Could This Be Celiac Disease?

[missdirected]

Hello All,

I am a 36 year old female. I have been having some very strange physical problems in the last couple of years and was wondering if I may have found the culprit.

I am currently being treated for cortochondritis (inflammation of the rib cartilage), asthma, depression/anxiety, numbnes /tingling and migraine. I do not seem to have the severe stomach issues that most of you have. I have always had what I would call a sensitive stomach, but it is generally not debilitating. Some nausea (which I contributed to anxiety and stress) and indigestion. I am so tired all of the time it has become difficult to do daily chores and take care of my children....not to mention the full time job.

I am also on some fairly high dose anti-inflammatories for the cortochondritis, so I thought that may be the issue with my stomach. It seems as though most of the medications they have given me for depression/aniety, migrane and asthma do not play well together and where one medication helps one symptom it makes another one worse. I have stopped taking the antidepressants and migraine medications altogether.

That said, I am at my wits end. I feel as though all of the sudden I am falling apart! I do not have any food allergies that I am aware of. I have never been tested for any allergies. Over the years I have learned to avoid certain things that seem to trigger migraines and tummy upset, but nothing so far as to determine an actual allergy.

I have had the migraines, anxiety and depression for years, but the asthma and cortochondritis (and other joint inflammation) plus some numbness and tingling are new developments. Is it possible that I could have just become sensitive to gluten or is this something that would be a problem from birth?

Any response or help would be appreciated. I would like to know if this is even a possibility of something I discuss with my doctor.

Thanks All!

[The Fluffy Assassin]

Hello All,

I am a 36 year old female. I have been having some very strange physical problems in the last couple of years and was wondering if I may have found the culprit.

I am currently being treated for cortochondritis (inflammation of the rib cartilage), asthma, depression/anxiety, numbnes /tingling and migraine. I do not seem to have the severe stomach issues that most of you have. I have always had what I would call a sensitive stomach, but it is generally not debilitating. Some nausea (which I contributed to anxiety and stress) and indigestion. I am so tired all of the time it has become difficult to do daily chores and take care of my children....not to mention the full time job.

I am also on some fairly high dose anti-inflammatories for the cortochondritis, so I thought that may be the issue with my stomach. It seems as though most of the medications they have given me for depression/aniety, migrane and asthma do not play well together and where one medication helps one symptom it makes another one worse. I have stopped taking the antidepressants and migraine medications altogether.

That said, I am at my wits end. I feel as though all of the sudden I am falling apart! I do not have any food allergies that I am aware of. I have never been tested for any allergies. Over the years I have learned to avoid certain things that seem to trigger migraines and tummy upset, but nothing so far as to determine an actual allergy.

I have had the migraines, anxiety and depression for years, but the asthma and cortochondritis (and other joint inflammation) plus some numbness and tingling are new developments. Is it possible that I could have just become sensitive to gluten or is this something that would be a problem from birth?

Any response or help would be appreciated. I would like to know if this is even a possibility of something I discuss with my doctor.

Thanks All!

Could easily be celiac disease, and you could easily have had it all your life without knowing it. As you'll see from my sig line, I had no idea until I was 40 that I had any intolerances, and celiac didn't come onto my mental horizon until age 45. So you're way ahead of me. Get tested, or if you can't find a doctor who will listen to you (which sometimes happen) try going gluten-free on your own. Good luck, and welcome to the board.

[LDJofDenver]

I'm not a medical professional but I can tell you that some celiacs are asymptomatic -- the damage is being done to their intestines, but they really weren't experiencing and tell-tale signs of it.

One place you might start is with genetic testing. Determine if you even carry the gene that may lead (or have led!) you down the road to celiac disease. I'd discuss that with your physician. There are independent labs were you can order these tests on your own as well (www.kimballgenetics.com and www.enterolab.com).

Here's a link to a celiac.com article "Ten Facts About Celiac Genetic Testing"

https://www.celiac.com/articles/21567/1/Ten...ting/Page1.html

[missdirected]

Could easily be celiac disease, and you could easily have had it all your life without knowing it. As you'll see from my sig line, I had no idea until I was 40 that I had any intolerances, and celiac didn't come onto my mental horizon until age 45. So you're way ahead of me. Get tested, or if you can't find a doctor who will listen to you (which sometimes happened) try going gluten-free on your own. Good luck, and welcome to the board.

Thank you so much for the response!

The more I read about this condition the more it seems like I may be on to something here. Interestingly enough, I have a co-worker that happened to see something on TV last night that made her think that gluten intolerance might be the issue. Having never had any food allergies it would never have occured to me otheriwse. I also seem to have some of the cognitive and balance (foggy brain) symptoms.

I am not certain how well I will do on a gluten free diet. I have a huge love of food!! And as I'm southern....almost everything I really love has been battered and deep fried. Will symptoms lessen to some degree with only lessning your intake or does this have to be "an all or nothing" expedition into the gluten-free world?

I am married with three very picky eating children. Is it even possible to feed everyone the same thing?? I'm just somewhat concerned about the cost of specialty foods.

[The Fluffy Assassin]

Thank you so much for the response!

The more I read about this condition the more it seems like I may be on to something here. Interestingly enough, I have a co-worker that happened to see something on TV last night that made her think that gluten intolerance might be the issue. Having never had any food allergies it would never have occured to me otheriwse. I also seem to have some of the cognitive and balance (foggy brain) symptoms.

I am not certain how well I will do on a gluten free diet. I have a huge love of food!! And as I'm southern....almost everything I really love has been battered and deep fried. Will symptoms lessen to some degree with only lessning your intake or does this have to be "an all or nothing" expedition into the gluten-free world?

I am married with three very picky eating children. Is it even possible to feed everyone the same thing?? I'm just somewhat concerned about the cost of specialty foods.

Because you have kids, it's more important than it is for some of us for you to get a diagnosis if you can. This is because there is a 1 in 10 (some say 1 in 7) chance that an immediate family member of a celiac person is also celiac. Meaning there's a significant chance that at least one of your kids has it as well (that is, if you have it).

IF you have celiac disease, yes it's all or nothing. You have to eliminate gluten from your diet forever. Failing to do so results in a significantly shorter lifespan, and the part at the end with the intestinal cancer is by all accounts unpleasant and painful as well.

If you have gluten intolerance, then maybe you can get away with a little slippage here and there. I'm a little unclear on this myself. Hopefully better informed board members will turn up momentarily with better information.

I'm a Southerner. The fact that I was born in Charleston where rice is such an important part of the diet may be why I'm still alive. It's fairly easy to go gluten-free; the hard part is all in your head. Think of all the meals you've enjoyed based on rice or potatoes and you'll start feeling better about it. (If you have to have breaded and deep-fried, using corn meal isn't that bad.)

A lot of people here live in split households where only one person eats gluten-free. The hard part is segregating utensils, dishes, pots, pans, etc. And as I say, you have to make sure that none of the kids are also celiac or intolerant.

Good luck to you and your family. If you look around this board, you'll find untold numbers of approaches to eating gluten-free, getting a diagnosis, bringing up kids gluten-free or living in a split household. Just ask around.

[ang1e0251]

You sure have many symptoms that could indicate celiac disease, down to the migraines and depression. Get tested right away and see where that leads you. It's a good chance you are not the only one in your household.