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Gluten Intolerant Vs. Celiac ?

blc40

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blc40 Newbie
blc40
Posted

Hi

I was just wondering what is the differnce between being Gluten intolerant and having Celiac ? Are the symptoms different etc ? I have had a stomach biopsy that was negative for Celiac but i went gluten free and most of my symptoms dissapperared ?

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ang1e0251 Contributor
ang1e0251
Posted

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to ask all your questions.

Did you have blood tests run for celiac disease? Which ones? If you post your results here, there are those who are very knowledgable and can explain your test results for you.

There is a lot of debate here about the difference between gluten intolerant and celiac disease. I guess it comes down to what you believe. I don't think medical science agrees on the difference. Some believe an intolerance means you will suffer some symptoms when you ingest gluten which will be uncomfortable but not long term damaging to your body. celiac disease means you have an autoimmune disease where your own body percieves gluten as an enemy and attacks your small intestine when you eat it. This can lead to gluten "leaking" into other organs in your body and all kinds of other diseases and problems.

Some believe that's true but others think that an intolerance to gluten is the beginning stages of celiac disease. If a gluten-free diet is followed at this stage, other long term damage can be stopped in its tracks, if not, the damage to your intestine progresses until you have serious health issues that you may not be able to stop with a gluten-free diet.

It's a heated debate on this forum so I'm sure many will let you know what they believe. Those with more knowledge than I, can give you links to evidence on what they believe. It's good for us to talk about it as we are all learning new information.

Mother of Jibril Enthusiast
Mother of Jibril
Posted
I have had a stomach biopsy that was negative for Celiac

By definition, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the villi in your intestines. A stomach biopsy can't rule it in or out.

blc40 Newbie
blc40
Posted
  • Author
Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to ask all your questions.

Did you have blood tests run for celiac disease? Which ones? If you post your results here, there are those who are very knowledgable and can explain your test results for you.

There is a lot of debate here about the difference between gluten intolerant and celiac disease. I guess it comes down to what you believe. I don't think medical science agrees on the difference. Some believe an intolerance means you will suffer some symptoms when you ingest gluten which will be uncomfortable but not long term damaging to your body. celiac disease means you have an autoimmune disease where your own body percieves gluten as an enemy and attacks your small intestine when you eat it. This can lead to gluten "leaking" into other organs in your body and all kinds of other diseases and problems.

Some believe that's true but others think that an intolerance to gluten is the beginning stages of celiac disease. If a gluten-free diet is followed at this stage, other long term damage can be stopped in its tracks, if not, the damage to your intestine progresses until you have serious health issues that you may not be able to stop with a gluten-free diet.

It's a heated debate on this forum so I'm sure many will let you know what they believe. Those with more knowledge than I, can give you links to evidence on what they believe. It's good for us to talk about it as we are all learning new information.

thanks so much

i have not had blood tests yet i had a Biopsy which came back negative , i went gluten free after my biopsy was taken and it was the best i have felt in months ! so i was again disappointed when results were negative . i have colonoscopy tomoorow and then my follow up appointment . very frustrated but i think if i felt better gluten free i might follow my bodies advice !

what blood tests should i ask to have done for further checking ?

blc40 Newbie
blc40
Posted
  • Author
By definition, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the villi in your intestines. A stomach biopsy can't rule it in or out.

so why did they take one to see if i had it ?

Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted
so why did they take one to see if i had it ?

A very good question. And one you should ask your doctor.

happygirl Collaborator
happygirl
Posted

They may have been looking for something else in your stomach. Did they take a biopsy of your intestine? If they didn't, they can't say you do/don't have Celiac. You may want to follow up with your doctor for clarification.

Info on Celiac/gluten intolerance: Open Original Shared Link

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ang1e0251 Contributor
ang1e0251
Posted

None of the tests given now will be positive since you've been eating gluten-free. If you are planning further testing for celiac disease, you must eating gluten some say for at least 3 months. Being gluten-free for your testing will result in negatives. Don't worry about the colonoscopy though. It doesn't test for celiac disease and it won't matter if you're gluten-free for that test.

Gfresh404 Enthusiast
Gfresh404
Posted
so why did they take one to see if i had it ?

Usually when they take a biopsy of the stomach, they also take one of the duodenum (the opening of the small intestine) and sometimes even the esophagus. So they had to have taken one of the small intestine when they were down there.

Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular
Fiddle-Faddle
Posted

Not necessarily, gfresh--I've had 2 endoscopies, and they looked at ONLY stomach and esophagus. In my case, they were looking for Barrett's esophagus, and were not suspecting celiac at all.

gfb1 Rookie
gfb1
Posted
By definition, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the villi in your intestines. A stomach biopsy can't rule it in or out.

this is a VERY interesting thread.

so...

has the work on mhc locus completely supplanted the concept of celiac as an inborn error of metabolism??

the nih does not say so directly... i Open Original Shared Link:

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley.

however.. later the same article suggests an immune component/causation

When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi

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      By Russ H · Posted

      HI Nancy, In your first post, you said that you were diagnosed by biopsy and blood test - this is what I was referring to: the blood test is for antibodies that are made during active disease. After a period on a strictly gluten-free diet, the antibodies return to low level. It is a good way of checking for accidental exposure if symptoms persist. If you are reacting to foods that don't contain gluten, you may be reacting to something else. Alternatively, a condition called SIBO is common in people with coeliac disease, where there is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine. This can be tested for with a simple breath test. The main treatment is with a course of antibiotic. Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
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