Cured Of Celiac

[magaka]

I have been told by one person that they had celiac at birth but no longer have it. I have met two other people who said they had relatives who once had celiac but no longer have it. Everything I read says there is no cure and yet three people have insisted that they or their relatives no longer have it. It is not just that they are symptom free. Can they be correct?

[Guest Viola]

At certain stages in a young person's life the symptoms seem to leave, or lesson. Some believe that active hormons may have something to do with this, as they are most active in the teen age years and early 20s.

But there is no cure for Celiac, if they were properly diagnosed before, they still have it.

[gf4life]

I've heard this from multiple people as well. I think what Viola said is true. If they were properly diagnosed before, then they still have it. It could have gone into a sort of remission during puberty, but it is not gone, and they should still be gluten-free if they don't want to be sick again. There is always the possiblity that they were misdiagnosed in the first place, but the chances are slim. Years ago almost no one was diagnosed with celiac disease. So if I hear a story about a person diagnosed 20 years ago who outgrew the disease, chances are that they were actually correctly diagnosed. But they were told then that it was a childhood disease that COULD be outgrown.

I always cringe when people tell me their son (or daughter, sister, brother, etc.) "had that, but they outgrew it". I try to explain to them that it isn't possible to outgrow the disease, but sometime the symptoms appear to go away. Most are not receptive to hearing it. They don't want to think that they might have to do the diet again, but for me the diet might be a challenge, but it is so worth it to have myself and my kids healthy.

God bless,

Mariann

[KaitiUSA]

They have not been cured...if they had it then they have it now. Sometimes symptoms can go away so you think you are ok then but your not. You can't outgrow it.

[Guest gfinnebraska]

Can I add a different twist to this topic? Are there many out there that believe in healing? Not through medicine but through God? I am praying for a healing... will it happen? I don't know! But I can pray!! Just curious if there are any other believers in miracles out there. God has healed me of other "minor" problems in my past... so I am believing for this as well!!!

[Rikki Tikki]

Yes Kimberley I do believe in the power of prayer. I have been praying to be healed for a long time. I don't know if he is not listening or if he has another purpose for all of this. Miracles can and do happen. Keep praying.

[KaitiUSA]

Yes Kimberly I do believe in the power of prayer. I have seen it work in so many cases... and it can't hurt...just because God may not answer your prayer right away or at all doesn't mean He doesn't care or He is not listening. So keep praying

[Dan]

If the symptoms lesson during puberty, does the damage also lesson?

[lovegrov]

" If the symptoms lesson during puberty, does the damage also lesson?"

I don't think anybody, even an expert, can guarantee anything on this. I think it stands to reason that if symptoms disappear and tests come back normal or nearly so, the damage would be less. But are the heightened chances for all complications reduced? I don't think anybody could say.

richard

[KaitiUSA]

If the symptoms lesson during puberty, does the damage also lesson?

If symptoms go away that doesn't really tell much because alot of celiacs don't get symptoms but they still get damage.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

How ironic?

I was back in Ohio this past weekend.

I decided to have a bite to eat at this small restaurant run/owned by a talented chef.

Anyway, that day, the bartender had called in sick. So, the General Manager had to work behind the bar. We started talking and "Celiac" came up -- his ex-girlfriend has it, so he was well acquainted and recommended a great appetizer for me.

Anyway, he told me that one of "thier" friends had been cured of it and there was a journal/study in the New England Journal of Medicine about it. He claimed this person was "definitely cured" and there was medical proof.

I called him a liar and demanded another glass of wine....funny, eh?

[Donna F]

Oh, that would be so nice - to be spontaneously cured!

I went into a sort of "remission" a few years ago. I went from the diet to eating "normal" and felt fine for several months until it finally caught up with me again just 5 or 6 months later. I had less antibodies before the remission, when I had been feeling really, really aweful. However, as soon as my symptoms returned (and not nearly to the extent I had had them previously) my antibody count was much higher. I guess that means they were building up regardless of the symptom-free period I went through.

Ah well, I pray for a cure or remedy or something. I can't wait to have my freedom back! Sure, I may be eating healthier overall, and I feel great now, but it would also be nice not to have to scrutinize every single ingredient and worry about contamination everywhere I go!

-donna

[celiac3270]

Absolutely ridiculous....I was looking at samples from their archives online a few weeks ago--nothing of the sort--(btw, I was looking at their publication on the oats study...unfortunately, I would've had to pay to read it). No cure...I liked your response.

[Maggie1956]

Yes Kimberley, I truly believe in the power of prayer and the healing power of God. I have been healed of asthma, which I had most of my childhood.

As we wait for the LORD to heal us, we need to totally and completely stick to a gluten-free diet. If God does heal us, and that decission is His alone, then we still have to have be tested again with all the tests necessary to confirm it.

Keep well, and stay happy.

[Rikki Tikki]

I was thinking today that if the end of my life was near, I would eat everything in sight.

Anyway, I don't think there is a cure, I think there would be too much damage, that maybe we couldn't see.

I don't want to take the chance. It took too many years for the doctor's to figure out what was wrong!

[ianm]

I had periods of time where I would not feel fatigue or brain fog but as I got older those times would be few and far between. It is possible to go into remission but it never really goes away.

As far as the prayer thing here is how I look at it. The gluten free diet IS the answer to my prayers. God will show you the path but it is up to you to find it and follow it. He's not going to just drop it in your lap and everything will be a happily ever after fairytale. Nope, just doesn't work that way. Once I learned what the problem was and how to fix it I embraced it whole heartedly and without hesitation. If you are waiting for some dramatic miracle I think you are going to be waiting for a very long time. Miracles happen all the time but they usually don't involve any form of obvious divine intervention.

[Guest gillian502]

I agree wholeheartedly with the above post. I pray all the time for better health and for a "miracle", but I would never go off this diet no matter how much better I felt. That would be like praying for more money to help yourself through a financial hardship, and quitting your job in the meantime! Just doesn't work that way. God helps those who help themselves...stay on the diet, keep seeing doctors, and God will work through them AND you.

[Guest gfinnebraska]

I agree that you should stay on the diet... BUT, God can completely heal! Miracles ARE for today... staying on the gluten-free diet is not being healed. It is like praying for money and God giving you a loan you have to pay back ~ God doesn't work THAT way. We could go on and on with this discussion and different points of view. I was just curious how many people on this board with celiac disease believe in the power of God to completely heal us. I am glad that I am not the only one!

[ianm]

I guess it really comes down to how you define healed. If being "healed" means that I get to eat processed crap then no thank you I don't want to be healed. If being "healed" means being forced to eat better foods, exercising and generally living a healthier lifestyle then to me that is really the better way to go. Yes there are certain foods I can't eat but to me that is a small price to pay for the drastically improved life I am now living.