Is It Celiac Or Maybe Candida---or Both?

[nikki55]

I'm wondering if I would be able to gather some feedback from Celiac suffers to help me in my search for a pain-free and happy life. I have had the following symptoms since I was in 5th grade...I'm 32 now so it's been a really long time feeling like total crap. After looking through so much info with my mother and being through so many doctors and test, my mother is ABSOLULTLY convienced that we are on to something with Candida. I am not sure...I am starting to believe that maybe it's Celiac Disease. I am really new to this and don't know where to begin. Here is my story and symptoms...I would appriecate any info....I am truly lost.

I am tired ALL THE TIME. Even after a 8 to 9 hours night sleep, I wake up and continue to be and feel exhausted all day. I have no engery at all. It takes all my strengh to do the simplest things because of the lack of engery and tiredness. It's really annoying that I can't enjoy my days.

I have headaches pretty much everyday. Doctor diagonsed me with migranes..been on Topamax for those and didn't work. I have constant facial pain, like my actual facial bone structure hurts..my husband thinks he is going to "break my face" because I make him push and rub so hard to try and relieve some pressure.

I have always had knee pains, major pain in my shoulders(like it almost feels hard to hold my head up sometimes because the muscles are so tight and hurt so bad). People think it's stress but even after a massage, I have no relief. When I was young I was told they were "growing pains" but I am 32 and I think that they should be done by now and I still have them.

I have been dianosed with chronic sinusitus and have had sinus infections all my life--so antibotics I have been on quite a bit. I do have allergies, such as cats, dogs, mold, dust, everything outside, CORN and a few others. I have been diagonsed with ADD and Depression and have been on medication since I was about 20. Irritability and mood swings have all been equated with the ADD and Depression. I have those on a daily basis as well. I am on meds for the ADD and Depression, as well as a host of other supplements.

I did just start the SUPER-STRICT Candida elimation diet...which is basically meat, veggies, nuts and water. It's horribly limited and I am craving cheese, milk and sugar! So, that's about all I can think of at this moment. I have a beautiful 2 year old boy and a wonderful husband. I can't continue like this...it isn't fair to them and I am at a lost as to where to start. I hope that someone, anyone can help me, even if you think I don't have Celiac or Candida that would at least help me look somewhere else. I am desperate.

I thank you all in advance.

[rinne]

Welcome. Some of your symptoms are not unlike mine were and I have celiac, candida and lyme issues but that doesn't mean that you have celiac or candida or lyme.

I am not a doctor, just someone who has been mildly ill for a lifetime and seriously ill for nearly six years. I've spent a lot of time figuring it out and seen a variety of health care practioners.

Do you have a good doctor now?

A couple of things leap out at me, first if you have been on antibiotics good bacteria in your gut has been killed off and bad bacteria has been allowed to proliferate. That is candida and I think your mother is onto something with that. I am so glad to hear that you mother is helping you with this and that she is open to possibilities conventional medicine may not look at.

If you google FODMAP you will find information about studies done on the consequences of antibiotics on the gut, FODMAP identifies foods that feed the bad bacteria.

It is possible you only have candida with gluten intolerance as just one of the symptoms and that once you deal with it you may be able to reintroduce gluten. Have you been tested for Celiac?

Your exhaustion, have any of your doctors checked your vitamin levels, such as B12 and D also a check on your iodine levels. It is critical a good doctor do these tests, many doctors will simply go with the standard accepted levels which may not be enough. It sounds like your adrenal system is worn out, being ill for a long time will do that.

The diet you are on while boring, I know , will help you to figure some things out. I assume you know you may feel worse before you feel better.

This is a great site, I'm glad you found your way here.

[sbj]

This may sound flip but I don't mean it that way. Why don't you go to your doctor and ask for a celiac blood panel? That would be a good starting place!

[nikki55]

sbj---I understand that going to my doctor for a celiac blood panel is an option and will probably be my next step. However I was just asking because I am so desperate for help. I have been through so many tests I guess I am just so discouraged that I was hoping to maybe find some indivuals with simliar symptoms and possible get some insight.

I didn't mean to waste anyone's time.

[Jestgar]

You aren't wasting anyone's time, of course, but if you want the Celiac panel, you should probably do it before you start dinking around with your diet.

[nikki55]

rinne,

Thank you very much for your welcome. I have never blogged(if that is what I am in fact doing). Your information is a great start for me to go on.

As of right now, I am not sure I have the right doctor, although he is the only one out of so many that looked me in the eye and told me that he would make me feel better. He is an internist. I am not sure that is where I should be.

I have not been tested for anything as of yet as far as Celiac. As for Candida I did the "spit" test and it came out looking the way it would if yeast was a problem and I did the other tests on the yeast connection website and scored an 11 out of 12. It is because of this that my mother wanted me to start on this Candida elimation diet right away. She is much more open to the "natural cures" of medical problems than I. I guess I have finally just given up and decided to give it a shot since the conventional medicine hasn't found anything.

I have not gone in specifically for any testing regarding vitamin levels. Just the normal blood tests have been taken. Do I need to go to a specific doctor for vitamin testing?

Do you have any suggestions about this diet? Recipes? Ideas? It's only been day 3 and yes I still feel really bad and I am getting so sick of meat and veggies!!

Thanks again for your warm welcome and I am hoping that with the help of people like you, I will be on my way to healing!!

[jerseyangel]

Hi Nikki, and welcome. I hope we can at least help point you in the right direction

I think it would be worth it for you to get the Celiac Panel done--I was sick for many years before I was diagnosed and had tons of testing done--lots of bloodwork, CT scans, etc. Nothing ever showed up on the bloodwork since they don't routinely test for Celiac on the common blood panels. I also had the sinus issues, but my sinuses consistantly checked out fine with the CT scans....

Definately don't stop eating gluten or go gluten-lite before the test, if you choose to have it done. The test checks for antibodies to gluten and if you're not eating it, the bloodwork tends to go back to normal sometimes quite quickly.

Ask for this panel, and make sure that they do all 5--

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgG

Anti-Endomysial (EMA) IgA

Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA

Total Serum IgA

That would be a good place to start. There's nothing wrong with a trial of the gluten-free diet to see if it would help your symptoms, but please wait until after testing. That goes for the bloodwork and the biopsy. A good GI who is well-versed in Celiac Disease can test you for vitamin deficiences.

Best of luck, and let us know if there's anything else we can do for you. This is not a waste of time--it's a very good question and that's what we're here for

[rinne]

rinne,

Thank you very much for your welcome. I have never blogged(if that is what I am in fact doing). Your information is a great start for me to go on.

As of right now, I am not sure I have the right doctor, although he is the only one out of so many that looked me in the eye and told me that he would make me feel better. He is an internist. I am not sure that is where I should be.

I have not been tested for anything as of yet as far as Celiac. As for Candida I did the "spit" test and it came out looking the way it would if yeast was a problem and I did the other tests on the yeast connection website and scored an 11 out of 12. It is because of this that my mother wanted me to start on this Candida elimation diet right away. She is much more open to the "natural cures" of medical problems than I. I guess I have finally just given up and decided to give it a shot since the conventional medicine hasn't found anything.

I have not gone in specifically for any testing regarding vitamin levels. Just the normal blood tests have been taken. Do I need to go to a specific doctor for vitamin testing?

Do you have any suggestions about this diet? Recipes? Ideas? It's only been day 3 and yes I still feel really bad and I am getting so sick of meat and veggies!!

Thanks again for your warm welcome and I am hoping that with the help of people like you, I will be on my way to healing!!

Hi.

A regular doctor can check your vitamin levels.

For me, once I stopped eating gluten there was no way I was even going to eat it again, not for any test but each person has to decide for themselves what, if any, testing they will pursue. I have a sister and brother both diagnosed with Celiac so it made the official diagnosis kind of unimportant to me. Some people use enterlab but I don't know so much about it, lots of information on this site about it though.

If you stay with the diet and see improvements then you may want to explore the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) it offers the possibility of healing the gut with a much wider selection of foods. There are a couple of threads on this site about it.

I would just try to vary the meat with fish and buy lots of fresh vegetables so that you that you don't feel deprived. Roasted root vegetables are very tasty, carrots, beets, onions, rutabagas, leeks, tossed in some olive oil and salt and peppered then roasted till the sweetness comes out are delicious. Soups, varying dried herbs and spices helps.

What do you think you will do?

No matter our illness food can have a powerful affect on our health, also it tastes so darn good when it homemade out of fresh and wholesome ingredients.

[kaplan1975]

I had many unrelated symptoms similar to yours and I have both Celiac and Candida problems. Eating gluten while being a Celiac (most dont know it yet) will create opportunities for many other ailments.

I have been gluten-free for 18 months and was still feeling crappy in alot of ways until I addressed my candida problems as well. Removing gluten certainly helped but something was still missing. I have had alot of luck with an alkalyzing drink recipe that I learned of at curezone,com. A poster name moreless has helped alot of people with it and if you search his name you will find the recipe. It seems to evoke an environment that candida cannot live in while adding loads of minerals and nutrients. I use everything other than the pickling lime (I use baking soda) ingredient which I have not tracked down yet, but many swear by it. It can be made for cheap from mostly grocery store ingredients.

I also take a B complex, a complete amino acid supplement, and L-carnitine with lipoic acid. I agree that you should get the Celiac panel and vitamin/mineral panel as well so you dont have to guess at what you might need.

[Lovey25]

I'm wondering if I would be able to gather some feedback from Celiac suffers to help me in my search for a pain-free and happy life. I have had the following symptoms since I was in 5th grade...I'm 32 now so it's been a really long time feeling like total crap. After looking through so much info with my mother and being through so many doctors and test, my mother is ABSOLULTLY convienced that we are on to something with Candida. I am not sure...I am starting to believe that maybe it's Celiac Disease. I am really new to this and don't know where to begin. Here is my story and symptoms...I would appriecate any info....I am truly lost.

I am tired ALL THE TIME. Even after a 8 to 9 hours night sleep, I wake up and continue to be and feel exhausted all day. I have no engery at all. It takes all my strengh to do the simplest things because of the lack of engery and tiredness. It's really annoying that I can't enjoy my days.

I have headaches pretty much everyday. Doctor diagonsed me with migranes..been on Topamax for those and didn't work. I have constant facial pain, like my actual facial bone structure hurts..my husband thinks he is going to "break my face" because I make him push and rub so hard to try and relieve some pressure.

I have always had knee pains, major pain in my shoulders(like it almost feels hard to hold my head up sometimes because the muscles are so tight and hurt so bad). People think it's stress but even after a massage, I have no relief. When I was young I was told they were "growing pains" but I am 32 and I think that they should be done by now and I still have them.

I have been dianosed with chronic sinusitus and have had sinus infections all my life--so antibotics I have been on quite a bit. I do have allergies, such as cats, dogs, mold, dust, everything outside, CORN and a few others. I have been diagonsed with ADD and Depression and have been on medication since I was about 20. Irritability and mood swings have all been equated with the ADD and Depression. I have those on a daily basis as well. I am on meds for the ADD and Depression, as well as a host of other supplements.

I did just start the SUPER-STRICT Candida elimation diet...which is basically meat, veggies, nuts and water. It's horribly limited and I am craving cheese, milk and sugar! So, that's about all I can think of at this moment. I have a beautiful 2 year old boy and a wonderful husband. I can't continue like this...it isn't fair to them and I am at a lost as to where to start. I hope that someone, anyone can help me, even if you think I don't have Celiac or Candida that would at least help me look somewhere else. I am desperate.

I thank you all in advance.

Get your thyroid tested!!! Ask your doctor for a thyroid panel ASAP. Sounds alot like the things that I went through, and I have autoimmune disease of the thyroid.

So sorry you're going through this.