Can Symptoms Be Purely Pyschological?

[Mord]

I diagnosed myself with celiac a week ago. I know it would be wise to get a blood test but theres too much evidence to support my diagnoses. Just to have peace of mind before i stop eating gluten for the rest of my life, i need you guys to just tell me what you think.

1. I suffer from anxiety after eating gluten

2. I have OCD

3. I feel brain dead after eating gluten, can't concentrate, can't finish sentences, and also completely butchers my performance in video games.

4. spent most of my high school career day dreaming and completely anti-social

5. seems like i have AS

To be honest, i REALLY want to know if its possible that i have something more simple that is wrong with me. Like just a wheat allergy? I've been off gluten for about a week and everything in the list above has gotten better. Gluten is the enemy, without question, but celiac or...

Thanks! I love this site.

[tarnalberry]

if you really want to know, find someone you trust, and ask them to randomly gluten you - without you knowing, and not telling you - once in a month. have them give you completely gluten free food at random times throughout the month, but *one* of those times, it has to have gluten. find something that you cannot tell is gluten (maybe add some breadcrumbs in chili, or use a regular soy sauce instead of gluten free one, or something else that you *CANNOT SUSPECT* the difference.

if you experience symptoms most of the month, you're probably generating a good portion of it psychosomatically. if you don't experience much of anything (not *nothing* but not much) most of the month, except once - and maybe for some time while recovering after getting glutened - well, then it's probably nothing to do with psychosomatic symptoms.

you can't do this to yourself. you can't know that you're ingesting the gluten. you can't even suspect it, or you'll negate the whole point of the test.

of course, it's possible to be psycosomatically contributing to your symptoms *AND* gluten intolerant/celiac.

[Gfresh404]

That is what is so difficult in diagnosing people with celiac, the symptoms are so wide ranged and varied. But to answer your question, yes they can. Many people have no GI symptoms.

My GI symptoms did not start showing up until about 7 or 8 years ago, for some reason I just never picked up them.

Once I went gluten-free a lot of psychological symptoms disappeared that I thought were just a part of who I was. I used to have panic attacks, a fear of flying, would be very anti-social, grumpy, and depressed. I also used to have OCD that seemed to come and go. However, if your symptoms are just psychological, I would be cautious of self diagnosing because you are in the smaller portion of the population. I am not saying it's not possible, many people on this forum are effected more psychologically than anything else, it is just less likely.

You may also find that you test negative for celiac, but if the diet is working, stick with it, trust yourself and listen to your own body. No test can tell you how you feel. I myself tested negative for celiac, but all of my symptoms fit and the gastrointerologist I was seeing was able to rule out any other possible conditions (ie Crohn's Disease).

[tarnalberry]

/facepalm. I totally mis-interpreted your post. my apologies. I'm leaving my response, on the chance anyone finds it worthwhile.

but yeah - some people do not have apparent digestive issues, and just neurologic or autoimmune. (of course, that can be digestive in nature, as some neurologic issues stem from nutrient deficiencies...)

[GFinDC]

I diagnosed myself with celiac a week ago. I know it would be wise to get a blood test but theres too much evidence to support my diagnoses. Just to have peace of mind before i stop eating gluten for the rest of my life, i need you guys to just tell me what you think.

1. I suffer from anxiety after eating gluten

2. I have OCD

3. I feel brain dead after eating gluten, can't concentrate, can't finish sentences, and also completely butchers my performance in video games.

4. spent most of my high school career day dreaming and completely anti-social

5. seems like i have AS

To be honest, i REALLY want to know if its possible that i have something more simple that is wrong with me. Like just a wheat allergy? I've been off gluten for about a week and everything in the list above has gotten better. Gluten is the enemy, without question, but celiac or...

Thanks! I love this site.

Sometimes doctors tell people they have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), or gluten intolerance. I think the idea being that they are are not (in theory) having intestinal damage, but are having some kind of digestion problem when eating gluten. So, yes, celiac is no the only thing out there. I imagine there are really tons more people told they have IBS or gluten intolerance than celiac.

And if it interferes with your game playing, why hesitate? Just kidding!

Really it is a big change to go gluten-free, so you might want to think about testing for the antibodies. But remember the tests are not 100% accurate, so doing a gluten-free diet trial is not a bad idea even if they tests don;t show high antibody levels.. But you do have to be eating gluten before the test to get good results.

[Mord]

Thanks for the info guys. I know gluten makes me partly retarded.. Without a doubt. The question is, are my villi damaged from being a celiac, or do i just have a smaller allergy? Would that allergy be called? IBS?

Also, my dad has the same symptoms: anxiety, ocd etc. He also has baaad arthritis and so does his father. So what ever I have that is wrong with me is genetic; does that narrow it down? Sorry if i'm being a pest and stubborn. I don't wanna stop my diet to get a blood test. Just tell me it sounds pretty believable that i have celiac.

[Mord]

miss post.

[psawyer]

Please continue this discussion here, rather than start additional copies of the topic.

[Gfresh404]

Thanks for the info guys. I know gluten makes me partly retarded.. Without a doubt. The question is, are my villi damaged from being a celiac, or do i just have a smaller allergy? Would that allergy be called? IBS?

Also, my dad has the same symptoms: anxiety, ocd etc. He also has baaad arthritis and so does his father. So what ever I have that is wrong with me is genetic; does that narrow it down? Sorry if i'm being a pest and stubborn. I don't wanna stop my diet to get a blood test. Just tell me it sounds pretty believable that i have celiac.

Celiac disease is diagnosed by having damaged or flattened villi. So if you have one, you have the other. You could just have a wheat allergy, but I would say it is less likely. One way to tell is to go out and by some wheat-free, but not gluten-free bars and see how you react. That is actually how I finally came to the conclusion that it was not just wheat, but all gluten containing grains that were causing problems.

One of the issues with distinguishing between celiac and food allergies is that they both involve antibodies and the immune system. The symptoms associated with both also vary greatly between individuals.

If you are allergic to a certain kind of food there is no special name for it, it is just known as a food allergy.

IBS is not an allergy, it is simply a syndrome (or a list of conditions).

The fact that your dad suffers from similar symptoms as yourself just means that whatever condition you have is hereditary. And celiac has shown to have a lot to do with genes. I would say at this point, it is very possible you have celiac or at the very least gluten sensitivity or some kind of wheat allergy. But you will not know for sure until you either get tested or experiment with your diet to find out whether it is just wheat or all gluten containing grains.

[gfb1]

WARNING: overly sensitive geneticist alert....

[snip]

The fact that your dad suffers from similar symptoms as yourself just means that whatever condition you have is hereditary.

[snip]

or....... you were both exposed to the same cleaning fluid....

[Mord]

Another question I have is... What happens when my villi are about 90% fully healed and I accidentally consumed just a little bit of gluten, would i have to start over? or would my villi just take a small hit and continue growing?

[Mord]

Celiac disease is diagnosed by having damaged or flattened villi. So if you have one, you have the other. You could just have a wheat allergy, but I would say it is less likely. One way to tell is to go out and by some wheat-free, but not gluten-free bars and see how you react. That is actually how I finally came to the conclusion that it was not just wheat, but all gluten containing grains that were causing problems.

One of the issues with distinguishing between celiac and food allergies is that they both involve antibodies and the immune system. The symptoms associated with both also vary greatly between individuals.

If you are allergic to a certain kind of food there is no special name for it, it is just known as a food allergy.

IBS is not an allergy, it is simply a syndrome (or a list of conditions).

The fact that your dad suffers from similar symptoms as yourself just means that whatever condition you have is hereditary. And celiac has shown to have a lot to do with genes. I would say at this point, it is very possible you have celiac or at the very least gluten sensitivity or some kind of wheat allergy. But you will not know for sure until you either get tested or experiment with your diet to find out whether it is just wheat or all gluten containing grains.

Thanks. I actually ate a lot of bob evans pancakes (i work there) After noticing the only thing it contained that seemed close to gluten is the wheat starch. I didn't react to it in anyway. So I guess not be allergic to wheat.

Yes my dad gave this to me. so the question is, can simple wheat/gluten allergies be hereditary?

[gfb1]

Thanks. I actually ate a lot of bob evans pancakes (i work there) After noticing the only thing it contained that seemed close to gluten is the wheat starch. I didn't react to it in anyway. So I guess not be allergic to wheat.

Yes my dad gave this to me. so the question is, can simple wheat/gluten allergies be hereditary?

you have to remember that 'gluten' is the protein in wheat, barley, rye (and some other grasses) that celiacs are unable to digest (early evidence suggested that celiacs were missing an enzyme that metabolised the signature glutamine-rich amino acid sequence in gluten -- called gliadin). when gliadin (or similar proteins) comes in contact with the intestinal mucosa, much damage is done due to either a self-mediated immune response (by having a predisposition to producing antibodies that interact with a gliadin-like peptide -- this is the HLA subtype that everyone talks about) -- OR, as the osomotic imbalance created by the presence of gliadin/gluten in the intestinal tract damages the intestines and relatively large proteins get into the blood stream and there is an immune response to these antigens -- just like a bee sting.

as an aside, one hypothesis as to why celiacs have other food sensitivities is that other proteins (e.g., dairy) get into the bloodstream once the intestinal mucosa is damaged sufficiently and another immune response occurs...

your lack of response to wheat starch is not unusual, as contemporary food processing techniques are very good at removing all protein from the wheat product and giving you only the starch/sugar components -- which most celiacs digest normally. in the olden-days of celiac; you would have to avoid any wheat starch (or modified food starch), as they contained a higher amount of gluten.

so.... a complicated answer to a simple question....

celiac disease can be hereditary through a number of routes -- in part through a problem metabolizing a particular protein, another through a reaction to the same, or other, protein sequences, or alternatively, some folks have a true allergic reaction to gluten -- which can be either antibody or cell-mediated (even more complexity!!) -- and probably unrelated to the causes of celiac.

whew... so.... both celiac and food allergies COULD be hereditary. but, my glib comments about cleaning fluid aside, could also be caused by other environmental factors -- such as the diet your mom ate when she was pregnant, your early, neonatal diet and your diet throughout the remainder of your life. all these things are known to have underlying family history -- BUT, absolutely NON-genetic.

whew.....

[njbeachbum]

what you need to understand is this: consuming gluten triggers an autoimmune response by your digestive system. this response is characterized by inflammation of the lining of the small intestine. years of active celiac = years of chronic inflammation, which leads to the destruction of the villi. once your diet is free of gluten, the response stops, as does the inflammation. this allows your villi to heal (quickly or slowly depending on your age and years of active, untreated celiac disease). once the villi are substantially healed, and you are glutened, it will only trigger the autoimmune response again. this means inflammation (which usually causes recognizable digestive symptoms) and possibly some villi damage. the most substantial damage to the villi occurs when you are suffering from CHRONIC inflammation, which means a fairly steady exposure to gluten directly from your diet or from cross-contamination.

key is this - minimize your gluten exposure, and your villi will stay healthy and happy. occasional setbacks are normal, but the longer that you are on the diet, the less frequent these should become.

i hope this helps your understanding