Is It Possible To Have Celiacs & Not Have Symptoms Every Time You Eat Gluten?

[terribeth07]

I have had stomach problems for 5 years. A year ago my doctor determined my problem could possibly be my gallbladder. The HIDA scan I had showed abnormal which could or could not mean a problem. I decided to just have it taken out to be safe. That was last April. I was doing good until this December when I started to have nausea & diahrea on & off. Sometimes it would just last a day or two & other times it has lasted a week or two. Several people have suggested celiacs or a food allergy. My questions is, is it possible to have symptoms some of the time & other times be totally fine even if you're eating something with gluten?

Please help me!

[psawyer]

Welcome to the board!

Symptoms vary widely with celiac disease. There are many people who do not have any symptoms at all, but the antibodies are still being produced and doing damage to tissue. My own symptoms gradually got worse and worse over a period of about five years before my diagnosis.

Nausea and diarrhea can vary significantly with the foods being eaten, and may not necessarily be directly triggered by gluten. If there is damage to the villi, then the damaged digestive system can react to all sorts of foods--not just ones containing gluten.

[miles2go]

Hi and welcome! Yes, it's entirely possible that you have allergies and celiac, or something else that's causing this. I have never had nausea, have extreme allergies and have never been tested conclusively for the celiac, but prior to going gluten-free, I had that kind of pattern, perhaps in part because I was gluten-light for eight years. Now that I've been gluten-free for 3+ years, gluten causes problems every time after, like, 15 minutes. Do you have a celiac-literate medical facility nearby?

Margaret

[terribeth07]

I have an appointment with my GI doctor on May 20th & I'm going to have him run a blood test. Is it possible for gluten to make you sick sometimes & other times you eat it you're fine?

[miles2go]

I have an appointment with my GI doctor on May 20th & I'm going to have him run a blood test.

Awesome, have him run the full celiac panel, if you can. I had only the anti-gliadin blood test and an endoscopy that was too late. Keep in mind that there are false negatives.

Is it possible for gluten to make you sick sometimes & other times you eat it you're fine?

That's what I was experiencing before I went completely gluten-free.

Margaret