Symptoms Only When I Over Indulge?

[Krystens mummy]

Ok so heres the thing. I have celiac disease in the family and have started displaying symptoms.

I have noticed that I only get these symptoms when I over indulge in gluten foods eg eat 2 pieces of bread at breakfast, pasts for lunch and a couple of beers etc in one day. Can I still have celiac or just intollerance to too much. My daughter is very gluten sensitive at 17 months and cant tollerate any at all. I had neg blood tests when symptoms first started but I did them fro my daughters benefit than mine cos I didn't think that my probs were related then.

When I do get sick I get sick for 3 to 5 days and this is usually every couple of weeks. I get better cos I stop eating. I get all the normal gastro symptoms minus diarrhoea plus constipation but also back pain.

[RiceGuy]

Well, from what I've read, about 30% of celiacs display no outward symptoms at all. Since there seems to be a "trigger" to Celiac, after which the damage and symptoms begin to manifest, I have little doubt that you will eventually test positive, but by then there'll be quite a bit more damage than there is now.

[Tim-n-VA]

The caveat first: we are all different and celiac varies greatly from individual to individual.

I was diagnosed as part of an investigation of possible causes of varying liver function tests. In retrospect, there were times over the years where I'd have stomach problems. These seem to match up with lots of gluten, breakfast with pancakes, drinking two or more wheat-beers (I was in Germany at the time), etc.

The bad part was that I didn't have enough symptoms to make me stop eating wheat (or even suspect it) but I now have cirrhosis. Despite my citing beer above, I rarely drank any alcohol more frequently than once a month and most of the time it was oinly one beer (not two or more) so my liver damage is not likely alcohol related.

[ShayFL]

Hopefully your GI appt. will go well and you can learn more. It sounds like the light bulbs are already going off.

[Kaycee]

The heading to your thread caught my eye. When you mentioned over-indulging, I thought you meant the practise of eating way too much, something which I can do with such ease. But you were only referring to only eating excess in the amount of gluten.

Well I didn't really have what I considered symptoms. Okay I had a bit of diarhoea, that didn't really impact in my life, as it only happened in the mornings and that was that for the day. But I did notice over the last few years before going gluten free, that everytime I overate, as in enjoyed morning tea at work, went out for a good hearty meal, or just eating more than I usually ate. I would be sick that night with chronic diahrroea. I'm pretty sure those days I ate more gluten, but I was just thinking I had overloaded my system with too much food and it couldn't cope. It was that symptom that made me stop and think, something is not right, and maybe the diarrhoea is not normal. So I went looking for answers. no one in my immediate family had coeliac, but I'd come to the conclusion I had an intolerance to gluten, or to some other food I'd been eating everyday.

When I went gluten free after being diagnosed with coeliac those horrible days of over over indulging dissappeared, and so did the diarrhoea. I can still over-indulge in food, but I don't get the stomach issues now.

Like the previous poster said, we are all different and have different symptons.

Cathy

[tom]

I have noticed that I only get these symptoms when I over indulge in gluten foods ...

I may be taking this wrong, but it hints to me at the thought that having only smaller amounts will be ok.

That is false, for a celiac.

I was under this impression for a few years - that there was some amount which I could have, remain asymptomatic and not create problems.

It ended up ruining 7-8 yrs of my life & I'm still recovering from the complications.

If you have celiac, be 100% gluten-free or HIGHLY regret it later.

Good luck.

[mftnchn]

I agree, since you have strong family history. Otherwise you could check whether you have a wheat allergy instead of celiac. You are reporting ten days of symptoms a month, seems time to address it.

[lizard00]

I agree, since you have strong family history. Otherwise you could check whether you have a wheat allergy instead of celiac. You are reporting ten days of symptoms a month, seems time to address it.

I would agree with that. My symptoms would always worsen at my grandma's house. She worked in a bakery and when we were there, we always "overindulged". At that point I was clueless to Celiac, and I was eating lasagne, cereal, sandwiches and all the desert bites in between and after every meal. (cause we were at grandma's!) By Saturday afternoon, and we always arrived Friday night, I was down with a throbbing headache and nausea. And I do mean throbbing. It was because I was eating WAAAAYYY more gluten than I was used to, and my body simply couldn't cope with all the extra, it was barely handling the little bits that I normally ate. But I only see that looking back... so, it's good that you see that now. Definitely get checked out before you really get sick.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I don't think it matters whether you have celiac or "just" gluten intolerance.

Either way, your immune system is likely being triggered to attack your intestines, Even if you only have "small amounts of gluten," you risk further damage in the form of rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, MS, and even lymphoma.

If eating gluten is so near and dear to your heart that you think it's worth risking all that (not to mention seeing your daughter grow up), then I guess it's up to you.

Remember, it only takes 1/16th of a piece of bread to cause MEASURABLE damage to the villi, even in the absence of symptoms.

[Krystens mummy]

Thanks for your advice! I am going to see the GI on wednesday hopefully he/she can help I have decided that I want to go gluten free anyway even if the tests are negative. We do it for my daughter anyway so Im used to it.