Was Diagnosed After I Quit Smoking, Now Affraid To Quit Again...

[Eirish1973]

3 Years ago I quit smoking after doing so for 18 years. At the time my doctor warned me that when you quit smoking health issues may appear. Celiac disease was the last thing that crossed my mind. Any way, after 3 months of constant diarrhea, 20 lbs of weight loss and numerous tests, I was finally diagnosed. About 7 months later I started smoking again. Since I started back up again I rarely have any reactions to gluten. I quit again for 9 mos when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, then I started up again and still no reactions. What is in cigarettes that lets this happen? Has anyone else out there experienced this? I want to have another child so I want to quit smoking again but I fear that I won't be able to get pregnant if I quit. Sounds stupid huh?? Celiacs have a hard time getting pregnant. I am also a year late on my follow up to have another Endoscope. I also fear that the smoking is just masking the reactions but who knows what is really going on with my intestines? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[lovegrov]

Smoking does NOT keep you from having celiac or being damaged by it. Instead, you're damaging yourself two ways, by eating gluten and by smoking. I was a pack-a-day smoker when I got extremely ill from celiac and smoking didn't stop me from having it.

richard

[Gemini]

3 Years ago I quit smoking after doing so for 18 years. At the time my doctor warned me that when you quit smoking health issues may appear. Celiac disease was the last thing that crossed my mind. Any way, after 3 months of constant diarrhea, 20 lbs of weight loss and numerous tests, I was finally diagnosed. About 7 months later I started smoking again. Since I started back up again I rarely have any reactions to gluten. I quit again for 9 mos when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, then I started up again and still no reactions. What is in cigarettes that lets this happen? Has anyone else out there experienced this? I want to have another child so I want to quit smoking again but I fear that I won't be able to get pregnant if I quit. Sounds stupid huh?? Celiacs have a hard time getting pregnant. I am also a year late on my follow up to have another Endoscope. I also fear that the smoking is just masking the reactions but who knows what is really going on with my intestines? Any advice would be much appreciated.

There has been evidence and some small studies done, which point to the fact that smoking can delay the symptoms of Celiac Disease. Personally, I smoked until 4 months before I became deathly ill with Celiac so my experience mirrors yours. It seems that all hell broke loose after I quit. Some attribute that to the fact that, supposedly, smoking depresses your immune system, and it may, but I'm not sure it happens in everyone. Tobacco does affect your intestinal tract but it was always to the effect that it acted like a laxative so I am not sure how the smoking/Celiac connection works. Your doctor could be right...that smoking masks symptoms of other problems.

As long as you remain totally gluten-free, you should have no problems getting pregnant again....unless there are other underlying problems. And no, you do not sound stupid.....cigarettes are hard to quit and everyone struggles with that. Giving up gluten was so easy for me it was amazing but the cigarettes are a lot harder!

[tarnalberry]

I think you know the right thing to do - go smoke free and gluten free. You can't know what internal damage is being done, regardless of external symptoms. (Many celiacs are asymptomatic, and some studies, as mentioned, suggest that smoking may affect what symptoms you feel.) But you know that smoking isn't good for you, a growing baby, or your current child, and you also know that gluten isn't good for you (or a growing baby or breastfed infant, getting antibodies in your blood/milk). That doesn't make it any easier to implement two significant life changes, but it's still the right thing to do. Get help - either from your doctor, a counselor who can help you find how you best cope with these changes, or a support group. Not easy, but worthwhile.

[Lisa]

Crohns Disease and smoking have a correlation, in minimizing the symptoms. Celiac and Crohns have similar digestive issues. Crohns generally is associated with the large intestines. Might be something to look into.

..otherwise, you have received great advise.

[Eirish1973]

Thanks to all of you!! This was all great advice!!! I have now been smoke and gluten free for 6 days so far and going well!!!

Thanks again,

Erin

[Timmy]

On 2/22/2010 at 8:44 AM, lovegrov said:

Smoking does NOT keep you from having celiac or being damaged by it. Instead, you're damaging yourself two ways, by eating gluten and by smoking. I was a pack-a-day smoker when I got extremely ill from celiac and smoking didn't stop me from having it.

 

richard

I beg to differ.  Firsthand experience and after reading countless studies and hundreds of other people’s stories, it most definitely does at least “mask” symptoms at the very least. And that’s just what I’ve had time to read, there is endless stories. I now, 1 year after quitting, with proof, have positive bloodwork after having to do all my own research because of incompetent doctors who wouldn’t test me, I finally found one who listened.  I also developed thyroid autoimmunity after quitting as well.