Eating Gluten, But No Reactions.

[amber-rose]

Hi! Almost two years ago, I was horribly sick. I had a few blood tests taken & my celiac blood test came back positive. I immediately went gluten-free & didnt get any other tests. I felt amazingly better once i started eating gluten-free, & everytime some gluten accidentally slipped in i would get major D, cramping, and i would just feel terrible. Around November i found out that some tacos i ate a few days before had gluten in them. But i had no reaction. A few weeks ago I got up enough courage to try some gluten...i have no idea why. But i really felt like a powdered donut. I ate one tiny powdered donut...no reaction. I ate a package of 5 powdered donuts...no reaction. Throughout the last few weeks I have ate pizza, sandwiches, lasgana, lots & lots of donuts, & poptarts and I have had NO reaction. It's actually amazing me. I feel great, & i've had no symptoms whatsoever. But I just think its so weird! Can Celiac go away just as fast as it started? Any ideas? Did i ever really have Celiac?

Thanks everyone.

-Amber

[Lisa]

Hi! Almost two years ago, I was horribly sick. I had a few blood tests taken & my celiac blood test came back positive. I immediately went gluten-free & didn't get any other tests. I felt amazingly better once i started eating gluten-free, & every time some gluten accidentally slipped in i would get major D, cramping, and i would just feel terrible. Around November i found out that some tacos i ate a few days before had gluten in them. But i had no reaction. A few weeks ago I got up enough courage to try some gluten...i have no idea why. But i really felt like a powdered donut. I ate one tiny powdered donut...no reaction. I ate a package of 5 powdered donuts...no reaction. Throughout the last few weeks I have ate pizza, sandwiches, lasgana, lots & lots of donuts, & poptarts and I have had NO reaction. It's actually amazing me. I feel great, & i've had no symptoms whatsoever. But I just think its so weird! Can Celiac go away just as fast as it started? Any ideas? Did i ever really have Celiac?

Thanks everyone.

-Amber

Amber,

I have been gluten free for over 2 and 1/2 years. I do not react now (from certain cc over the past year). I consider myself in remission. It would take repeated glutenings over an unknown period of time for me to react.

With that said, I am certain that whatever gluten that I would consume would be doing damage to my intestines. A build-up of that damage could put me back to where I was at my sickest. I choose not to take that road.

Celiac does not go away, it can go into remission with a complete gluten free diet. Cherish your health and stop the gluten.

[kbtoyssni]

Ditto what Momma Goose said. You may not feel symptoms, but continuing to eat gluten will set you up for a lifetime of serious health problems.

[amber-rose]

Ok guys, thanks! Ill cut off the gluten immediately. It was nice while it lasted though. hah.

[Lisa]

Good for you!

[blueeyedmanda]

Ok guys, thanks! Ill cut off the gluten immediately. It was nice while it lasted though. hah.

Good thats great news. Even if it isn't making you sick, it is probably doing damage. You are making the right choice even if it is not the one you really want.....

[Ursa Major]

I am glad you will be going back to eating gluten-free. Otherwise, you'd have some nasty little surprises eventually. Maybe not for ten years, possibly even twenty.

But then suddenly your gallbladder needs to come out. Then your thyroid stops functioning, your adrenal glands don't want to put out the cortisol any more, you stop absorbing iron and become severely anemic, and you lose all of your energy. You don't know why you are losing the function of your legs and the feeling in your feet.......... you are suffering from severe depression, you can't think and are in a fog, your joints and muscles start aching............ life is a drag.

And then, last, your bowel problems become obvious again, but by then it may be too late, and you have cancer somewhere in your digestive system. And you die before you can enjoy your grandchildren and your retired life.

From your picture I gather you are still quite young. You are going through the 'honeymoon period', where for a while you have no obvious symptoms after everything has healed. Nobody knows why that happens. But it won't last, damage will definitely build up again.

Enjoy your health and stay gluten-free so you stay healthy!

[kbtoyssni]

Wow, Ursa, that's a nice, upbeat pep talk from you! When you put it like that, I don't know why anyone would want to go anywhere near gluten after that

[ItchyMeredith]

I am glad you will be going back to eating gluten-free. Otherwise, you'd have some nasty little surprises eventually. Maybe not for ten years, possibly even twenty.

But then suddenly your gallbladder needs to come out. Then your thyroid stops functioning, your adrenal glands don't want to put out the cortisol any more, you stop absorbing iron and become severely anemic, and you lose all of your energy. You don't know why you are losing the function of your legs and the feeling in your feet.......... you are suffering from severe depression, you can't think and are in a fog, your joints and muscles start aching............ life is a drag.

And then, last, your bowel problems become obvious again, but by then it may be too late, and you have cancer somewhere in your digestive system. And you die before you can enjoy your grandchildren and your retired life.

From your picture I gather you are still quite young. You are going through the 'honeymoon period', where for a while you have no obvious symptoms after everything has healed. Nobody knows why that happens. But it won't last, damage will definitely build up again.

Enjoy your health and stay gluten-free so you stay healthy!

I think this is an important message!

SOOOO many people here talk about learning their diagnosis after serious celiac complications have come about. Read Dangerous Grains if you need inspiration. If you have celiac you WILL be causing damage to your body by eating gluten. There are so many things that can be happening inside you that you are not aware of.

Before my diagnosis, when I was still eating gluten, my symptoms went away for more than a year. I got my diagnosis when the DH came back for the second time. I have no idea why it went away but it scares me to know that I was doing damage to my body without knowing it. I went through both of my pregnancies eating gluten. That is scary. I wish I had known. I am so thankful for my diagnosis at age 28 because of the things that would have gone wrong down the road. I am really glad that you are going back to the gluten-free life.

[amber-rose]

I am glad you will be going back to eating gluten-free. Otherwise, you'd have some nasty little surprises eventually. Maybe not for ten years, possibly even twenty.

But then suddenly your gallbladder needs to come out. Then your thyroid stops functioning, your adrenal glands don't want to put out the cortisol any more, you stop absorbing iron and become severely anemic, and you lose all of your energy. You don't know why you are losing the function of your legs and the feeling in your feet.......... you are suffering from severe depression, you can't think and are in a fog, your joints and muscles start aching............ life is a drag.

And then, last, your bowel problems become obvious again, but by then it may be too late, and you have cancer somewhere in your digestive system. And you die before you can enjoy your grandchildren and your retired life.

From your picture I gather you are still quite young. You are going through the 'honeymoon period', where for a while you have no obvious symptoms after everything has healed. Nobody knows why that happens. But it won't last, damage will definitely build up again.

Enjoy your health and stay gluten-free so you stay healthy!

definitely not eating gluten now. haha.

but thanks! i needed to know what could happen if i kept on eating it!

[Ursa Major]

definitely not eating gluten now. haha.

but thanks! i needed to know what could happen if i kept on eating it!

You are quite welcome! I'm glad that I scared you enough with the truth to get back onto the diet. Often the truth is scarier than fiction.

[eatmeat4good]

I am glad you will be going back to eating gluten-free. Otherwise, you'd have some nasty little surprises eventually. Maybe not for ten years, possibly even twenty.

But then suddenly your gallbladder needs to come out. Then your thyroid stops functioning, your adrenal glands don't want to put out the cortisol any more, you stop absorbing iron and become severely anemic, and you lose all of your energy. You don't know why you are losing the function of your legs and the feeling in your feet.......... you are suffering from severe depression, you can't think and are in a fog, your joints and muscles start aching............ life is a drag.

And then, last, your bowel problems become obvious again, but by then it may be too late, and you have cancer somewhere in your digestive system. And you die before you can enjoy your grandchildren and your retired life.

From your picture I gather you are still quite young. You are going through the 'honeymoon period', where for a while you have no obvious symptoms after everything has healed. Nobody knows why that happens. But it won't last, damage will definitely build up again.

Enjoy your health and stay gluten-free so you stay healthy!

Hi Ursa,

You are exactly right. This is where my story belongs. I did the Atkins diet to lose weight. I have always gained weight extrememly fast and it always came with acne and depression. On the Protein Power/Atkins diets I lost weight and cleared up mentally and physically. I swore I would never eat carbs again. I do everything to the extreme so I avoided ALL sugar including fruit and only ate meat and vegetables. I became amazingly fit and thin and mentally functioned very sharp and my moods were excellent. No depression and no acne. This lasted for a wonderful 5 years. During that time, I often thought I must be avoiding something I am allergic to and I wonder what it is. No matter- I will just eat this way the rest of my life. I had no idea it was gluten I was avoiding. I believed I had 30 g of carbs to "spend" in a day and most often that would be on chocolate if I were treating myself. So my career soared...my muscles grew firm without exercise...I could move easily, think easily and was very creative. I had health, friends and energy. There is nothing better. I was on top of the world.

Then I met and married and started having headaches, swelling in my legs and face. A couple of months later more headaches, depression for no reason, irritability, nausea. It came and went like the flu. I felt great one day then bad for one day. I started needing naps after work. 6 months later my legs ached and joints hurt. I took Ibuprofen...just like I did for the headaches. I had anxiety where before I had none. The depression worsened and my muscles wouldn't work. I bumped walls and stumbled and sometimes fell. Blood work showed elevated white count always and slight anemia but nothing else. Bladder infections were frequent but there was never any bacteria....strange. Then one year later I noticed I couldn't drink water without swelling up. Mentally I felt severely impaired but couldn't explain it. I was referred to psychiatrist and therapist and continued with this for 6 months all the while getting worse with cold extremities....nausea, anxiety fatigue and depression. It wasn't until 2 years into it that the diarrhea started. Then severe weight gain. I went from 120 lbs to 200 pounds in 6 months. The Dr.s just acted like this was normal for "middle aged" women. I was treated like a hysterical middle aged woman. And indeed I was getting hysterical...my body was falling apart. I slept all the time. 3 years into it...I couldn't get out of bed. I ate soda crackers for nausea but nothing else. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I developed sores on my face that weeped and oozed and would not heal. They stumg and hurt every day. My face is severely scarred from great pieces of skin falling off. Dr. treated for impetigo...then acne antibiotics, then prednisone. But nothing worked. Then the sores came on my arms and neck and elbows...extremely painful. For 5 years I lay in bed wondering what the hell happened to my life. I thought I went to hell but forgot to die. I couldn't walk right...sometimes had to crawl to the bathroom. Started having kidney pain. Couldn't tolerate even water. Went to the ER...they gave me an IV and Xanex...and sent me home. My husband was furious that it cost us $3000 for that. And he now didn't believe I was sick...because so many Dr.'s disregarded my symptoms. So he divorced me. I was devastated.

I had googled my symptoms repeatedly over the 7 years I was so sick...after being so healthy. Nothing worked. I looked up mottled skin...as all my skin looked like purple lace...sores, depression, anxiety, swelling, acne,...I googled and treated each symptom separately and so did the dr.'s when they treated me at all. The diarrhea was the least of my concerns. My symptoms by now were so severe that the neurological and dermatological symptoms far outweighed simple diarrhea. I started suspecting food allergy. I eliminated eat allergen....nothing worked. I was meticulous. Then just out of curiosity...I googled gluten...and found Celiac...and all of my symptoms....it all matched. Even though I eliminated wheat...I had not eliminated gluten. It is in everything and if you don't know to look specifically for it...you won't know how to eliminate it. I very quickly found that ALL my symptoms were accounted for. I could not wait for testing. I spoke to my Dr. He said go ahead and try gluten free..nothing to lose.

I am one month gluten free...and feeling great. I can walk, I have no muscle pain though joint and bone pain remain. My mind is clear, my coordination has returned. Migraines gone. Depression and anxiety gone. Swelling subsiding, diarrhea and bladder urination pain gone. Sores on my face, neck, elbows gone. (Dermatitis Herpetiformis) but my sores didn't look typical so the called it neurotic excoriation. Oh

However, my wonderful job is gone, my wonderful husband is gone, my beautiful face is gone, my skin is scarred and I have no idea the damage done to my internal organs.

You see, that wonderful man I married was Meditteranean...and I began to use my 30 grams a day to eat pita bread instead of the chocolate I had used them on. That was enough gluten to ruin my health and my life very slowly and unbeknownst to me.

If only I had kept the chocolate...

I never dreamed I could be so sick from gluten.

Please don't eat it...even if you can tolerate it in small doses or sometimes.

When the neurological problems hit...I couldn't think anymore or make the connection I should have made about the pita bread.Reading was exhausting so I couldn't find answers.

I didn't know what hit me was a big dose of gluten.

I don't know if I am gluten sensitive, intolerant or Celiac.

I do know that from now on I will

Separate the Wheat from the Chaff.

Then go eat meat.

To all of you who are young when you find this out. Please don't cheat. It is very expensive

Then

[SGWhiskers]

Hi Ursa,

You are exactly right. This is where my story belongs. I did the Atkins diet to lose weight. I have always gained weight extrememly fast and it always came with acne and depression. On the Protein Power/Atkins diets I lost weight and cleared up mentally and physically. I swore I would never eat carbs again. I do everything to the extreme so I avoided ALL sugar including fruit and only ate meat and vegetables. I became amazingly fit and thin and mentally functioned very sharp and my moods were excellent. No depression and no acne. This lasted for a wonderful 5 years. During that time, I often thought I must be avoiding something I am allergic to and I wonder what it is. No matter- I will just eat this way the rest of my life. I had no idea it was gluten I was avoiding. I believed I had 30 g of carbs to "spend" in a day and most often that would be on chocolate if I were treating myself. So my career soared...my muscles grew firm without exercise...I could move easily, think easily and was very creative. I had health, friends and energy. There is nothing better. I was on top of the world.

Then I met and married and started having headaches, swelling in my legs and face. A couple of months later more headaches, depression for no reason, irritability, nausea. It came and went like the flu. I felt great one day then bad for one day. I started needing naps after work. 6 months later my legs ached and joints hurt. I took Ibuprofen...just like I did for the headaches. I had anxiety where before I had none. The depression worsened and my muscles wouldn't work. I bumped walls and stumbled and sometimes fell. Blood work showed elevated white count always and slight anemia but nothing else. Bladder infections were frequent but there was never any bacteria....strange. Then one year later I noticed I couldn't drink water without swelling up. Mentally I felt severely impaired but couldn't explain it. I was referred to psychiatrist and therapist and continued with this for 6 months all the while getting worse with cold extremities....nausea, anxiety fatigue and depression. It wasn't until 2 years into it that the diarrhea started. Then severe weight gain. I went from 120 lbs to 200 pounds in 6 months. The Dr.s just acted like this was normal for "middle aged" women. I was treated like a hysterical middle aged woman. And indeed I was getting hysterical...my body was falling apart. I slept all the time. 3 years into it...I couldn't get out of bed. I ate soda crackers for nausea but nothing else. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I developed sores on my face that weeped and oozed and would not heal. They stumg and hurt every day. My face is severely scarred from great pieces of skin falling off. Dr. treated for impetigo...then acne antibiotics, then prednisone. But nothing worked. Then the sores came on my arms and neck and elbows...extremely painful. For 5 years I lay in bed wondering what the hell happened to my life. I thought I went to hell but forgot to die. I couldn't walk right...sometimes had to crawl to the bathroom. Started having kidney pain. Couldn't tolerate even water. Went to the ER...they gave me an IV and Xanex...and sent me home. My husband was furious that it cost us $3000 for that. And he now didn't believe I was sick...because so many Dr.'s disregarded my symptoms. So he divorced me. I was devastated.

I had googled my symptoms repeatedly over the 7 years I was so sick...after being so healthy. Nothing worked. I looked up mottled skin...as all my skin looked like purple lace...sores, depression, anxiety, swelling, acne,...I googled and treated each symptom separately and so did the dr.'s when they treated me at all. The diarrhea was the least of my concerns. My symptoms by now were so severe that the neurological and dermatological symptoms far outweighed simple diarrhea. I started suspecting food allergy. I eliminated eat allergen....nothing worked. I was meticulous. Then just out of curiosity...I googled gluten...and found Celiac...and all of my symptoms....it all matched. Even though I eliminated wheat...I had not eliminated gluten. It is in everything and if you don't know to look specifically for it...you won't know how to eliminate it. I very quickly found that ALL my symptoms were accounted for. I could not wait for testing. I spoke to my Dr. He said go ahead and try gluten free..nothing to lose.

I am one month gluten free...and feeling great. I can walk, I have no muscle pain though joint and bone pain remain. My mind is clear, my coordination has returned. Migraines gone. Depression and anxiety gone. Swelling subsiding, diarrhea and bladder urination pain gone. Sores on my face, neck, elbows gone. (Dermatitis Herpetiformis) but my sores didn't look typical so the called it neurotic excoriation. Oh

However, my wonderful job is gone, my wonderful husband is gone, my beautiful face is gone, my skin is scarred and I have no idea the damage done to my internal organs.

You see, that wonderful man I married was Meditteranean...and I began to use my 30 grams a day to eat pita bread instead of the chocolate I had used them on. That was enough gluten to ruin my health and my life very slowly and unbeknownst to me.

If only I had kept the chocolate...

I never dreamed I could be so sick from gluten.

Please don't eat it...even if you can tolerate it in small doses or sometimes.

When the neurological problems hit...I couldn't think anymore or make the connection I should have made about the pita bread.Reading was exhausting so I couldn't find answers.

I didn't know what hit me was a big dose of gluten.

I don't know if I am gluten sensitive, intolerant or Celiac.

I do know that from now on I will

Separate the Wheat from the Chaff.

Then go eat meat.

To all of you who are young when you find this out. Please don't cheat. It is very expensive

Then

Thank you for posting your painful history. I really do hope that it convinces a few people the power of a little gluten and the risks of consuming gluten when your body is sensitive or you have a diagnosis.

[Marz]

Hi Ursa,

You are exactly right. This is where my story belongs...

Oh wow, this story should be sticky-ed. Thanks so much for posting this, and so sorry to hear you found out so late about gluten. I'm sure many people wish their doctor had mentioned or suggested trying going gluten-free earlier. I also just stumbled upon the idea via the web. I think something random I saw made me think of celiac disease. I even have a note in an old journal I was keeping - "It can't be celiac disease (hereditary), but I think I might have a problem with wheat" Oh how right and wrong at the same time...

And yes, there's absolutely no way to figure out gluten is the culprit, short of a strict Atkin's diet. Gluten is in absolutely everything, and if it's not in something, it's probably CC'd it's way into it anyway. Even keeping a food journal, I didn't pick up the link to gluten at all. It's just not consistent enough.

To the OP, check this out - there's a story of a young lady that was severely gluten intolerant. It was on a celiac website with a lot of info, unfortunately I can't find the link :/ From what I remember, she went back onto gluten as a challenge for testing, and found it took several weeks of eating gluten every day before she started feeling bad side effects. And by then her symptoms were 10 times worse (and different, like severe depression, anxiety when she didn't have this before) than before she was gluten-free, and it took a lot longer for her to heal from it. Eating gluten regularly for several weeks can cause irreversible damage - nerves don't regrow after damage btw. If you've been gluten-free for a while, chances are your body still needs to create new antibodies, and it can take a while to build up, which is why you didn't have any reaction at first.

It means you need to be super careful about what you eat, that you're not consuming gluten accidently, but at least it's nice that you don't react to cc or minute amounts of gluten - enjoy!