Infection? Celiac? Or Both?

[Katie B]

Hi there,

Months ago I started having diarrhea - smelly and pale stools. I went to see the Doc. and he gave me antibiotics for a small bowel infection. Everything cleared up and he did a scope and said that I had damaged villi and most likely had celiac disease. I've been gluten-free for close to a month now. I felt better at first but now I'm having the same symptoms as when I had the infection and think that it's returned. I called the Doc. and he said he'd take a sample but he's now unsure as to whether I have celiac disease or a recurring infection (my blood tests were negative). I guess in both cases it causes damaged villi. Anyone else run into this? I don't mind being on the celiac diet - I just want to know one way or another. Help!!!

[ravenwoodglass]

An infection wouldn't damage your villi, as far as I know. Did your doctor say what the infection was? Some are more likely to come back than others. Did he do tests for infections, blood or stool or did he just figure you had one and give you the antibiotics?

You are only a month into the diet. Gluten can hide in a lot of places that you wouldn't expect and it can take a while before we are as gluten free as we need to be. Also we don't heal overnight, it can take a bit of time. You should try and eat as much whole unprocessed food as you can for now. It will help you heal and help you avoid the CC issues that we have. Your body is getting really happy that you have dropped gluten and is going to be reacting to smaller amounts. Even a crumb from shared butter can cause a full blown reaction. It takes very little to start those antibodies going again.

Make sure you are doing everything you need to as far as gluten goes. Get a new toaster just for gluten-free stuff, don't share things like butter, jellies, pnut butter etc with gluten eaters. Check all your meds, script and OTC. Generics need to be checked at each refill. Check your makeup, lipsticks, shampoos etc.

Hang in there. With a postive biopsy you can be pretty certain you are one of us.

[Katie B]

An infection wouldn't damage your villi, as far as I know. Did your doctor say what the infection was? Some are more likely to come back than others. Did he do tests for infections, blood or stool or did he just figure you had one and give you the antibiotics?

You are only a month into the diet. Gluten can hide in a lot of places that you wouldn't expect and it can take a while before we are as gluten free as we need to be. Also we don't heal overnight, it can take a bit of time. You should try and eat as much whole unprocessed food as you can for now. It will help you heal and help you avoid the CC issues that we have. Your body is getting really happy that you have dropped gluten and is going to be reacting to smaller amounts. Even a crumb from shared butter can cause a full blown reaction. It takes very little to start those antibodies going again.

Make sure you are doing everything you need to as far as gluten goes. Get a new toaster just for gluten-free stuff, don't share things like butter, jellies, pnut butter etc with gluten eaters. Check all your meds, script and OTC. Generics need to be checked at each refill. Check your makeup, lipsticks, shampoos etc.

Hang in there. With a postive biopsy you can be pretty certain you are one of us.

Thanks so much for the reply. Yes, my Dr. just gave me antibiotics and everything calmed down. I'm going to be seeing him soon and will get a sample tested to see exactly what's going on. I'm pretty confident that I have celiac as well - I'm just confused as to why he's questioning it. I guess it's a bit of a process...I can't believe how long it's taken me to even get close to a diagnosis! I'm hoping that this is the answer to my problems.

Quick question - I see in your profile that you had pre-diabetes? I also have this and am hoping that eventually it disappears. How long did it take you to recover?

Thanks again!