Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Is It Too Late For Me?

miss vivian

Recommended Posts

miss vivian Newbie
miss vivian
Posted
  • Author
Hi Viv,

I was 57 when I was diagnosed, I suppose I had symptoms all my life without realising it.

I have had 'Acid Reflux' for ever, always seemed tired, susceptible to flu and chest infections,

'mouth ulcers', dry skin, all the classic symptoms.

.

I'm 61 now and a lot happier if not a little too 'rotund' from eating all my gluten-free creations, but that's another story!

.

My Friend who is also a Coeliac had his mother checked and she was biopsy diagnosed at 83, she is so much better in herself now on the gluten-free diet.

.

So in answer to your question: Is it too late for me??

.

The answer is a resounding!! It's NEVER too late!

.

Best Regards,

David

Thanks - it's good to know that you're better and so is your mom! I am hoping to recover from the damages I may have inside. I will find out more after the biopsy tomorrow...

Take care and thanks again... Viv

oops. I meant your friends' mom! Sorry for the error... Great to hear the good news that someone a little older can mend.. it gives me hope that I might be ok.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


miss vivian Newbie
miss vivian
Posted
  • Author
My mom was finally diagnosed at 45 or so. She nearly died, because this was the mid 1960's and hardly anyone knew a thing about celiac disease. She was truly almost dead of starvation, I think: 85 or so pounds, couldn't keep anything down, and doctors kept telling her it was "in her head." Finally, thankfully, she got a new doctor who asked her if she had ever lived in certain tropical places, thinking her symptoms sounded like tropical sprue. He tested her, did a biopsy which showed her villi to be GONE, her stomach lining was nearly destroyed, lots of other things, and he was smart enough to figure out she had celiac disease. She went gluten free, and was better within a few months, had regained all her lost weight, felt great. They did a re-test of her biopsy and found the villi had mostly regenerated.

She is now almost 88, in great health, no problems at all!

So once you know the facts, eat carefully and avoid all gluten.

Great to hear that the damage can be reversed! :) thank you... glad your mom is well.

Amber M Explorer
Amber M
Posted
Amber you are most welcomed here. I try to catch "newbie" threads everyday so people dont get overlooked. :)

Thanks Shay, I have read a lot of your postings. I have learned so much. I am recovering from last weeks mistake gluten poisoning. I'm doing much better, but I have a question. When does the nasea go away? I get naseated off and on out of the clear blue, and dizzy. I feel like if I thought about it much, I would puke! Did you? Any suggestions? (I was still getting it when I was gluten free before the mistake) Thanks, Amber

Lori Park Newbie
Lori Park
Posted

All of this sounds so familiar. I have been gluten free for 7 months and was 36 when I was diagnosed. I had decided that I was a big baby and a hypo-condriac. I thought I must be crazy, because they could not find anything wrong with me. I feel alot better, but recently I have been feeling some of the old symptoms. Has anybody ever just suddenly slowed down in their healing?

mslee Apprentice
mslee
Posted

welcome welcome!

Just wanted to add since my dx my Mom is in the process of being dx'ed she is in her 50's and symptoms she has had her whole life are healing since going gluten free. It is a little scary at first but we will be so much healthier once we heal & that part is empowering & exciting!

Amber M Explorer
Amber M
Posted
All of this sounds so familiar. I have been gluten free for 7 months and was 36 when I was diagnosed. I had decided that I was a big baby and a hypo-condriac. I thought I must be crazy, because they could not find anything wrong with me. I feel alot better, but recently I have been feeling some of the old symptoms. Has anybody ever just suddenly slowed down in their healing?

I think I am going on 4 months gluten free, with a couple of slips. I have good days and bad days. Just when I think I am free of the symptoms, they re-appear with a vengence. It sets me into a panic going back over ingredients again and again only to discover I have NOT eaten gluten. So I am in the same delima. My Allergist said that I sould see better results after 6 months, but some adults take a few years to get better. After your 7 months, I would make sure that you are not eating something with gluten. One thing I learned last night after watching the UCLA lecture on Celiacs is that when the label says "wheat free" instead of "gluten free", it could still have "barley, malt, or rye" in it and you need to check the full ingredient list. Holy Bananas! I did not realize that. I have mostly eaten fresh food or baking with gluten free ingredients, so I don't think I ate any gluten, but I did not know this. I am just learning. Double check your stuff! Good luck. Amber

miss vivian Newbie
miss vivian
Posted
  • Author
welcome welcome!

Just wanted to add since my dx my Mom is in the process of being dx'ed she is in her 50's and symptoms she has had her whole life are healing since going gluten free. It is a little scary at first but we will be so much healthier once we heal & that part is empowering & exciting!

Yes! You're so right about that! It is very empowering to know that we can do the right things and change the way we feel.. I had my biopsy yesterday, and it went easy - but I still have pains, in spite of being gluten free for almost one month. My gastro told me that she thinks it will take more time for me to feel better. She thinks I should not feel pains in a few months.

I don't know. I looked at the pics of my insides once I woke up - and I couldn't make any sense of it. Heck, I'm no doctor, but I am trying to learn all I can.

Thanks for you response... Everyone here and everyone that I've met since being diagnosed have been wonderul and helpful. It's such a comfort.

:) Peace!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. trents
      - trents replied to catsrlife's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      Welcome to the forum, @catsrlife! Celiac disease can be diagnosed without committing to a full-blown "gluten challenge" if you get a skin biopsy done during an active outbreak of dermatitis herpetiformis, assuming that is what is causing the rash. There is no other known cause for dermatitis herpetiformis so it is definitive for celiac disease. You would...
    2. trents
      - trents replied to Leeloff's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      75

      How Come Gluten Didnt Bother Me In Italy

      You state in an earlier post that you don't have celiac disease. Here in this post you state you will "be doing another test". What will this test be looking for? What kind of celiac disease testing have you had done? If you have used a Entero Labs it sounds like you have had stool testing done for celiac disease which is not widely accepted as a valid celiac...
    3. Gigi2025
      - Gigi2025 replied to Leeloff's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      75

      How Come Gluten Didnt Bother Me In Italy

      No, I've not been diagnosed as celiac. Despite Entero Labs being relocated to Switzerland/Greece, I'll be doing another test. After eating wheat products in Greece for 4 weeks, there wasn't any reaction. However, avoiding it here in the states. Thanks everyone for your responses.
    4. Rejoicephd
      - Rejoicephd replied to JulieRe's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      7

      Oral thrush question

      Thank you @JulieRe so much for sharing this extra information. I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better and I hope it keeps moving in that direction. I feel I'm having so many lightbulb moments on this forum just interacting with others who have this condition. I also was diagnosed with gastric reflux maybe about 10 years ago. I was prescribed...
    5. catsrlife
      - catsrlife posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      Back at the end of July I got this rash on both of my forearms. It started on my right and continued to the left. It was on the top and side. The rash has bumps that would pop with clear liquid if scratched. They would almost crystalize and scab up. They reminded me of chicken pox. They would scab for weeks and not heal much at all except for the blood clotting...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,897
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Sgp
    Newest Member
    Sgp
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @catsrlife! Celiac disease can be diagnosed without committing to a full-blown "gluten challenge" if you get a skin biopsy done during an active outbreak of dermatitis herpetiformis, assuming that is what is causing the rash. There is no other known cause for dermatitis herpetiformis so it is definitive for celiac disease. You would need to find a dermatologist who is familiar with doing the biopsy correctly, however. The samples need to be taken next to the pustules, not on them . . . a mistake many dermatologists make when biopsying for dermatitis herpetiformis. 
    • trents
      How Come Gluten Didnt Bother Me In Italy

      By trents · Posted

      You state in an earlier post that you don't have celiac disease. Here in this post you state you will "be doing another test". What will this test be looking for? What kind of celiac disease testing have you had done? If you have used a Entero Labs it sounds like you have had stool testing done for celiac disease which is not widely accepted as a valid celiac disease diagnostic testing method. Have you had blood antibody testing for celiac disease done and do you realize that for antibody testing to be valid you must have been eating generous amounts of gluten for a period of weeks/months? 
    • Gigi2025
      How Come Gluten Didnt Bother Me In Italy

      By Gigi2025 · Posted

      No, I've not been diagnosed as celiac.  Despite Entero Labs being relocated to Switzerland/Greece, I'll be doing another test. After eating wheat products in Greece for 4 weeks, there wasn't any reaction.  However, avoiding it here in the states.   Thanks everyone for your responses.  
    • Rejoicephd
      Oral thrush question

      By Rejoicephd · Posted

      Thank you @JulieRe so much for sharing this extra information. I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better and I hope it keeps moving in that direction. I feel I'm having so many lightbulb moments on this forum just interacting with others who have this condition. I also was diagnosed with gastric reflux maybe about 10 years ago. I was prescribed ranitidine for it several years back, which was working to reduce my gastric reflux symptoms but then the FDA took ranitidine off the shelves so I stopped taking it. I had a lot of ups and downs healthwise in and around that time (I suddenly gained 20 pounds, blood pressure went up, depression got worse, and I was diagnosed with OSA). At the time I attributed my change in symptoms to me taking on a new stressful job and didn't think much else about it. They did give me a replacement gastric reflux drug since ranitidine was off the shelves, but when I went on the CPAP for my OSA, the CPAP seemed to correct the gastric reflux problem so I haven't been on any gastric reflux drug treatment for years although I still do have to use a CPAP for my OSA. Anyway that's a long story but just to say… I always feel like I've had a sensitive stomach and had migraines my whole life (which I'm now attributing to having celiac and not knowing it) but I feel my health took a turn for much worse around 2019-2020 (and this decline started before I caught covid for the first time). So I am now wondering based on what you said, if that ranitidine i took could have contributed to the yeast overgrowth, and that the problem has just been worsening ever since. I have distinctly felt that I am dealing with something more than just stress and battling a more fundamental disease process here. I've basically been in and out of different doctor specialties for the past 5 years trying to figure out what's wrong with me. Finally being diagnosed with celiac one year ago, I thought I finally had THE answer but now as I'm still sick, I think it's one of a few answers and that maybe yeast overgrowth is another answer. For me as well, my vitamin deficiencies have persisted even after I went gluten-free (and my TTG antibody levels came down to measurably below the detectable limit on my last blood test). So this issue of not absorbing vitamins well is also something our cases have in common. I'm now working with a nutritionist and taking lots of vitamins and supplements to try and remedy that issue. I hope that you continue to see improvements in working with your naturopath on this. Keep us posted!
    • catsrlife
      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      By catsrlife · Posted

      Back at the end of July I got this rash on both of my forearms. It started on my right and continued to the left. It was on the top and side. The rash has bumps that would pop with clear liquid if scratched. They would almost crystalize and scab up. They reminded me of chicken pox. They would scab for weeks and not heal much at all except for the blood clotting. If the scab was scratched off, it would bleed and bleed until it scabbed up again. The skin has lost its pigment where the scabs are. I figured it was probably either the plant I had trimmed around the 15th or some reaction to the magnesium complex I was taking or an allergic reaction to the asthma meds I was on. I stopped the asthma meds and the magnesium. The rash seemed to get better but when I took the asthma meds it flared up again so I went to the urgent care as my doctor was unavailable. The UC doctor said it probably wasn't the meds and asked about my diet. I said I was strict keto. I usually am, but there is a story around this. I feel amazing on keto. When I eat sugar, wheat, and starchy veggies I feel horrible. Blood sugar goes up, IBS type symptoms, brain fog, etc. But I have a horrible addiction to carbs so I blow it sometimes and after Mom died in 2023, I fell off the wagon. No rashes, just weight gain. I finally went back on keto and then around that time had a piece of pizza (or so, it's hard to stop the carb rush.) So I was strict keto, off and on. She ignored that and prescribed some allergy meds. It didn't go away.  What was happening by then was that the rash was now on my upper elbows, both of them, on the back of my arms. It starts with a very itchy bump, spreads around it and sometimes just burns like crazy and other times just itches. Then it started on the sides of my knees on the oustide, a little bit down the sides of the calves. It's not as bad there as it is on my arms even though it comes and goes (and so does wheat in my diet.) I then got three tiny blisters on each hand, 3 on the insdie of my index finger on the right hand and 3 on the inside of middle finger of my left hand. There is still a little scab there even though it was two weeks ago. No more have appeared on the fingers. But right now the back of the arms above my elbows are starting to itch. At some point I started to think mites from the possum that was sneaking into our house but it's been 3 months and they would be dead already. It wouldn't be from humans because I don't go near any humans although I did take an Uber to the doctor and the bus back. Plus, it's symmetrical. It starts on one side and is almost identical on the other.  I did my DNA with Ancestry and MyHeritage. I don't have the HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8. I do have HLA-DQ2.2. I took the blood test but it was negative. Then again, I don't eat wheat every day. I rarely eat it except for lately when I've been preparing for the blood test if I have to take it again. I don't like to. It makes my joints hurt, gives me brain fog, stomach problems, I sleep in the middle of the day, etc. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow. I hope that she will be more serious about this than the UC doctor was.  So I have no idea. With my luck they'll magically disappear before the doctor appointment. That's what happens with everything.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.