Gluten Free And Infertiltiy

[Katanya16]

Hi, Wow, I have not posted here for a few years! I guess I am sorta of a newbie, or renewed newbie! I was first diagnosed through a blood test ten years ago. I also had a negative biopsy. Tried the gluten-free diet for awhile, but then stopped. I became convinced I was not Celiac after a second blood test showed negative. However..... Recently I have been reading a lot about Celiac Disease and Infertility. I got pregnant four years ago, at 41, very quickly right after my wedding but miscarried. I actually had been doing the diet again for a few months, although not religiously. I never really saw a connection. I tried Fertility Blend after that and was able to get my fsh down to 2.5. Still no baby. Now, I have been researching gluten-free again. So I decided to try the diet again. My fsh dropped from 35 last month down to 17! Both me and my doctor are in shock! I was worried because right after I started the diet last month, I missed a cycle, and then got spotting and then something seemed to shift, and I got a five day bright red period for five days. I was at the time, getting dark red, having stagnant problems where my period would seem like it was coming, but would not, and I was getting major hot flashes, and I was feeling like my dream of being a mom was over. Now, since I got back on the diet, right after the red blood cycle this month, my fsh goes down, hot flashes are gone, I feel better than I have ever felt and less depression. I am convinced now, that even though the biopsy showed nothing all those years ago, that the gluten must have been making major problems with my reproduction system! Maybe that is where the damage was being done! All I know is I tried the diet and now my cycles are becoming regular and my fertility appears to be returning. I feel like I can now really embrace the whole idea, and I have accepted it, I am gluten intolerant! I don't think I will retest, I will just accept this. If it brings me a baby, I will know what god has been trying to tell me all this time. It could have saved my life. I am really pleased to discover the changes that have occurred with this over the ten years. I see actual menus at restaurants now, gluten free food at regular grocers, and amazingly, I am finding gluten-free food that actually taste good! I know I can do it now! That blood test showed me this is putting me closer to my dream, so that is all I need. I have a few questions though. I had an ultrasound yesterday, and doc says one of my ovaries, the left, is extremely small, could this be due to the gluten? The other one is fine. Will staying gluten-free increase it's size? Will it thicken my lining again? Something positive is happening down there, I know that. Doc says I am no where near POF now. I am ovulating it appears. Will being gluten-free cause me to have more fertile cervical fluid too? Also, has anyone on here used Fertility Blend? I called the company today, and they said that it is gluten free, although it is made in a plant that manufacturers gluten, but she said that they are immaculate about cleaning though. I used it before and it really lowered my fsh, do you think I should try it again? It also helped thicken my lining, and I am now starting to believe it increased the size of my ovaries back then too as well as aiding my cervical mucus. I also found out that Nutra Blend is gluten-free too. I am also hearing a lot about DHEA, does anyone know if it is gluten free, and if it is alright to take it with Fertility Blend? I have heard it does wonderful things to the eggs in older women and causes better response? I am going to just stay where I am right now with just the diet, the yoga and juicing, but next month I may consider these? What do you guys think? I really feel encouraged. For the first time, I truly believe this has been the problem for years. I just hope the gluten did not damage everything and I caught it in time!

Susanne

[Katanya16]

Hi answering my own post! Now I am really confused! Been gluten free for over a month now, and my fsh went way down to 16! However, I am missing cycles and having hot flashes all of a sudden! What the heck is going on? Does going Gluten free put you in early menopause???? Please answer!

Hi, Wow, I have not posted here for a few years! I guess I am sorta of a newbie, or renewed newbie! I was first diagnosed through a blood test ten years ago. I also had a negative biopsy. Tried the gluten-free diet for awhile, but then stopped. I became convinced I was not Celiac after a second blood test showed negative. However..... Recently I have been reading a lot about Celiac Disease and Infertility. I got pregnant four years ago, at 41, very quickly right after my wedding but miscarried. I actually had been doing the diet again for a few months, although not religiously. I never really saw a connection. I tried Fertility Blend after that and was able to get my fsh down to 2.5. Still no baby. Now, I have been researching gluten-free again. So I decided to try the diet again. My fsh dropped from 35 last month down to 17! Both me and my doctor are in shock! I was worried because right after I started the diet last month, I missed a cycle, and then got spotting and then something seemed to shift, and I got a five day bright red period for five days. I was at the time, getting dark red, having stagnant problems where my period would seem like it was coming, but would not, and I was getting major hot flashes, and I was feeling like my dream of being a mom was over. Now, since I got back on the diet, right after the red blood cycle this month, my fsh goes down, hot flashes are gone, I feel better than I have ever felt and less depression. I am convinced now, that even though the biopsy showed nothing all those years ago, that the gluten must have been making major problems with my reproduction system! Maybe that is where the damage was being done! All I know is I tried the diet and now my cycles are becoming regular and my fertility appears to be returning. I feel like I can now really embrace the whole idea, and I have accepted it, I am gluten intolerant! I don't think I will retest, I will just accept this. If it brings me a baby, I will know what god has been trying to tell me all this time. It could have saved my life. I am really pleased to discover the changes that have occurred with this over the ten years. I see actual menus at restaurants now, gluten free food at regular grocers, and amazingly, I am finding gluten-free food that actually taste good! I know I can do it now! That blood test showed me this is putting me closer to my dream, so that is all I need. I have a few questions though. I had an ultrasound yesterday, and doc says one of my ovaries, the left, is extremely small, could this be due to the gluten? The other one is fine. Will staying gluten-free increase it's size? Will it thicken my lining again? Something positive is happening down there, I know that. Doc says I am no where near POF now. I am ovulating it appears. Will being gluten-free cause me to have more fertile cervical fluid too? Also, has anyone on here used Fertility Blend? I called the company today, and they said that it is gluten free, although it is made in a plant that manufacturers gluten, but she said that they are immaculate about cleaning though. I used it before and it really lowered my fsh, do you think I should try it again? It also helped thicken my lining, and I am now starting to believe it increased the size of my ovaries back then too as well as aiding my cervical mucus. I also found out that Nutra Blend is gluten-free too. I am also hearing a lot about DHEA, does anyone know if it is gluten free, and if it is alright to take it with Fertility Blend? I have heard it does wonderful things to the eggs in older women and causes better response? I am going to just stay where I am right now with just the diet, the yoga and juicing, but next month I may consider these? What do you guys think? I really feel encouraged. For the first time, I truly believe this has been the problem for years. I just hope the gluten did not damage everything and I caught it in time!

Susanne

[TigerEyes]

This is my first post!

My problem is a little different. I didn't start having celiac symptoms until after I delivered my son. I think pregnancy changed me. It took about a year to figure it out, but after being told I needed my gall bladder out I went to a GI specialist who read my ultrasound and said my gall bladder was fine. He said my symptoms sounded like a wheat allergy (vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, gas and cramping). He ran a bunch of tests and told me in the meantime to cut out wheat. My results all came back negative, but in the 2 weeks it took to hear back I had no wheat and was symptom free. So I've just been living that way and I've done great. Turns out my son has a wheat allergy too, so I make all his food. My husband now eats gluten free too - it's just easier to cook the same for all of us. Even our dog is on a special grain free dog food because he was getting sick from regular food! We're the gluten-free family

So now I'm trying to conceive again and have been having a really hard time. I just had my 4th miscarriage yesterday. I have no trouble getting pregnant, but right around the 6 week mark the fetus dies. This last time I had a viability ultrasound at 5.5 weeks. I was supposed to be 6.5 weeks but the baby was measuring small. There was a heartbeat though, so I thought we were in the clear. Then I went in the other day with spotting and they did another ultrasound. I should have been 8.5 weeks and the baby was only measuring 6 weeks, and no heartbeat. Like I said, this is the 4th time it's happened. I don't know what's going on but I wonder if it's gluten related.

My husband and I are going for fertility testing, and I will for sure bring it up with the doctor. I'm just wondering if anyone else has any insight or experience with this.

[MDRB]

I'm not sure if this is going to be any help, your problems seem to have started after you went gluten free. For me the opposite has been true. I had extremely painful periods (occasionally vomiting or passing out). I went to the doctor after having a miscarriage and was told that I had endometriosis. I basically put this out of my mind because I was not trying to conceive. However when I was diagnoses as celiac disease and went gluten-free I noticed that my periods gradually became more frequent, less heavy, less painful and I did not have any of the hot flashes, vomiting etc that usually occurred ie no signs of endo. It will probably be a couple of years before my husband and I try for children, but I think that menstrual health is a pretty good indication of fertility and can't see myself having problems. Anyway, I'm not sure if any of this is what you are after, but from browsing this site I've seen that many people find that their fertility actually improves after going gluten free. I'm certainly no doctor, but it may be worth exploring other causes.