How Does It Happen ?

[mxkzach000]

My little sister who is 40 was just diagnosed w/celiac disease

How does ones body just decide to be allergic to all Gluten

She is 3 of 4 siblings ~ had previous intestinal issues due to a surgery at age 27

I just need to know how one just becomes sick like this so quickly

[lizard00]

Hi and Welcome.

Sorry to hear your sister was so ill, but now she can finally get better. Usually it's triggered by some sort of stressful event. Is she allergic to gluten, does she have Celiac, or both? Giving up gluten can seem challenging at first, but it becomes second nature very quickly. The redeeming quality of celiac is that her wellness can be controlled with food, instead of medications. The best thing you can do for her is educate yourself on the disease so that you can support her through the rough times. And you have found the best place.

If she has celiac, I would encourage you to be tested, too. I know that is probably not something you want to hear, but it is hereditary.

[mxkzach000]

Thank you for such a prompt response, but how does a body just all of a sudden become sick like this?? Right before she was diagnosed, like last year, she was fine / what could have triggered the reaction ?? She has had many a trying and difficult thing in her life / drug addiction, prison. lots of ugly stuff / Yes she has been clean for almost 10 yrs / but her and family are happy and there can't possibly anything close to that going on now

[lizard00]

I was trying to find you an article or something... I couldn't find what I was looking for. I'm sure someone else has something, or you could check on this website. I'm sure there's something about it here too.

A few major causes are surgeries, viral infections (something as simple as the flu), emotional stress, etc. I wish I could tell you what triggered her. And in many cases, the time that the disease became triggered to the time of diagnosis is a pretty long time. Many docs aren't super educated on this disease, and is overlooked in favor of IBS, chronic fatigue, and for a lot of people fibromyalgia, crohns, colitis, unexplained migraines, etc. Once the gene has been turned on, the damage has to start. Once the damage begins, it could still take a while. It has to get to the point where it's keeping her from absorbing food, to where the antibodies build up enough to where she is physically becoming ill.

[larry mac]

Mine was "triggered" at 55.

In my case, I suspect it started with a bad cold. My doctor prescribed augmenten, a combo antibiotic. It did a number on my stomach. Shortly after, I started having stomach problems. After stool testing, it was discovered that I had developed a case of C-Difficile, a bad bacterial overgrowth. The augmenten had killed off too much of my good bacteria, and the C-Diff had taken over.

To kill the C-Diff, I was given an even stronger antibacteria. It worked. However, it wasn't long after that when I started having intestinal problems such as volcanic activity after meals and diahreah. It became chronic. My first enterologist was an idiot. All he wanted to do is give me a colonoscopy, which was fine. My second one suspected Celiac right away (from my name) and a month later I was diagnosed.

Two years, three doctors, and 40 pounds it took to find out I needed to be on a gluten-free diet. I had never even heard of Celiac disease before my third doctor mentioned it.

best regards, lm

[flourgirl]

For me, this "major attack" came after what I thought was a really bad case of the flu, which may have been mono....or maybe it was Celiac all along. If that's the case...I can't pinpoint any specific trigger. I DO know that off and on since infancy I've had many "sicknesses"; anemia, infections, migraines, ulcers, "growing pains", rashes, lots of allergies, vertigo.....many unexplained and pretty much brushed off by one doctor or another. I am now 48 and finally have a root cause for so much pain and illness. We found the cause pretty much by accident...I was so ill my doc. thought I had cancer. I had never heard of Celiac before that. Thank God. Hope your sister heals quickly. Sounds like she's had enough to deal with....but then again don't we all!

[Adelle]

I got sick at 15, I was just stressed. Nothing special, but I was in the midst of "carb loading" for upcoming swimming competitions. But I just started having joint pain, reflux, pretty minor stuff. But about 6 months later everything got dramatically worse. 12 doctors and like 7 years later, I figured it out on my own (thank you google!). I have a doctor now who saw my medical chart and agrees with my dx.

Who knows what triggors it? It's not a horrible thing though. It's pretty easy once you work it out.

Welcome!!

[gfpaperdoll]

My opinion is that the underlying immune reaction is always there, that you may or may not have symptoms but disregard them as "part of life". For your sister I would guess that she always had a problem with gluten. It probably just showed up as neurological & other things. No one uses drugs & goes to prison that is healthy & happy & making all the right decisions in life. Gluten messes up your brain, the way you make decisions, your moods, how you feel (lousy & tired), how you learn & a million other little things that can add up to trouble for that person.

Show me a teen that is angry, lazy, using drugs & failing school & I would bet lunch that person has a problem with gluten & no one has a clue.

Although I only discovered the gluten problem 4 years ago, & I am now 61, I can look back & know that I was born with it - people will still talk about how I screamed for the first year of my life... I was always anemic & skinny, overweight as an adult, & had health issues & allergies... My son who is now 37 was born with it - I would go to the health food store to buy him rice crackers, although the doc would say that wheat crackers cannot cause diarrhea... His son was born with failure to thrive in the womb & had all kinds of breathing problems & colic & on & on for years with also the continuing failure to thrive - he is 12 now & tiny... I think one thing that helped save his life was that we knew about food allergies & I begged & cajoled that he not be given anything except rice cereal... I can also trace it back in my family for generations - my mother died of colon cancer...

Then at some point your body can reach a crisis state & start having un-interrupted symptoms - those are the lucky people, the unlucky ones just get cancer or another auto-immune illness...

[MDRB]

I read and article once that said that the symptoms of celiacs change with time, but the intolerance is always with you. A bowel problem at two years old, then nothing until adolescence when you might get lots of colds an flus. My celiacs was misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue after I had glandular fever. Several doctors thought it was depression. It wasn't until I was overseas (having a wonderful time, no stress or viral illness to trigger it) that I started having bowel symptoms. Many celiacs go their whole lives without ever having symptoms. I consider myself (and your sister) lucky to have symptoms that lead to a diagnosis before the celiacs manifests itself as something far worse like colon cancer.

[VioletBlue]

Your sister may well have had active Celiacs for some time. Symptoms do change over time and with the amount of damage. The more damaged the small intestine becomes the more obvious it is that there is something wrong. Most people don't think twice when the doctor says "You're a little anemic" or when they have an episode or two of diarrhea or bloating or something, particularly women. We're so accustom to being told that our cycles effect how we feel from one day to the next that we write a lot off that way. But at some point the damage leads to consistent problems and that is when most people begin to seek a diagnosis. That doesn't mean they've SUDDENLY developed Celiacs, but rather it's gotten to the point where the damage is affecting their everyday life.

I was 44 when I was finally diagnosed. I would guess I had active Celiacs for at least ten years before it became obvious something was very wrong. I started have heart arrhythmia, extremely low iron count, terrible depressions and rage and diarrhea and bloating daily. It was the hemoglobin count that finally spurred a need to figure out what was wrong. Had I gone on much longer without diagnosis I have no doubt the arrhythmia would have gotten me. Gods, can't even use the D or K word. Can't even think about it.

You don't mention what prompted the diagnosis? Was she having problems? Were they progressive or cumulative?

Thank you for such a prompt response, but how does a body just all of a sudden become sick like this?? Right before she was diagnosed, like last year, she was fine / what could have triggered the reaction ?? She has had many a trying and difficult thing in her life / drug addiction, prison. lots of ugly stuff / Yes she has been clean for almost 10 yrs / but her and family are happy and there can't possibly anything close to that going on now

[Sock]

Like others have said, I'm sure your sister can probably look back and remember times when she had symptoms and didn't know what to attribute them to.

After I found out I had CS (which only happened after my mother was diagnosed) I had an "Oh, DUH" moment when I realized that there was a reason why my guts would start burning after finishing a sandwich...

I've blamed the college diet (i.e. beer, pizza, and ramen; no wonder I got so sick so fast...) for pushing the symptoms "over the edge" from inconveniences to serious problems. Looking back, I'd been having 'problems' for 4-5 years before then.