Does This Sound Like Celiac?

[nomad4life]

Hi,

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis about a year ago. I have been euthyroid (good labs) for months with almost no relief in symptoms. the lupus / arthritis / hormone panels all came back normal. My GP and Endo both say nothing I can do but 'hang in there' and hope the antibodies eventually die down. I am more focused on finding a fix as my life is on hold. I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow and I plan to ask for a Celiac panel based on a few things I've read online. Given I know nothing about this I thought I'd ask for some input as to whether or not you think Celiac is worth exploring and might be a possibility.

I have had asthma and severe environmental allergies (tress, mold, grass, pollen, all animals, feathers etc) since I was a child ~ 6ish. I have also developed a tree nut allergy and fruit allergy as an adult.

At 16 I had further allergy testing done due to abd pain / cramping and they found I had a casein allergy. For about the next 8 years (4 of which were HORRIBLE) I had a terrible time with my digestive system. Not a lot of diarrhea but a lot of gas / bloating / and severe pain that felt like my intestines were being twisted in knots. It always started pretty soon after eating and lasted 30-120 minutes. I would eventually have a lot of flatulence and then I'd feel better.

My doc at the time told me it was motility issues related to being asthmatic. For the 4 horrible years I cut out all daisy, all oils, and fats as they seemed to make it worse. I actually lived solely on plain bread, plain pasta, plain rice and fruits and vegetables as that seemed to reduce the pain episodes - although I still often felt sick.

For the last ten years - it has been on and off, the gas/bloating is still always there but the cramping / pain only happens rarely. I eat yogurt and put milk in my tea as I seem to get symptoms no matter what I eat so I take a little dairy. I still sometimes have diarrhea for no apparent reason (I'm not sick) but not often enough that I would be concerned. I've also had cankers in my mouth all my life.

I have never mentioned any of this to my GP or Endo as I never thought of it having any connection to my thyroid or thyroid symptoms (terrible memory / brain fog / poor concentration / fatigue / muscle aches and pains) and because I've had this most of my life. My ferritin is 13 and my Vit D is very low - I am on supplements for these.

Is this enough history to warrant a exploration of Celiacs? My sister just had a biopsy for Celiac's although they think she just has IBS (awaiting results) but she had many abd symptoms.

[mushroom]

Hi,

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis about a year ago. I have been euthyroid (good labs) for months with almost no relief in symptoms. the lupus / arthritis / hormone panels all came back normal. My GP and Endo both say nothing I can do but 'hang in there' and hope the antibodies eventually die down. I am more focused on finding a fix as my life is on hold. I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow and I plan to ask for a Celiac panel based on a few things I've read online. Given I know nothing about this I thought I'd ask for some input as to whether or not you think Celiac is worth exploring and might be a possibility.

I have had asthma and severe environmental allergies (tress, mold, grass, pollen, all animals, feathers etc) since I was a child ~ 6ish. I have also developed a tree nut allergy and fruit allergy as an adult.

At 16 I had further allergy testing done due to abd pain / cramping and they found I had a casein allergy. For about the next 8 years (4 of which were HORRIBLE) I had a terrible time with my digestive system. Not a lot of diarrhea but a lot of gas / bloating / and severe pain that felt like my intestines were being twisted in knots. It always started pretty soon after eating and lasted 30-120 minutes. I would eventually have a lot of flatulence and then I'd feel better.

My doc at the time told me it was motility issues related to being asthmatic. For the 4 horrible years I cut out all daisy, all oils, and fats as they seemed to make it worse. I actually lived solely on plain bread, plain pasta, plain rice and fruits and vegetables as that seemed to reduce the pain episodes - although I still often felt sick.

For the last ten years - it has been on and off, the gas/bloating is still always there but the cramping / pain only happens rarely. I eat yogurt and put milk in my tea as I seem to get symptoms no matter what I eat so I take a little dairy. I still sometimes have diarrhea for no apparent reason (I'm not sick) but not often enough that I would be concerned. I've also had cankers in my mouth all my life.

I have never mentioned any of this to my GP or Endo as I never thought of it having any connection to my thyroid or thyroid symptoms (terrible memory / brain fog / poor concentration / fatigue / muscle aches and pains) and because I've had this most of my life. My ferritin is 13 and my Vit D is very low - I am on supplements for these.

Is this enough history to warrant a exploration of Celiacs? My sister just had a biopsy for Celiac's although they think she just has IBS (awaiting results) but she had many abd symptoms.

Welcome to the forum, nomad4life.

Your history is not an entirely straightforward one, but as you have discovered in your research there are several overlaps in your symptoms with celiac disease symptoms., with your Hashimoto's being the first. There are many other autoimmune diseases which are common in celiacs. Celiac digestive symptoms vary a great deal, with some people having no symptoms at all, but bloating/gas is common. And it is true that sometimes the symptoms can wax and wane. The brain fog, fatigue, aches and pains are also common in celiacs, as are the low nutrient levels of ferritin and Vit D amongst others. Often we don't mention a lot of these symptoms to our doctors because we are brushed off with oh, it's just this, or its just that, and not taken seriously.

I would definitely make a list of all your symptoms which match those of celiac disease and discuss with your doctor that you would like to be tested for it. Bear in mind, though, that it is possible to have a negative blood test and still have celiac disease or be gluten intolerant. If you are tested and the test is negative, or if you can't find a doctor willing to test you, I would still give the gluten free diet a trial to see if it makes any difference for you.

Good luck tomorrow.

[Ahorsesoul]

I hope you try a totally gluten free diet for a few weeks to see if there is any improvement.

[nomad4life]

Thanks for the replies. I saw the doctor today and she ordered ttg. The other tests aren't covered so she said to do this one first and if it comes back + then no need to do the others. She was willing to refer me for a biopsy as she said that is the only way to be sure but we decided to see what the ttg result is first. She was more than willing to help me out and said if there was anything else I came across that I thought might be helpful to investigate, she would order it.