she has a nut allergy. With the second baby (now 2) I lived on yogurt, chocolate milk, cheese, etc throughout the pregnancy and she has a milk allergy. I have no idea how the food, pregnancy, and allergies are connected if at all, but I have friends with similar stories and find it very peculiar.

If I were you, I would not go back on Gluten to be tested. Many of us spend years sick trying to get a diagnosis (sounds like that is your story too) and end up doing a gluten challenge (remove gluten) and feel better. That is usually all the proof we need. FYI: Your gluten reactions will get worse once you remove gluten from your diet. If you do want to pursue a test, look into Entero labs (sp?). You'll find references throughout this site. They do some kind of stool testing that is non-invasive, minimal cost, and good results.

As for foods, find a good healthfood store. Whole Foods usually has a big selection and is in the southeast if not national. Or order online. Gluten free pantry and Ener-G brands have a lot of good products. Ener-G has a cracker that I love. It's about $3 a box, but they are great. That is the closest to a soda cracker I have ever found. Try making some breads and see if that hits the spot for you. Bette Hagman has some great recipes - look for her cook books. I love her french bread and use that recipe to make pizza.

Also, get a good prenantal vitamin. If your intestines are like the rest of ours at diagnosis, they need a lot of help . Get a good vitamin (gluten-free of course) and get plenty of rest. The first tri-metser is the worst. You'll get your energy back soon.

Best of luck and ask more questions this site really is a huge help!!!

[Ursa Major]

Hi, and welcome to this board. Oh boy, not another ignorant doctor! He should have taken the blood test for celiac disease at the same time as the pregnancy test.

At the very least you are gluten intolerant, you know that already. Now would be the worst time to do a gluten challenge, and there really is no need for it anyway. If you go back to eating gluten now you are not only making yourself sick again, you would also put the baby at risk.

You need to be tested for nutritional deficiencies, which are very common in people with celiac disease, due to the damaged villi not absorbing essential nutrients. The most common ones are iron (have your ferretin tested), vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, vitamin K, vitamins B6 and B12, potassium. At the very least you need to take a high quality (gluten-free) prenatal multivitamin. Plus extra whatever you are low in, after you get your test results.

I only found out I am gluten intolerant in 2005, at the age of 52. I had eight miscarriages, and absolutely horrible pregnancies (I have five children). I now believe that the reason was celiac disease. Because if you don't have enough nutrients for yourself, how do you nourish a growing baby inside yourself?

The best thing you can do for yourself and your baby is to be diligent with the gluten-free diet, and taking necessary supplements for a normal, successful pregnancy.

Once you have the baby, please DO NOT do a gluten challenge, no matter what the doctor says. Because it could cause irreversible damage, as has been shown many times.

[alamaz]

Hi! Congrats on your pregnancy!

I'm trying for baby #1 so after my celiac diagnosis I went to a nutritionist to help ensure I'm getting the right nutrients. Some of the things she suggests:

1. Avoid peanuts. Studies have showen that if the mother doesn't ingest peanuts during pregnancy there is less of a chance the baby will have a peanut allergy (which I'd never heard but obviously from the previous posts that goes for other high allergen foods).

2. Do NOT do a gluten challenge. If you feel better gluten-free then stay gluten-free. It's not hurting you health wise.

3. Take a prenatal, Omega 3 supp. and Cal/Mag. supp. Also, if you can stomach it a probiotic. I would suggest blood tests for nutritional deficiencies through a nutritionist.

4. Drink lots of h2o, avoid artificial sweetners (Splenda, Nutra Sweet, Equal etc.)

5. Eat dark chocolate (gluten-free of course). My nutrionist said moms who ate chocolate during pregnancy had happier babies (who needs more evidence than that?!?!?!?)

6. Avoid soy products

I wish I had the stuff she gave me here at work but those were the most important. Also, lots of fresh foods so stay to the "outside" aisles in the grocery store. You can try rice crackers for the nausea or pretzels and I'm sure if you look at one of the online gluten-free stores they are bound to have something you can try. I really like www.allergygrocer.com but the selection could be better. Ginger is supposed to be good for nausea also.

I hope you have a happy and healthy pregnancy!

[blueeyedmanda]

I just wanted to say Congrats on becoming pregnant!!!! Is this your first?

[Ariela]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I'm sure that's an exciting and scary time. I will join the other people in saying that whatever you do, do not go back to eating gluten while you're pregnant. Before going on a gluten-free diet 10 months ago, white bread was my most favorite food, better than any chocolate dessert. I'm still in the process of discovering new gluten-free bread products. My absolute favorite pasta brand is Orgran, which I buy on amazon .com. Their Italian-style spaghetti and rice/millet fussilli are incredible. To soothe your morning sickness, try the crackers, breadsticks and fette biscotatte from Dr. Schaer. Those crackers are better than any wheat ones I've had. You can buy them on www.gluten free.com or many other websites.

Ariela

Hi I am new to figuring out this Celiac thing, and I haven't been diagnosed yet. For years I have gone to GI docs and Gen. Prac. to find out what is making my lower abdomen hurt all the time and then in the past year I kept getting what I thought was the flu, of course it followed all big gluten meals, eventually I asked my sister who is a nurse if there was something in Bread that could be making me sick since I would eat pizza and be sick for a day or two afterwards, the same with a sandwich or heaven forbid Tabuli. So she directed me to look up Celiac and as soon as I took Gluten out of my diet, the sores in my mouth went away my abdomen got better, even my bowels got fixed, so then a month later when I was in the middle of finding a doc, I also figured out I was pregnant, I asked when they were taking all of the blood for the various pregnancy tests if they could run the one for Celiac and the doc of course said there wasn't one. So now I know I need to find someone more knowledgable on that subject. But here is my problem, I am in my first trimester and everything makes me sick all I want to eat is soda crackers. Any of you ladies out there who have been through this have any advice for me?

Sorry for being so long winded but wanted to give the whole picture. Thanks for any advice. One other question, now that I have taken Gluten out of my diet in order to get tested won't I have to put it back in for a while and if so is it worth it? I don't really want to go back to feeling so horrible.

[Ariela]

A few other things I forgot to mention...

Make sure your doctor runs all the necessary blood tests to ensure that your nutrition levels are normal. Make sure to take gluten-free prenatal vitamins. A number of companies make them. I personally really like the GNC ones. They are labeled gluten-free.

Lastly, I would strongly urge you to see a nutrition specialist, preferrably one that is used to dealing with Celiac patients.

Ariela

[Teacher1958]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Babies and kids are so fun! My baby, Adam, is eighteen now and heading off to college in the fall (sniff).

I am trying to think of what you could eat. I'm going to mention some possibilities, but I have not checked all of them to see if they're gluten-free- lemon custard style yogurt, EnviroKidz Organic Gorilla Munch (a gluten-free cereal with a gorilla on the front of the box), Wylde Pretzels (gluten-free and very gentle on the tummy), white rice, bananas, and gluten-free bagels (Trader Joe's sells them), and Zen Soy Soy Pudding (gluten-free). I'm a vegetarian, so I don't know what meats would settle your tummy.

I don't pretend to be a doctor- I'm actually a second grade teacher- but I have a few words of warning. Of course, this is what happened to me. That doesn't mean it will happen to you. Okay. I am 49 years old now and got pregnant with Adam when I was 30. Around the 24th week, I started having a lot of painless Braxton Hicks contractions. It was approaching Christmas, so my ob-gyn just said to take it easy during my two-week Christmas break. I got through December just fine, but 13 days into January, I went into labor at 32 weeks. I had to stay in the hospital for four weeks on IV medications to stop the labor, and Adam was born at 36 weeks gestation. The doctors were never able to give me a reason why this happened, so my husband and I did not have any more children. Anyhow, throughout the pregnancy, I had IBS symptoms (my symptoms go way back to the age of seven), which were not considered a problem. Well, now I've read that gluten allergies/celiac disease can cause repeated premature labor. I can't prove it, but I think that this was probably true in my case. I'm not telling you what to do, but I would not go back on the wheat, at least not while I was pregnant.

Just for the record, Adam is bright, funny, and the nicest young man I have ever met. He does not want to be tested for celiac disease or gluten allergies, because at this point, he really doesn't want to know. I can respect that, but once he is through college, I am going to start nagging him about it.

Good luck with finding some foods that settle your tummy. Morning sickness is the pits. Thankfully,, it usually disappears when you reach about 12 weeks in the pregnancy.

[mandasmom]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Babies and kids are so fun! My baby, Adam, is eighteen now and heading off to college in the fall (sniff).

I am trying to think of what you could eat. I'm going to mention some possibilities, but I have not checked all of them to see if they're gluten-free- lemon custard style yogurt, EnviroKidz Organic Gorilla Munch (a gluten-free cereal with a gorilla on the front of the box), Wylde Pretzels (gluten-free and very gentle on the tummy), white rice, bananas, and gluten-free bagels (Trader Joe's sells them), and Zen Soy Soy Pudding (gluten-free). I'm a vegetarian, so I don't know what meats would settle your tummy.

I don't pretend to be a doctor- I'm actually a second grade teacher- but I have a few words of warning. Of course, this is what happened to me. That doesn't mean it will happen to you. Okay. I am 49 years old now and got pregnant with Adam when I was 30. Around the 24th week, I started having a lot of painless Braxton Hicks contractions. It was approaching Christmas, so my ob-gyn just said to take it easy during my two-week Christmas break. I got through December just fine, but 13 days into January, I went into labor at 32 weeks. I had to stay in the hospital for four weeks on IV medications to stop the labor, and Adam was born at 36 weeks gestation. The doctors were never able to give me a reason why this happened, so my husband and I did not have any more children. Anyhow, throughout the pregnancy, I had IBS symptoms (my symptoms go way back to the age of seven), which were not considered a problem. Well, now I've read that gluten allergies/celiac disease can cause repeated premature labor. I can't prove it, but I think that this was probably true in my case. I'm not telling you what to do, but I would not go back on the wheat, at least not while I was pregnant.

Just for the record, Adam is bright, funny, and the nicest young man I have ever met. He does not want to be tested for celiac disease or gluten allergies, because at this point, he really doesn't want to know. I can respect that, but once he is through college, I am going to start nagging him about it.

Good luck with finding some foods that settle your tummy. Morning sickness is the pits. Thankfully,, it usually disappears when you reach about 12 weeks in the pregnancy.

Believe it or not--mouth sores are the only sign of celiac that I have ever had--I was diagnosed after my daughter was. She had ore traditional presentation ...stay off that gluten for sure and deal with it after you have the baby. It certainly cant hurt you or the baby to stay gluten-free ..it can only help!!

[TLT]

Congrats on the pregnancy!! Great news!!!

THank You Thank You Thank You. I don't feel so abnormal. I will definately try the cracker you recommended and try making some bread. My symptoms did get a ton worse when I got pregnant, but now I notice if I get even a tiny bit of gluten I get sick now, I don't think that happened before. Oh well I am just going to work hard to get it out of my diet. Tough to learn. THanks for the advice on not over indulging on some things, I definately don't want to give my little one an allergy if I can help it.

[TLT]

Once you have the baby, please DO NOT do a gluten challenge, no matter what the doctor says. Because it could cause irreversible damage, as has been shown many times.

[TLT]

Thank you Alamaz, I will try and avoid the things you listed, sadly I was eating peanuts by the handfuls the first month of pregnancy but have been too sick lately, I won't add them back in, bummer about Soy products. I really appreciate all of the help you guys are giving me.

[TLT]

Duhhh, maybe the reason I get sick off my vitamin each night is it isn't gluten free. I obviously avoided the gel cap vitamins but the alternative they gave me seemed to be ok the first few weeks but now it makes me pretty sick and if I wake up in the middle of the night my stomach is usually a mess, I am definately checking that out. Thank you, maybe i haven't been messing up my diet maybe it is the vitamin?

A few other things I forgot to mention...

Make sure your doctor runs all the necessary blood tests to ensure that your nutrition levels are normal. Make sure to take gluten-free prenatal vitamins. A number of companies make them. I personally really like the GNC ones. They are labeled gluten-free.

Lastly, I would strongly urge you to see a nutrition specialist, preferrably one that is used to dealing with Celiac patients.

Ariela