Possibly Celiac?

[hjello]

Hello,

I stumbled across some information on Celiac looking up some symptoms I was having and was shocked to see that some other problems I have had this passed year could be attributed to Celiac.

First about 10 years ago I was diagnosed with IBS and have always had very large BM's, frequent abdominal pain and occasionally diaharea. I have lived with it.

However, the last year some odd things happened which I thought we all unrelated. I was pregnant and my son was a very low birth weight, 4lbs, 12oz. I have had kidney stones 2 times and my knee cap dislocated. I have read that kidney problems and joint issues could be related to Celiac.

I also have dealt with back pain and stiffness for many years and jaw clicking.

When I read about Celiac the 2 main symptoms I don't have are BM's that float and weight loss. Infact, I am a litte overweight, carrying about 40 lbs extra. Are these 2 symptoms the most common in people with Celiac?

I am going to call my doctor and ask about testing, but I was hoping to hear your thoughts on my symptoms

[Ursa Major]

Hi, and welcome to these boards.

At least 40% of people with celiac disease are overweight, it can go either way. Malnutrition can cause people to either lose or gain.

There are over 200 possible symptoms of celiac disease. Obviously, not everybody has all of them. In fact, it seems that few people present with the same symptoms. The minority of people with celiac disease have the 'typical' presentation of diarrhea and weight loss.

IBS is a collection of symptoms (hence a 'syndrome') with have a cause. An official 'diagnosis' of IBS is meaningless, as the cause of the symptoms has not been found.

The majority of people here had a diagnosis of IBS before they were finally correctly diagnosed with celiac disease.

Your son could have gotten insufficient nutrition because your bowels are damaged, and you don't absorb enough nutrients for yourself, never mind for a growing baby as well. You are fortunate that your son is alive, it is very common to miscarry babies when having undiagnosed celiac disease (I had eight miscarriages) or to have a stillborn baby.

I would advise you to get tested for celiac disease immediately. Don't stop eating gluten before testing, as the tests won't be accurate otherwise.

[gfpaperdoll]

Just wanted to add a welcome to the group to ursa's great post.

I just love these people that find out their problem on the internet - very savvy of you...

Once you get tested & go Gluten free you will not believe how wonderful you are going to feel. I am 61 & instead of getting older, each year I feel younger!!! & very blessed...

hang with us through out your testing etc - you might get a doc that knows nothing (being polite here & not using the word I would like to)

I think there are 5 blood tests that need to be run & check to see if you can get it sent to a good lab... You will need to print out the list of the blood tests & take them to the doctor with you & STRESS that you want them ALL run...

we call the IBS diagnosis = I Be Stumped

& you have to go to med school for years to be qualified to diagnose it !!!!! But since the doc is wearing a white coat, everybody & their relatives believe it

[jhow32000]

No, no, no......you have to read, and read, and read about this stuff to help yourself. Celiac disease manifests in non-specific ways. No two people have the same symptoms and alot of overweight people with supposedly normal BMs have celiac disease.

The damage that is done occurs in the small intestine, the small intestine absorbs various nutrients in its different levels. However, the damage that is done to the small intestine by autoantibodies is patchy and does not occur the same way in any of us....this is partly why people with celiac disease have differing issues. For instance, I have had severe bone and joint pain, wasting, terrible acne, and deep depression from my celiac disease while my mother had repeated miscarriages, endometriosis, stomach pain, bloating, and weight gain. None of us had particularly bad GI symptoms and we all had very different problems. You could very well have it but be warned that the only way to be sure is to go Gluten Free strictly for about 6-8 weeks. I have had false negatives as have others in my family who are now officially diagnosed.