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

Will I Ever Have A Normal Immune System?


lizajane

Recommended Posts

lizajane Rookie

I was diagnosed in mid March after a few weeks of vomiting and a biopsy that revealed excessive lymphocytes. In the first week I went gluten free, I was exposed twice and threw up twice. I may have thrown up maybe once since then when I ate something questionable (gluten free, but in shared facility). I *think* I am truly gluten free because I no longer throw up. But once or twice I have felt a little off and thought maybe I wasn't as sensitive as I was when the throwing up started.

So it has been over a month... but I am still getting sick ALL THE TIME. My winter, much like last year's, looked something like this-

Nov: bad cold

Dec: bad cold

Jan: sinus infections

Feb: laryngitis and bronchitis

Feb: vomiting started

March: flu/pneumonia

Apri: bad cold, UTI

REALLY??? this is just NOT NORMAL. I have two little kids, but they AREN'T sick. I am! They haven't been sick nearly as much as me. I do not work outside the home, I wash my hands like crazy AND I have started taking vitamins, as recommended by my doc to increase my immunity.

How long will it take??? Is this sick-all-the-time cycle familiar to anyone else?


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



mushroom Proficient
I was diagnosed in mid March after a few weeks of vomiting and a biopsy that revealed excessive lymphocytes. In the first week I went gluten free, I was exposed twice and threw up twice. I may have thrown up maybe once since then when I ate something questionable (gluten free, but in shared facility). I *think* I am truly gluten free because I no longer throw up. But once or twice I have felt a little off and thought maybe I wasn't as sensitive as I was when the throwing up started.

So it has been over a month... but I am still getting sick ALL THE TIME. My winter, much like last year's, looked something like this-

Nov: bad cold

Dec: bad cold

Jan: sinus infections

Feb: laryngitis and bronchitis

Feb: vomiting started

March: flu/pneumonia

Apri: bad cold, UTI

REALLY??? this is just NOT NORMAL. I have two little kids, but they AREN'T sick. I am! They haven't been sick nearly as much as me. I do not work outside the home, I wash my hands like crazy AND I have started taking vitamins, as recommended by my doc to increase my immunity.

How long will it take??? Is this sick-all-the-time cycle familiar to anyone else?

It will probably sound familiar to quite a few, maybe not quite that bad, but...

I had to quit my bridge club because people would come in all the time with the sniffles, I would end up with a major cold followed by chest infection and antibiotics. It got to be real old. Dh was the same, only his specialty was sinus infections. In middle of summer we both did the ferry crossing between the two islands here (3 hours). Both ended up with a three-week flu starting at exactly the same time. Probably a tourist from Asia brought in the latest Asian variety. And so '07 went...

Went gluten-free mid-Nov. '07. Played bridge at the club in Dec. (for the last time!). Two days later, flu which lasted until after Christmas and through New Year's Day. Had one good week then started coughing again and coughed for three more weeks with acute bronchitis (refused prednisone and antibiotics which they tried to foist on me--I thought I had pneumonia), and said I was used to coughing now so I would just keep doing it. All this time, constant UTI. Many courses of antibiotics, never clear. Finally read a column by a naturopath in the Sunday paper about cranberry tablets. They kept it at bay unless I forgot to take them (which I did last July). However, that is the last time. No more UTI's, don't even take the cranberry tablets any more, no infections, flu(s) or bronchitis. So it took 8 months for my immune system to kick in. There is hope for you yet, LizaJane. Hang in there.

ang1e0251 Contributor

My immune system is much stronger since going gluten-free. Although I have to vote you the Sickest of Them All!! I have increased my vitamin regimin as needed. I added the sublingual B12 and that gives me a boost and sense of well-being, I have to think my immune system loves it. Beefed up the magnesium and reduced calcium.

By the way for UTI's, my sister swears by Vit. C. She keeps hers away with it. My Mom was getting severe ones and hers stay away now as long as she takes her C. They are not a problem for me. I suffer more with yeast infections. I seldom have one now where before I had them at least monthly.

Archived

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

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Dora77 posted a topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      0

      Permanent Floating & Undigested Stools for a Year

    2. - TerryinCO posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      0

      Status Update...

    3. - cristiana replied to Tyoung's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      7

      Increasing symptoms after going gluten free

    4. - Jy11 replied to Jy11's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      14

      Conflicting results

    5. - Pasballard replied to Tyoung's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      7

      Increasing symptoms after going gluten free


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,972
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Heather T.
    Newest Member
    Heather T.
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.5k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Dora77
      For some context: I have type 1 diabetes (T1D) (since 11 years) and celiac disease(since 4 years) For about a year now, I’ve been experiencing permanent floating and undigested stools. I’ve had a pancreas elastase test done. The first result was extremely low at 44, but a second test came back at 236. My doctor said that since one result is normal, it rules out pancreatic insufficiency because, according to them, elastase levels would always stay low if that were the issue. However, could the 236 have been a false result? My doctor also thinks I don’t have pancreatic insufficiency because I’m able to gain weight. I also get hgh injections as my bone age is younger than my real age, this also contributes to weight gain, so I dont know if weight gain can rule out malabsorption. But maybe if I had real malabsorption I wouldnt gain any weight even with hgh? For celiac, I’m on a gluten-free diet, but there might b small cross-contamination from things like pepper labeled as “may contain gluten.” or sausages which dont have gluten ingredient but say may contain. My doctor said that small amounts like this wouldn’t harm me and even mentioned that an occasional small exposure to gluten may not do much damage (which seems questionable since I thought even tiny amounts could be harmful). She also said that when Im older (Im m17) I could try eating small amounts of gluten and do antibody blood tests to see if I can tolerate small amounts or not. For reference, I’m asymptomatic when it comes to celiac, so I have no idea if I’ve been “glutened” or not. My first concerning celiac blood test was semi high IgA, then 3 months later we did a check up and my IgA was high so it was confirmed celiac. Since than I’ve had celiac antibody tests done yearly to see how my diet is going, and they’ve been negative, but I’ve heard those aren’t always reliable. I’ve never had a follow-up endoscopy to confirm healing. I also always kept eating „may contain gluten“ food. (I live in Germany so I dont know if „may contain gluten“ is as risky as in the usa but I suppose both are as risky) These stool issues started around the same time I was doing excessive heavy lifting at the gym. Could stress or lifting have triggered this, or is that less likely since the symptoms persist even after I stopped lifting? Occasionally, I’ll feel very mild stomach discomfort, but it’s rare and not severe. My doctor (also a dietist) said floating, undigested stools could still be “normal,” but that doesn’t seem realistic to me. Could this be impacting my vitamin or protein absorption? I also did a fructose intolerance breath test and had a high baseline of 20 ppm, but it never increased—only decreased over time. I fasted for 12 hours and didn’t eat fructose beforehand, but my stomach didn’t feel completely empty during the test. Could this mean the test was inaccurate? For lactose intolerance, I did the breath test but only fasted 10 hours and had eaten lactose prior because I wasn’t aware of the proper diet restrictions. My results were: 14, 12, 15, 25, 35, 40, 40 ppm—which would be considered positive. But given that I didn’t fast long enough or follow the right diet, could this result be unreliable? Has anyone else dealt with similar symptoms? What ended up being the cause for you? And sorry for the long text!
    • TerryinCO
      The Docs' and NP haven't committed to Celiac determination yet but say go gluten-free diet because...  And I have with improved physical results - feeling better; overall functions better, and more energy.  Still 10 pounds down in weight but I still have BMI of ~23.  It's been just over a month now gluten-free diet.  I'm fortunate I get along with diary/milk well and most other foods. I wanted ask about this site's sponsor, gliadin X.  If this is legit, seems like a good product to keep on hand. Though it says it's only a safety for incidental gluten contact - not a substitue for gluten-free diet. What's your input on this? This may be sensitive subject since they're a sponsor. I've used resources here and other sites for information, gluten-free food/product lists. So thank you for all that support. That's it for now - Stay warm...  -2F this morning in Colorado!
    • cristiana
      I did suffer with gastric symptoms before diagnosis, but got all sorts of weird and wacky symptoms after going gluten free.   Things got much better once my antibodies fell to normal levels, but it took years (please don't panic, many people's go to normal levels relatively quickly when following a gluten-free diet). Causes of the symptoms you mention that I also experienced were iron supplements, a temporary dairy intolerance (this is common in coeliacs and should pass when your gut heals properly), and eating oats, as mentioned above.  Other symptoms I got were musculoskeletal pain after diagnosis, but again, once my coeliac blood tests were normal, I had no more pain. I did notice patterns emerging in foods that I reacted to and learned to steer clear of them, then gradually reintroduced them when my gut healed, such as soya, pure oats and dairy products.    You might like to keep a food diary. Cristiana
    • Jy11
      Well the conflicting results continue as the biopsy has come back negative. 😵‍💫 Waiting to discuss further but I really don’t know what to think now? Eight biopsy’s were taken from duodenum which surely should be sufficient if it was coeliac? 
    • Pasballard
      I have Celiacs and want you to be aware of the amount of weight you can potentially put on if you rely on gluten free snacks, bread etc.,they  are high in carbs.  I put on 25 lbs in a short amount of time.  Whole Foods are the best way to go but I struggle with this.  The cost of gluten free is also a problem.  I love black licorice but most have gluten.  My favorite chili seasoning as well.  The list is endless.  I take  Advil liquid gels and had no idea until I read this.  I hope you do better than I have done.  I feel I am destined to suffer daily no matter what.  My aunt didn’t take care of herself and died from complications.  I hope you can get on a good routine.
×
×
  • Create New...