What Do You Think Triggered Celiac For You?

[shimo]

Good question.

I guess what triggered mine was Helicobacter Pylori infection. Then with that solved I had a LOT of stress in my life. That just got it worse.

[alamaz]

Looking back, I've had symptoms my whole life. From the time I was born I had colic (drinking mom's gluten filled breast milk maybe??) and all through childhood I was the kid with mystery illnesses and ALWAYS sick. Took 28 years to figure it out.

Lately I've been wondering if Autism is somehow related to undiagnosed Celiac. The numbers are so close together (150 or something for autism, 133 for celiac). It probably isn't but the thought crossed my mind when I was watching Oprah that day she had Jenny McCarthy on.

[VioletBlue]

To answer one person's question I had strep at about age six. Had mono at 26. But the mono was probably a stress reaction in of itself to the death of my sister in law and my mother's last bout with cancer. Symptoms of Celiac didn't start to show up until roughly ten years after the mono.

Violet

[bulrush]

First, I do have an Irish background. I traced much of my family tree.

Did I mention I had asthma since I was born? That's another autoimmune disease.

Look at this: my parents said I was a very colicky baby and I do remember having bad stomach pains as a baby (age less than 12 months) and they said nothing would help me sleep except a ride in the car. Odd that I had those symptoms at so young an age. Odder yet that that's the only thing I remember so young. Was any other celiac/gluten allergy a colicky baby?

I also almost died twice from two separate asthma attacks before my 2nd birthday, per my parents. (They don't like to talk about it.)

The worst episodes were when I went camping overnight and thought I had food poisoning at age 12. I was out of school for 4 weeks (I was always in the bathroom) and should have been in the hospital, but I don't think my family had insurance at the time.

At age 15 subtle memory problems surfaced and gradually got worse. I was an A/B student so this surprised me. Doctors said it was stress or "teen hormones" or "growing pains".

Then at age 18 I had my wisdom teeth out. I got bored, and 7 days after having the teeth out, I went jogging, in the snow. Several days later I had mononucleosis and was out for 4 weeks again.

Finally at age 26 I diagnosed myself and demanded my doctor do the test for food allergies. Wheat allergy was positive as was peanuts (I never noticed symptoms) and oranges. After I got the test results I told him he was fired. (I used those words.)

I would like to advise people they make a medical summary of their life. Talk to your parents, ask what kind of baby you were (colicky or not), what kinds of foods would you prefer, any major illnesses and surgeries, any food poisoning, put it all in chronological order, then look at it. Also add when symptoms started.

Were there any severe gastic disturbances? Like from food poisoning, chemo therapy, etc? (Chemo kills the gastric lining from the stomach all the way to the large colon, because chemo attacks fast growing cells. Chemo also attacks your hair, another fast growing cell, and cancer. My ex-wife had it.)

Also do you have any other autoimmune diseases like: asthma, allergies, I believe Crohn's is also autoimmune. Put it in your medical summary, as the date you first started having symptoms. Now see if you see any pattern.

Also put in any major life changes, like parents getting divorced, you moving, you getting married, getting a new house, changing jobs, getting divorced, etc.

[JNBunnie1]

I slept with my best friend (which was a HUGE emotional step for me to take, ergo very stressful) and my symptoms started the next day. I don't think a bacteria or a virus had anything to do with it.............

[bakingbarb]

Looking back, I've had symptoms my whole life. From the time I was born I had colic (drinking mom's gluten filled breast milk maybe??) and all through childhood I was the kid with mystery illnesses and ALWAYS sick. Took 28 years to figure it out.

Lately I've been wondering if Autism is somehow related to undiagnosed Celiac. The numbers are so close together (150 or something for autism, 133 for celiac). It probably isn't but the thought crossed my mind when I was watching Oprah that day she had Jenny McCarthy on.

This is very intresting to me. I was the sick kid, ear infections that were killers (my hearing sucks now), daily headaches, fatigue, constipation that one day turned into the big D and killer stomach cramps after eating and asthma.

My middle child was sick his whole life, so was my oldest! My middle was diagnosed with Aspergers my oldest severe ADHD. Looking back I thought it was the abuse we suffered at the hands of my husband. My symptoms got so much worse when with him and during the divorce. One had asthma severe along with allergies, they both had terrible ear infections and sinus and lung problems. My daughter had some of it. Cripes I just realized I could keep going with this list of stuff for us all.

My sons only somewhat consider they might be in the same boat as me, where my daughter is much more open to it.

I wonder what the trigger was? My Dad used to tell me they put me on a formula made from evap milk when I was very young and my mother used to put hi-c in my bottles and leave me for hours. Could have been a very early age that I got my trigger.