Developing Diabetes After Celiacs

[gfgypsyqueen]

Curious if anyone can help me out with how they found out about their diabetes after having Celiacs. As in, symptoms that made them persue testing. Or at least point me in the right direction for research. Everything I have read is very vague. I'm having some problems and wanted to ask all of you first before watching my Dr make the "Yup, she a hypochondriac!" face.

Thanks.

[elye]

Well, finding out if you have diabetes, type one or two, involves a simple blood test. You'll have your answer in ten seconds. If your bs is higher than 7 up to an hour after a meal, you likely are having insulin-related problems. Some pharmacists will test your blood with one of their metres, and you'll have a good idea right then and there.

Symptoms include exhaustion, headache, excessive thirst, high, smelly urine output, weight loss...

Incidentally, one in eight diabetics are also celiac. It is common for these two autoimmune disorders to be paired.

Good luck!

[~alex~]

I developed Type I about 3 months after being diagnosed with celiac disease. Looking back, my symptoms were obvious and classic but I didn't really notice them until I developed ketoacidosis and ended up in the hospital. I just figured the fatigue and sick feeling were from celiac disease and didn't realize I was peeing so much because I was in the bathroom many, many times a day for . . . well other issues.

If you are at all suspicious you might have diabetes, definitely get tested. Best to catch it as early as possible!

[psawyer]

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 14 years before my celiac diagnosis.

As Alex and Emily have noted, the symptoms are distinct.

You will feel tired and be thirsty all the time. You will urinate excessively. At first, you may think that you are urinating so much because you are drinking so much because you are so thirsty. WRONG. You are peeing your kidneys out trying to rid you blood of the excess sugar, which severely dehydrates you, causing you to be thirsty and consume lots of liquids.

Rapid weight loss (also a celiac symptom) is common in type 1 diabetes.

The blood test is quick and easy. The specific number Alex mentions is mmol/dl which is the metric system measurement used in Canada (and most of the world). Alex, Emily and I are all in Canada.

If you are experiencing the thirst/urination symptoms, tell the Dr about them, and then ask about diabetes. In 1986, I called my doctor at the time (since retired) and told him about my thirst and urination, and told him I thought I had diabetes. He did the blood test and when he saw the results the question was: how can you be walking around--you should be in a diabetic coma already. My level was 29.7 mmol/dl. "Normal" is less than 7.

[SurreyGirl]

Or at least point me in the right direction for research.

Here is my take on it, we are currently awg results of elastase and I am hoping that we have intercepted too much damage by going on the diet. It can be asymptomatic..(last paragraph).

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[gfgypsyqueen]

Thanks everyone. Looks like I need to have a chat with the Dr...

[2kids4me]

The correlation between celiac and type 1 diabetes is known and both are autoimmune. The article cited by surreygirl is about pancreatic function being impacted by Type 1 diabetes - the destruction of the islet cells impacts the other function of the pancreas which is to produce digestive enzymes.

The pancreas has 2 jobs : both exocrine (the enzymes) and endocrine(insulin) .

You cna have pancreatic insufficiency which means you needds supplements of the missing enzymes or you can have destruction of islets which means you need to inject insulin.

Some patients have both.

The article provides research that shows Type 1 diabetics - may have reduced production of enzymes, esp if they have poor control. At elast that is what I understood.

My son was diagnosed with diabetes first and celiac 10 months later. In hindsight I believe he had symptoms of celiac prior to the onset of diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes has rapid onset of symptoms as listed in previous posts. Type 2 has more insidious onset and you can have the condition for while before it is diagnosed. A very simple test - isa urine test...normally you dont spill glucose into the urine. Random testng after meals will tell you if you have diabetes, which is then confirmed by blood tests.

At least at the Chilren's hospital that we go to - they test all diabetic patients for celiac...often they wait before testing - they need to get the diabetes under control, help the family and the patient deal with needles, diet, lifestyle change , emotional issues ect...before they have to deal with celiac.

Hope this helps.

[Wonka]

I don't have diabetes but used to have severe highs and lows (when I had a low I would start to shake really bad, became bad tempered and my brain would get all fuzzy). When I was pregnant with my triplets I developed gestational diabetes which went away once the babies were born (they are 12 now). Once I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia (I also have IgA Deficiency) I really started to pay attention to my diet. I did an elimination diet and discovered my sensitivity to gluten (I now have been diagnosed celiac many years later) and also realized that my highs and lows were due to hypoglycemia. Now that I am really careful with my sugar intake I no longer have the highs and lows.

I have several family members with type 2 diabetes so I have worked really hard to keep my weight down (not a problem once I stopped eating gluten) and so far things have stayed pretty even. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.