Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • 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

My Ah-ha! Moment....i Think

BeTheChange

Recommended Posts

BeTheChange Newbie
BeTheChange
Posted

Hello all! I just had my blood tests taken today to determine whether or not I officially have celiac but having scoured the boards for the past few days, I feel like my myriad of seemingly-unrelated symptoms are suddenly all pointing to celiac (which is both upsetting on one hand and Such a relief on the other!)

My question to you is this: do YOU think this group of symptoms could be related to celiac? I trust the judgment of everyone who is living with it more than mine, so please let me know your thoughts. Thanks a million.

Symptoms:

- Short stature: I'm 4'11 but my mom is 5'4 and my dad is 5'7. No one in the fam. is less than 5'2...except me. :blink:

- Extreme fatigue

- Alternating bouts with constipation (minimal diarrhea, but have been hospitalized for constipation twice before)

- Anxiety

- Mild Depression

- Feeling generally in a "fog" and unable to think clearly/process information like I used to.

- Wholly unproductive (very atypical for me! I just can't seem to focus or find my "drive" any more)

- Anemia

- Discolored teeth (the result of being given tetracycline as a baby due to seizures that I had)

- Minimal breast development (I'm 27 years old with a "barely A" cup while the other women in my family are solid C's--possibly the result of low estrogen?)

- Canker sores inside mouth (not often, but around once every 4-5 months)

- Anorexia and amenhorrea as a teenager

What do you think? I know that the "typical" celiac disease symptoms are gastrointestinal and thinness (I'm pretty average now) but is it possible that the list of my above symptoms above could be the result of celiac too? Or am I trying too hard? (you can be honest with me, I can take it. B)

P.S. The tests I had done were TtG, IgA and EMA, IgA

Thanks so much for reading/listening!! You guys and gals are such an inspiration to me! :)

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


rinne Apprentice
rinne
Posted

All of your symptoms could be related to celiac, they could be something else too but some of them I have had and they have gone away on a gluten free diet. I could add a couple more, migraine headaches and boils, also gone.

I hope your tests provide you with some clarity.

It may be that you are not celiac but intolerant to gluten, in my opinion we will see many more people become gluten intolerant as a result of antibiotics. They kill the good bacteria in our gut and allow the bad to proliferate. If you received tetracycline as a child this may have been a factor in tipping your digestion toward ill health.

And welcome. :)

Archived

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

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      129,870
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Joyetta
    Newest Member
    Joyetta
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Shining My Light
      Virus, celiac disease or both?

      By Shining My Light · Posted

      @trents - sorry, I know that didn’t make sense. I need to get better at rereading the things I write.    The people I know of that have a gluten sensitivity or intolerance have tested negative for celiac. They can’t have gluten of any kind without having a reaction. That to me isn’t helpful. If I reacted to gluten I wouldn’t eat it regardless of it being celiac or not. I’ve come to learn the real issue with celiac is the damage, not the intolerance.    Gliadin Deamidated is another test I’ve seen that I wanted to get done. Also, the genetic testing. HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. Although my liver levels are not elevated now, I went through a time when they were. I would say maybe 7 years ago. I also had major GI symptoms at that time. They had ordered a EGD then but I chickened out. This makes me even more confused. I would think that if celiac were the cause my liver numbers wouldn’t have improved. Which again makes me think more of IBD being the cause of my TTG levels being elevated.  One thing that would make me motivated above all else is the neurological aspect. I’m still trying to dive deeper into that which has me the most interested. I think GI issues are an obvious symptom, it’s the connection in the rest of the body, particularly brain function that is most intriguing.         
    • trents
      Virus, celiac disease or both?

      By trents · Posted

      There are plenty of people with celiac disease walking around who are largely asymptomatic. I was one of them. We call them "silent celiacs" They don't seem to have GI distress or maybe it's so minor and infrequent it's not really noticeable. They can be in that state for years until the damage to the villi progresses to a critical point or they begin to develop other health issues that they didn't understand were related to celiac disease. With me, I had very little GI distress but my liver enzymes were elevated. Took 13 years to get that run down and connected to celiac disease. Soon as I adopted the gluten free diet, the liver enzymes normalized. I am blessed that no permanent damage seems to have been done to my liver. Long term, unaddressed (with a gluten free diet) celiac disease can damage other body systems besides the small bowel. Another example is neurological damage that is often not reversible.  The EMA was the first blood antibody test to be developed for celiac disease. It has largely been replaced by the tTG-IGA. The EMA is more expensive to run as it requires the use of organ tissue I believe. The tTG-IGA is just as effective. "everyone I know that has a gluten intolerance or celiac cannot tolerate gluten at all have tested negative for celiac." Huh?
    • Shining My Light
      Virus, celiac disease or both?

      By Shining My Light · Posted

      Hi @trents!    I feel like relying to a super star with as much of your content I’ve read. Lol.    I definitely don’t disagree with you but I think I’m so chicken about another EDG.  What do you think about the EMA-IgA test?  I’ve read so much at this point I don’t know if I trust anything completely. Even if everything said yes I would still wonder if it was really something else. It really does seem like the possibilities are endless with all of these tests, etc. and then I think I would be extremely frustrated if the EGD came back normal and then I would still struggle whether I should really be eating gluten or not.    i’m also wondering how many people I’ve had the same levels I’ve had and it not be celiac I’ve not ran across anyone like that everyone I know that has a gluten intolerance or celiac cannot tolerate gluten at all have tested negative for celiac.  I would love to have someone who was a-symptomatic and was confirmed celiac that had an improvement.  I’ve had several people tell me if I have no symptoms then I shouldn’t care. I would like to live in that ignorance but every time I want cake it makes me wonder and it’s not a good feeling. 
    • trents
      Virus, celiac disease or both?

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @Shining My Light! It's good to be able to engage a secret "friend". I know you don't want to hear this, but with a positive tTG-IGA, a positive tTG-IGG and off and on GI distress, your next logical step would be to get an endoscopy done with a biopsy of the small bowel lining (duodenum and duodenum bulb) to check for villous atrophy, the hallmark of celiac disease. Sounds like you have had upper GIs done in the past but you do not specifically mention having been biopsied for villous atrophy. Without this step, you will not be able to pin things down and it will likely be difficult to stay on the gluten free bandwagon because of the human tendency to rationalize.
    • knitty kitty
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      It's not rocket science, like @Scott Adams says!   My best advice is not to take Thiamine Mononitrate because the body doesn't absorb it well (only 30% is absorbed, less than that can be utilized).  Thiamine Mononitrate is used in many multivitamin supplements because it's cheap and shelf stable, meaning it won't break down in storage on a store shelf, or when exposed to heat or light.  This stability makes it fairly useless to the body, but lines the pockets of the manufacturer.   Use other forms if Thiamine Vitamin B1 like Thiamine Hydrochloride, or Benfotiamine, or TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide).  Benfotiamine has been scientifically shown to promote intestinal healing.  TTFD is great for neurological symptoms.  Thiamine has no toxicity limit.  It's okay to take these forms of thiamine along with the B Complex which already contains thiamine.   I prefer taking a B Complex and a multiple mineral supplements to taking a multivitamin.  I prefer taking a B Complex twice a day because taking it twice gives my digestive system better opportunities to absorb those essential vitamins.  The B vitamins are chemical compounds that the body cannot make itself and must get from the diet and supplements.  I like the activated forms of B vitamins because this helps with the MTHFR mutation that frequently occurs with Celiac Disease.   The B vitamins are water soluble so any excess is easily excreted.  Niacin B3 and Pyridoxine B6 does have upper limits.  Niacin over 500 mg a day has been used in medicine to lower bad cholesterol under doctor's guidance for decades.  Pyridoxine B6 above 500 mg a day can cause toxicity symptoms in some people with a rare genetic variation.  
×
×
  • Create New...