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Always Sick

Megan H

By Megan H
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Megan H Newbie
Megan H
Posted

Hi There,

I am 29 years old I have been sick my whole life... catching every cold, flu etc. and suffering from illnesses such as chronic sinusitis and chronic migraines. When I was diagnosed with Celiac I was told that my immune system was compromised because of the celiac. I have been on a fairly strict gluten free diet for the last 5 years... but I am still sick all the time! I get EVERYTHING coming and going! Colds, flues etc. I am ALWAYS sick! My question is does Celiac and other auto immune diseases effect your immune system and make you more suseptable to viruses etc.

Anyone else have the same experiences?

Thanks,

Megan

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024Mandy Newbie
024Mandy
Posted
Hi There,

I am 29 years old I have been sick my whole life... catching every cold, flu etc. and suffering from illnesses such as chronic sinusitis and chronic migraines. When I was diagnosed with Celiac I was told that my immune system was compromised because of the celiac. I have been on a fairly strict gluten free diet for the last 5 years... but I am still sick all the time! I get EVERYTHING coming and going! Colds, flues etc. I am ALWAYS sick! My question is does Celiac and other auto immune diseases effect your immune system and make you more suseptable to viruses etc.

Anyone else have the same experiences?

Thanks,

Megan

I'm 19 I am sick all the time aswell. I get a cold about every 2 months, sometimes more often. Did you know that if you are diagnosed with celiac you are a candidate for the flu shot? you will get it for free! ( at least you do in canda)

Mandy

elonwy Enthusiast
elonwy
Posted

I have the same thing, chronic sinusitis and tonsilitus, catch every cold, etc. I got allergy testing done, and it turns out I'm highly allergic to dust mites, cockroaches and juniper pollen. My colds and sinusitis were being caused by my nose being constantly inflamed, the same with my throat and tonsils.

I'm now on a new allergy med called zyzal and am getting allergy shots and haven't had a cold or a bout of bad sinusitis in months. It might be worth talking to your ENT about whether or not its being caused by/ exacerabated by allergies. Its completely changed my life.

YoloGx Rookie
YoloGx
Posted

I used to be sick constantly but don't any longer unless I get CC'd. I had to go off all trace glutens to turn my health around--not just part of the time off gluten. I have had to be a detective sleuth to get rid of all the gluten and still find additional sources even in building materials (I help renovate old houses). But it is definitely worth it to me to be healthy overall and actually not get the colds and flues everyone else is getting. I used to always have them at least 3 or 4 times longer than anyone else.

Another major help has been for me to take co-enzyme B complex every day (on an empty stomach) as well as vitamin D (cod liver oil) and vitamins C and E and minerals with my meals.

Plus for me its important to avoid all sugar and other things I am allergic or sensitive to. I find when I really am under it if I eat more of a cave man diet I do much better faster. Thus no grains and usually no dairy. Instead I focus on eating a lot of vegetables with some squash and a little boiled chicken.

In addition I have found exercise, saunas, deep breathing, yoga all help immensely. Its not a one time thing, its a way of life.

I am also a strong believer in herbs. Occasionally I try some that help clean out my lymphs and liver, like echinacea or cleavers for the lymphs and dandelion root or milk thistle for the liver. I find Yellow dock or Oregon Grape Root are good to take now and then as a general good thing for intestinal health (I dont take these last two if I am having D however, since they are mildly laxative--they encourage peristalsis by helping the release of bile).

I have found that Marshmallow Root and Slippery Elm help hugely to take down inflammation in the intestines and heal the villi, thus helping get rid of this whole problem at the root. In old Europe they gave these herbs to people who had "wasting disease"., i.e., celiac.

Hope this helps!

Bea

wild fisher Rookie
wild fisher
Posted
Hi There,

I am 29 years old I have been sick my whole life... catching every cold, flu etc. and suffering from illnesses such as chronic sinusitis and chronic migraines. When I was diagnosed with Celiac I was told that my immune system was compromised because of the celiac. I have been on a fairly strict gluten free diet for the last 5 years... but I am still sick all the time! I get EVERYTHING coming and going! Colds, flues etc. I am ALWAYS sick! My question is does Celiac and other auto immune diseases effect your immune system and make you more suseptable to viruses etc.

Anyone else have the same experiences?

Thanks,

Megan

I don't usually get colds or the flu but I feel sick almost every other week. Mostly i feel nausiated and real tired. No i'm not PG :) I wish i had the energy i used to have.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
I used to be sick constantly but don't any longer unless I get CC'd. I had to go off all trace glutens to turn my health around--not just part of the time off gluten. I have had to be a detective sleuth to get rid of all the gluten and still find additional sources even in building materials (I help renovate old houses). But it is definitely worth it to me to be healthy overall and actually not get the colds and flues everyone else is getting. I used to always have them at least 3 or 4 times longer than anyone else.

Bea

This is me too. Anytime I did catch something it would also always progress to pneumonia or broncitis. Others would be sick for a week I would be sick for 2 months. I think my body was so busy attacking me with the antibody reaction it was dealing with from the celiac that it had little chance to deal with the 'bugs' that go around. My allergist called it 'my immune system on hyperdrive'. I haven't caught a cold or flu now in a very long time. I literally can't remember when. I do make it a practice to wash my hands immediately when I get home from somewhere and that may help also.

N.Justine Newbie
N.Justine
Posted

Untreated celiac and gluten intolerance are autoimmune disorders and thus can weaken your immune system -- making you more susceptible to colds and other illnesses.

Please check in with your medical practitioner to make sure your immune system is up to snuff and that your vitamin and mineral panels are too.

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YoloGx Rookie
YoloGx
Posted
This is me too. Anytime I did catch something it would also always progress to pneumonia or broncitis. Others would be sick for a week I would be sick for 2 months. I think my body was so busy attacking me with the antibody reaction it was dealing with from the celiac that it had little chance to deal with the 'bugs' that go around. My allergist called it 'my immune system on hyperdrive'. I haven't caught a cold or flu now in a very long time. I literally can't remember when. I do make it a practice to wash my hands immediately when I get home from somewhere and that may help also.

Washing the hands often is a great idea. I do it to avoid gluten ingestion from being out and about. I can see it would be helpful to avoid bugs too.

ang1e0251 Contributor
ang1e0251
Posted
I don't usually get colds or the flu but I feel sick almost every other week. Mostly i feel nausiated and real tired. No i'm not PG :) I wish i had the energy i used to have.

This sounds more like CC than compromised immune system. What is your diet like?

  • 8 years later...
Arnoldsi Newbie
Arnoldsi
Posted

I suffered from severe chronic migraines with my fibromyalgia, as well as severe sinus infections and a worsening of my overall pain threshold, but since I've kept a strict organic diet they have been almost non-existent.

Most of the time I only get them after I eat something I shouldn't have. Corn, soy, and wheat are the worst (as well as all animal products since this is what they are fed, plus injected with antibiotics and growth hormones). I can get away with non-organic fruits and veggies otherwise, but everything else I have to be very careful with.

GMO corn actually has insecticide INSIDE of it, and GMO wheat is sprayed liberally with Roundup (the stuff that's killing off the honey bees). Also, don't be fooled by "Non-GMO" labels. that is NOT the same thing as organic. Farmers will tell you that there is very little difference between the chemicals they use for GMO crops and Non-GMO crops.

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    • knitty kitty
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

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    • rei.b
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By rei.b · Posted

      Okay well the info about TTG-A actually makes a lot of sense and I wish the PA had explained that to me. But yes, I would assume I would have intestinal damage from eating a lot of gluten for 32 years while having all these symptoms. As far as avoiding gluten foods - I was definitely not doing that. Bread, pasta, quesadillas (with flour tortillas) and crackers are my 4 favorite foods and I ate at least one of those things multiple times a day e.g. breakfast with eggs and toast, a cheese quesadilla for lunch, and pasta for dinner, and crackers and cheese as a before bed snack. I'm not even kidding.  I'm not really big on sugar, so I don't really do sweets. I don't have any of those conditions.  I am not sure if I have the genes or not. When the geneticist did my genetic testing for EDS this year, I didn't think to ask for him to request the celiac genes so they didn't test for them, unfortunately.  I guess another expectation I had is  that if gluten was the issue, the gluten-free diet would make me feel better, and I'm 3 months in and that hasn't been the case. I am being very careful and reading every label because I didn't want to screw this up and have to do gluten-free for longer than necessary if I end up not having celiac. I'm literally checking everything, even tea and anything else prepacked like caramel dip. Honestly its making me anxious 😅
    • knitty kitty
      High DGP-A with normal IGA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      So you're saying that you think you should have severe intestinal damage since you've had the symptoms so long?   DGP IgG antibodies are produced in response to a partial gluten molecule.  This is different than what tissue transglutaminase antibodies are  produced in response to.   TTg IgA antibodies are produced in the intestines in response to gluten.  The tTg IgA antibodies attack our own cells because a structural component in our cell membranes resembles a part of gluten.  There's a correlation between the level of intestinal damage with the level of tTg antibodies produced.  You are not producing a high number of tTg IgA antibodies, so your level of tissue damage in your intestines is not very bad.  Be thankful.   There may be reasons why you are not producing a high quantity of tTg IgA antibodies.  Consuming ten grams or more of gluten a day for two weeks to two months before blood tests are done is required to get sufficient antibody production and damage to the intestines.  Some undiagnosed people tend to subconsciously avoid lots of gluten.  Cookies and cakes do not contain as much gluten as artisan breads and thick chewy pizza crust.  Anemia, diabetes and thiamine deficiency can affect IgA antibody production as well.   Do you carry genes for Celiac?  They frequently go along with EDS.
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      High DGP-A with normal IGA

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      I was tested for celiac at the same time, so I wasn't taking naltrexone yet. I say that, because I don't. The endoscopy showed some mild inflammation but was inconclusive as to celiac disease. They took several biopsies and that's all that was shown. I was not given a Marsh score.
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