2nd Trimester Issues, Advice Needed

[kodif8]

Background...I've never been confirmed to be celiac. I've been blood tested twice (both after becoming gluten-free) and was negative. I also had a biopsy done last year (after being gluten-free for 2 years) and that was negative. I have tested allergic to both wheat and milk. Two GI docs told me that they think my symptoms are more consistent with celiac than allergy and two allergists have said it's probably just bad allergy. I spent years being really sick both gastro wise, arthritis and neurological symptoms. They were close to diagnosing me w/ MS when I went gluten free and my symptoms all went away. For years I have been a good gluten-free girl. Now and then I would slip up and usually get D, arthritis and really emotional/ grumpy as a result.

Since being pregnant I noticed that I wasn't getting any symptoms on slip ups. I read that sometimes food allergies aren't noticeable during pregnancy but will likely return right after. I took this as an awesome blank check to cheat... plus my craving monster thought this was a fabulous idea. I've been eating wheat daily now for weeks and not feeling too much of a difference.

I am now 24-25 weeks and the pregnancy has been fine until 2 days ago. The other day I got a sudden rush of blood. Doc sent me to the hospital and they said my cervix is thinning. I had a few contractions but they seemed to subside. They released me today but I am now high risk for premature birth and currently on bedrest. They said that there was nothing I was doing to cause this but I am scared that it's because I'm eating wheat.

I'm wondering does anyone have any good info about complications that can be caused by eating wheat during pregnancy? I am scared now that I really may be celiac and causing this by cheating.

Any advice/ sources would be very appreciated!

Jen

[happygirl]

I can't say that there is literature linked directly to your situation; however, celiac is linked to infertility and complications during pregnancy.

You cannot rule out Celiac since you were only tested while you were on the gluten free diet.

The director of one of the large Celiac organizations discusses her experience here:

Open Original Shared Link

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Certainly impossible to say what caused what you went through, as many women without Celiac or any health problems have complications.

But, as a whole, being on the gluten free diet, given that you may have Celiac, may be beneficial to the overall health of your little one. It may be worth it to discuss with your doctor. Good luck!

[tarnalberry]

There's no way to ever know what caused this. But untreated celiac can increase the risk of miscarriage (some theories work on the idea of malnutrition), so, if you suspect that you might be celiac, please be diligent in avoiding gluten from now on. Don't fret too much about the past, move forward doing the best you can.

[lizard00]

What tarnalberry said is the best advice: don't dwell on the past. I just had my second 6 1/2 weeks ago, and I had my fair share of drama with this pregnancy, the details of which I'll spare.

I questioned a lot of what I did or didn't do for a large part of my pregnancy, and even after she was born. I ended up having contractions at 30 weeks, and my daughter was 5 1/2 weeks early. She was born at 34 weeks 4 days. She is perfectly healthy. I didn't cheat at all, although I did get glutened early on in my pregnancy, and maybe took a few more risks than I normally would because, after my glutening, I realized that I wasn't as reactive to gluten as I had been. I still reacted, just not as terribly as I normally do.

Very often, it doesn't matter what you do or don't do. In pregnancy, there truly are just a few controllables, and even then, it's still not guaranteed. As an example: my half sister had a baby last year. She smoked her whole pregnancy, and had not the first complication, her baby was not small; all things that are linked with smoking during pregnancy she avoided. I don't smoke, ate far better than I'm sure she did, had great pre-natal care, etc... and my daughter was early and would still have been small even at full term.

Get back on the gluten-free bus, just because you know it's healthier for you. And do what your doctor says. He's right, there really is no way to know. There's so much that they don't know about why things happen, and if this is your first, then you don't have a pattern for them to look at either. But don't stress yourself out over something that you cannot change and had no control over to begin with.

So instead, do the things you can control: rest, stay hydrated, don't allow yourself to get too hungry, and make sure you poop . Those things can help ward off future premature contractions.

[kodif8]

Thanks for the really good advice guys! I really appreciate it. I am definitely getting back on the gluten-free diet. Just because I'm not reacting like I used to doesn't mean I'm not doing damage, although it probably has little to do with the preterm labor stuff. Either way I really need to stop letting my cravings control me... it will make it a lot better for after I deliver too. You guys are really helpful!