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

What Is Up With My Immune System?

Miriam3

By Miriam3
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

Miriam3 Rookie
Miriam3
Posted

I've been gluten-free for almost three months and CF for about one. I'm feeling better in lots of ways, but all of a sudden my immune system seems like it's taking a vacation on me.

I've been fighting this stupid cold for almost two weeks; I found a wart on my finger (first time in 20 years) and just found I have a yeast infection (first time in four years). Warts and colds are viruses, yeast is fungus...anyone had this happen AFTER being on the diet?

My celiac symptoms have always been mostly neuro, partly gastro. In times when I was doing especially badly and went undiagnosed I felt weak and tired, but I wasn't really prone to colds or infections. ONCE I had about six yeast infections in a row, but that was years ago. Usually I seem to get colds less and fight them off faster than other people.

....So why does it seem like my immune system has abandoned me now that I'm trying to take better care of it with the Gluten-free Casein-free diet?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Nathan's mom Apprentice
Nathan's mom
Posted

Hi,

I may be way off in my explanation of this, but I seem to recall reading something that supports this. When my son was very symptomatic (he only had C and sleep issues before), his eyes itched, skin itched, and he was clearing his throat 24-7. I think his immune system was on the alert and as a consequence he was super "healthy" over the winter- no colds, etc (he is 4). However, at the same time he was very symptomatic for Celiac with diarrhea and irritability. Now that he is 6 months gluten-free he seems to get a cold every 4-6 weeks. Not entirely uncommon for a little one who associates with other little ones. They catch things. It made sense to me that this was a good sign. It seems like his immune system is reacting properly now. When your immune system is on high all the time it is a drain on your body and it is not always necessarily a good sign when you don't "catch" anything.

Anyone else with a better explanation?

happygirl Collaborator
happygirl
Posted

My only other explanation would be that something else is going on that is stirring up problems.

JNBunnie1 Community Regular
JNBunnie1
Posted

Actually, two months after going gluten free I got the flu worse than I ever had before. I think part of it has to do with your immune system being 'busy' healing your villi, but also that your body is now 'realizing' it's vitamin deficient as well. I've seen it a few times that people are more prone to bacterial or viral infections in the 6-9 months after going gluten free. It also probably has something to do with the stress of trying to figure out gluten free life, that was more stressful to me than being sick was, although it is a lot easier now with all the tools out there.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I was always sick until I had been gluten-free for about 6 months or so. Since then I haven't even caught a cold. That was 4 years ago. (I am knocking wood real hard here now :) ) I had a lot of autoimmune related problems and was late diagnosis. I have figured that since my system does not have to fight gluten all the time anymore it can better fight off the other stuff. It may also have something to do with vitamin levels, as was mentioned. Make sure you are supplementing with gluten-free vitamins and a sublingual B12 in addition is also beneficial for most of us.

Guest thatchickali
Guest thatchickali
Posted

Probiotics Probiotics Probiotics. I swear by them!

lorka150 Collaborator
lorka150
Posted

WHen you cut out gluten and casein, it could be possible that you are not getting all your vitamins, minerals, fats, and so on. I'd keep a food journal, and make sure you're still eating balanced.

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Ed-G Newbie
Ed-G
Posted
Actually, two months after going gluten free I got the flu worse than I ever had before. I think part of it has to do with your immune system being 'busy' healing your villi, but also that your body is now 'realizing' it's vitamin deficient as well. I've seen it a few times that people are more prone to bacterial or viral infections in the 6-9 months after going gluten free. It also probably has something to do with the stress of trying to figure out gluten free life, that was more stressful to me than being sick was, although it is a lot easier now with all the tools out there.

I have a similar experience, though it doesn't have anything to do with celiac. I have epilepsy which beagan to develop when I was about 14. Before then I got all sort of colds, fevers, stomachaches, the works. But since then, hardly anything. No fevers, and except of sinus problems, nothing. Now I don't believe that i never caught a cold since then. But I do believe my epilepsy co-opted the symptoms. In other words, instead of fevers, I had seizures.

Just putting my two cents in.

Ed in MD

Miriam3 Rookie
Miriam3
Posted
  • Author

Thanks all for the input! Hmmm...maybe my immune system is finally on vacation after all the fighting it's been doing. Reminds me of those descriptions I hear about "high histamine" and "low histamine" traits. I'm not sure what's the scientific basis for it, and I never totally accepted it as real. But I have heard that high histamine people have lots of allergies but low colds. Their immune systems are always on the warpath.

Nathan'sMom, do you think your son switched to the low histamine type or something similar? At least it sounds like I'll have the energy my body was using to fights colds to use for me....once I get over all this junk :)

Ali, what kind of probiotics do you swear by? I was taking some Acidophilus but I couldn't tell if it was helping and I was getting gas, so I cut it out in case that was why. Where can I get something more trustworthy?

JNBunnie1 Community Regular
JNBunnie1
Posted
Thanks all for the input! Hmmm...maybe my immune system is finally on vacation after all the fighting it's been doing. Reminds me of those descriptions I hear about "high histamine" and "low histamine" traits. I'm not sure what's the scientific basis for it, and I never totally accepted it as real. But I have heard that high histamine people have lots of allergies but low colds. Their immune systems are always on the warpath.

Nathan'sMom, do you think your son switched to the low histamine type or something similar? At least it sounds like I'll have the energy my body was using to fights colds to use for me....once I get over all this junk :)

Ali, what kind of probiotics do you swear by? I was taking some Acidophilus but I couldn't tell if it was helping and I was getting gas, so I cut it out in case that was why. Where can I get something more trustworthy?

Miriam, that actually means that it's killing the bad bugs, which is giving you gas. It's actually a good sign. I think you're supposed to slowly increase the amount you take until the gas goes away. I take a probiotic by Flora called Udo's Choice, it's in the fridge at my health food store. It seems to be working very well for me, it's potent and has 6 or 8 different bugs, I think you need more than just acidophilus.

Merika Contributor
Merika
Posted

Hi Miriam,

Like you, I felt great for the first several months gluten-free. Then I started to feel worse and worse. It did eventually balance out. It seems a pretty typical pattern from what I've heard annecdotally.

Make sure you are eating a good nutritious diet, and getting enough calories.

Merika

mftnchn Explorer
mftnchn
Posted

I recall CarlaB posting about this but I can't remember the details. You could do a search or PM her. She talked about lyme patients I think, taking it as a sign of improvement when they started getting colds, but I can't remember the explanation.

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. Scott Adams
      0

      Koikoi Trading Inc., Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Wheat and Sesame in FU ZHOU FISH BALL

    2. catnapt
      - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      8

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      oh that's interesting... it's hard to say for sure but it has *seemed* like oats might be causing me some vague issues in the past few months. It's odd that I never really connect specific symptoms to foods, it's more of an all over feeling of unwellness after eating them. If it happens a few times after eating the same foods- I cut back...
    3. trents
      - trents replied to SilkieFairy's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      IBS-D vs Celiac

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SilkieFairy! You could also have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) as opposed to celiac disease. They share many of the same symptoms, especially the GI ones. There is no test for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out.
    4. trents
      - trents replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      8

      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      Under the circumstances, your decision to have the testing done on day 14 sounds very reasonable. But I think by now you know for certain that you either have celiac disease or NCGS and either way you absolutely need to eliminate gluten from your diet. I don't think you have to have an official diagnosis of celiac disease to leverage gluten free service in...
    5. SilkieFairy
      - SilkieFairy posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      IBS-D vs Celiac

      After the birth of my daughter nearly 6 years ago, my stools changed. They became thin if they happened to be solid (which was rare) but most of the time it was Bristol #6 (very loose and 6-8x a day). I was on various medications and put it down to that. A few years later I went on this strict "fruit and meat" diet where I just ate meat, fruit, and squash...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,321
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    James Minton
    Newest Member
    James Minton
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • catnapt
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By catnapt · Posted

      oh that's interesting... it's hard to say for sure but it has *seemed* like oats might be causing me some vague issues in the past few months. It's odd that I never really connect specific symptoms to foods, it's more of an all over feeling of unwellness after  eating them.  If it happens a few times after eating the same foods- I cut back or avoid them. for this reason I avoid dairy and eggs.  So far this has worked well for me.  oh, I have some of Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot cereal and I love it! it's hard to find but I will be looking for more.  for the next few weeks I'm going to be concentrating on whole fresh fruits and veggies and beans and nuts and seeds. I'll have to find out if grains are truly necessary in our diet. I buy brown rice pasta but only eat that maybe once a month at most. Never liked quinoa. And all the other exotic sounding grains seem to be time consuming to prepare. Something to look at later. I love beans and to me they provide the heft and calories that make me feel full for a lot longer than a big bowl of broccoli or other veggies. I can't even tolerate the plant milks right now.  I have reached out to the endo for guidance regarding calcium intake - she wants me to consume 1000mgs from food daily and I'm not able to get to more than 600mgs right now.  not supposed to use a supplement until after my next round of testing for hyperparathyroidism.   thanks again- you seem to know quite a bit about celiac.  
    • trents
      IBS-D vs Celiac

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SilkieFairy! You could also have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) as opposed to celiac disease. They share many of the same symptoms, especially the GI ones. There is no test for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out.
    • trents
      how much gluten do I need to eat before blood tests?

      By trents · Posted

      Under the circumstances, your decision to have the testing done on day 14 sounds very reasonable. But I think by now you know for certain that you either have celiac disease or NCGS and either way you absolutely need to eliminate gluten from your diet. I don't think you have to have an official diagnosis of celiac disease to leverage gluten free service in hospitals or institutional care and I'm guessing your physician would be willing to grant you a diagnosis of gluten sensitivity (NCGS) even if your celiac testing comes up negative. Also, you need to be aware that oats (even gluten free oats) is a common cross reactor in the celiac community. Oat protein (avenin) is similar to gluten. You might want to look at some other gluten free hot  breakfast cereal alternatives.
    • SilkieFairy
      IBS-D vs Celiac

      By SilkieFairy · Posted

      After the birth of my daughter nearly 6 years ago, my stools changed. They became thin if they happened to be solid (which was rare) but most of the time it was Bristol #6 (very loose and 6-8x a day). I was on various medications and put it down to that. A few years later I went on this strict "fruit and meat" diet where I just ate meat, fruit, and squash vegetables. I noticed my stools were suddenly formed, if a bit narrow. I knew then that the diarrhea was probably food related not medication related. I tried following the fodmap diet but honestly it was just too complicated, I just lived with pooping 8x a day and wondering how I'd ever get and keep a job once my children were in school.  This past December I got my yearly bloodwork and my triglycerides were high. I looked into Dr. William Davis (wheat belly author) and he recommended going off wheat and other grains. This is the first time in my life I was reading labels to make sure there was no wheat. Within 2 weeks, not only were my stools formed and firm but I was only pooping twice a day, beautiful formed Bristol #4.  Dr. Davis allows some legumes, so I went ahead and added red lentils and beans. Nervous that the diarrhea would come back if I had IBS-D. Not only did it not come back, it just made my stools even bigger and beautiful. Still formed just with a lot more width and bulk. I've also been eating a lot of plant food like tofu, mushrooms, bell peppers, hummus etc which I thought was the cause of my diarrhea before and still, my stools are formed. In January I ran a genetics test because I knew you had to have the genes for celiac. The report came back with  DQ 2.2 plus other markers that I guess are necessary in order for it to be possible to have celiac. Apparently DQ 2.2 is the "rarer" kind but based on my report it's genetically possible for me to have celiac.  I know the next step is to bring gluten back so I can get testing but I am just not wanting to do that. After suffering with diarrhea for years I can't bring myself to do it right now. So that is where I am!   
    • catnapt
      anyone here diagnosed with a PARAthyroid disorder? (NOT the thyroid) the calcium controlling glands

      By catnapt · Posted

      learned I had a high PTH level in 2022 suspected to be due to low vit D  got my vit D level up a bit but still have high PTH   I am 70 yrs old (today in fact) I am looking for someone who also has hyperparathyroidism that might be caused by malabsorption    
×
×
  • 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.