Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Intestinal Recovery Rate

bincongo

By bincongo
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

bincongo Contributor
bincongo
Posted

I read an article on Celiac.com, sorry I can't remember the name, it said that the intestinal recovery rate was only 34% at 2 years and 66% at 5 years. Three factors influence this rate, those who did not follow the gluten free diet well, those with diarrhea and weight loss and those who showed total villous atrophy on biopsy. I had total villous atrophy on my biopsy so where does that leave me? Some have said it depends on where they took the biopsy. I guess my question is if they did this study did they look at the entire intestine for damage and has anyone done a study on damage done based on where they took the biopsy? If you can point me to studies I would like more information. I know Celiac's feel better on the diet but if only 66% have intestional improvement doesn't that mean more cancer risk for those who don't improve?

I found the article - Mucosal Recovery and Mortality in Adults With Celiac Disease After Treatment With a Gluten-Free Diet

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Emilushka Contributor
Emilushka
Posted

Remember: one article isn't enough to create clinical guidelines. I found the article you were talking about. They only looked at 300 patients. Celiac is so different between people that I would wait until you see more studies before jumping to conclusions about yourself.

The key finding from this article is that there may be some usefulness to getting further biopsies to track recovery in adults with Celiac Disease.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

The answer is that although Celiac predisposes to small bowel cancer and lymphoma, it does NOT predispose to colorectal cancer! YAY! (Didn't want to scare you by leaving the punchline until later.)

Open Original Shared Link

This one best addressed the lymphoma link. Basically what it says is that some people with refractory Celiac have such messed-up T-cells that they develop into a T-cell lymphoma. So this article basically linked the majority of the lymphoma risk to the refractory Celiac population.

Open Original Shared Link

The study of biopsy location seems to be stuck in the "Where should we biopsy?" stage. So I don't think anybody has done anything to figure out what damage where causes what outcomes. This research is all still very much in the baby stages, from what I can tell. However, interestingly enough, making sure there are duodenal bulb biopsies seems to be helpful for getting accurate diagnoses, so hopefully there will be an easier time getting answers for Celiac patients in the future.

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

Well, keep in mind that studies also find that fewer than half of all diagnosed celiacs actually stay strictly gluten free.

sa1937 Community Regular
sa1937
Posted

Well, keep in mind that studies also find that fewer than half of all diagnosed celiacs actually stay strictly gluten free.

You mean "try as we may" with unintentional CC from time to time...or do they intentionally eat foods that are a no-no?

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

You mean "try as we may" with unintentional CC from time to time...or do they intentionally eat foods that are a no-no?

Some in the studies admit to intentionally eating gluten. They tend to be the ones with the poorest and slowest healing, which is not a surprise.

sa1937 Community Regular
sa1937
Posted

Some in the studies admit to intentionally eating gluten. They tend to be the ones with the poorest and slowest healing, which is not a surprise.

Well that's not at all a surprise then.

bincongo Contributor
bincongo
Posted
  • Author

Remember: one article isn't enough to create clinical guidelines. I found the article you were talking about. They only looked at 300 patients. Celiac is so different between people that I would wait until you see more studies before jumping to conclusions about yourself.

The key finding from this article is that there may be some usefulness to getting further biopsies to track recovery in adults with Celiac Disease.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

The answer is that although Celiac predisposes to small bowel cancer and lymphoma, it does NOT predispose to colorectal cancer! YAY! (Didn't want to scare you by leaving the punchline until later.)

Open Original Shared Link

This one best addressed the lymphoma link. Basically what it says is that some people with refractory Celiac have such messed-up T-cells that they develop into a T-cell lymphoma. So this article basically linked the majority of the lymphoma risk to the refractory Celiac population.

Open Original Shared Link

The study of biopsy location seems to be stuck in the "Where should we biopsy?" stage. So I don't think anybody has done anything to figure out what damage where causes what outcomes. This research is all still very much in the baby stages, from what I can tell. However, interestingly enough, making sure there are duodenal bulb biopsies seems to be helpful for getting accurate diagnoses, so hopefully there will be an easier time getting answers for Celiac patients in the future.

Thanks for the information. I read somewhere that only 5% of Celiac's develop the more serious things like cancer. I figure it must be in the group of 34% whose intestines don't improve. So if I am unlucky enough to be in that group then I did the math and that gives me a 20% chance of not recovering and/or getting cancer. I would guess that 5% is the refractory Celiac population. I am starting out on the wrong foot by having a bad biopsy but what are my choices. I have to be gluten free and 80% odds are better than nothing. I have learned that I will ask for a repeat biopsy. I am not sure how often I should have it done. My Gasto doctor gave me the impression I didn't ever need to come back unless some new problem developed.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Emilushka Contributor
Emilushka
Posted

Thanks for the information. I read somewhere that only 5% of Celiac's develop the more serious things like cancer. I figure it must be in the group of 34% whose intestines don't improve. So if I am unlucky enough to be in that group then I did the math and that gives me a 20% chance of not recovering and/or getting cancer. I would guess that 5% is the refractory Celiac population. I am starting out on the wrong foot by having a bad biopsy but what are my choices. I have to be gluten free and 80% odds are better than nothing. I have learned that I will ask for a repeat biopsy. I am not sure how often I should have it done. My Gasto doctor gave me the impression I didn't ever need to come back unless some new problem developed.

Just keep doing what you're doing. Stay gluten-free, be as healthy as possible, see your doc for routine check-ups. Make sure you don't ignore problems. That's honestly the best any of us can do, since we can all get hit by a bus tomorrow and negate all those pesky lymphoma risks completely.

Don't try to take your odds from this research. There's just not enough there for you to know really what it means for you, and saying you have "80% chance" is too scary and potentially totally unrealistic. You may have 99% or 50% or be in a car crash.

All any of us can do is our best. Enjoy what you've got, and don't ignore any symptom that seems WRONG to you. Get your regular health screenings.

At least we have Celiac and not Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis! Those guys have it worse.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Wheatwacked
      - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium. A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake. With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones. Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 1...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it. Gluten is the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part. Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein. Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3. Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C. Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine. Weight...
    4. Florence Lillian
      - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free. I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree...
    5. catnapt
      - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      highly unlikely NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,355
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Amy Immerman
    Newest Member
    Amy Immerman
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By catnapt · Posted

      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.