Does Severe Lactose Intolerance Mean Celiac?

[jasonD2]

The first stomach issue I had after I contracted a parasitic infection was severe lactose intolerance...and I mean severe! At that time my celiac bloodwork was negative but I always wonder if LI is implicated in celiac disease since lactase enzymes are produced on the villi. Can LI be a diagnostic marker?

[Pac]

Lactose intolerance alone doesn't imply celiac, neither celiac implies LI. It can be a sign of damaged villi so if you think you might have coeliac disease, either ask your doctors to repeat the tests or/and do endoscopy, or try eating gluten-free diet for a few weeks. LI is pretty common in adult humans.

[ravenwoodglass]

Lactose intolerance is pretty common in adults. But then again so is undiagnosed celiac. However celiac often has a trigger, like an illness or stressor, which the parasitic infection and treatment for it would have been. Since you say the LI developed after this infection it could very well be caused by celiac. If the LI is part of the celiac picture for you there is a good chance you will again be able to tolerate dairy once you heal.

[jasonD2]

I actually think it happened differently...I think the infection (Giardia) caused lactose intolerance and gastritis, which is a common complication of Giardia ,and then my system broke down..consequently causing leaky guy, food sensitivities and possibly celiac since i have the genetic predisposition...but that's just my theory and i could be wrong

[mushroom]

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I don't know. I have always assumed the gluten (unreocnigzed by me until much later) preceded the lactose, but I recognized the lactose first because I worked with someone who was lactose intolerant and realized that was a problem for me. The LI developed about three years after a major automobile accident. I didn't diagnose my gluten problem until over ten years later. But at the time I developed the lactose intolerance I had also been on a six-month course of progressively stronger antibiotics which killed my gut and also gave me a c.diff. infection and candida, so it all gets muddled.