Symptoms Suddenly Went Away

[lks920]

I am looking for any help with an odd situation. Throughout childhood/adulthood I always had digestive issues, started with horrible lactose intolerance, got better, and then came back towards the end of college. Around puberty, I also developed very bad sinusitis with frequent infections and would get sick 1-2 times per month, sometimes ending up in bed for a week at a time. In general, I always felt stuffy, bloated, fatigued, and generally bad about myself.

While doing research I read that eating gluten free can help with sinus problems- I didn't even know what Celiac was at the time. Trying anything to get rid of the infections, I went gluten-free for a week or two, with no results. Frustrated, I ate gluten again and would sort of yo-yo back and forth with eating gluten and not eating gluten. After a somewhat lengthy period gluten free, I ate it again and started experiencing a lot of pain. The immediate symptoms would be that upon ingesting gluten I would get stuffy and then dizzy, as though I was drunk. My balance would be off and I would have to get home and into bed. Hours later, I would start to have digestive issues that would continue for at least a week- alternating diarrhea, loose stools, mucus and then constipation. The morning after eating gluten I would feel bloated and "hungover." I would also be sure to get a sinus infection in the near future. In addition, I had always had irregular menstrual periods.

I saw a doctor, who believed that I had SIBO, gave me some drugs and did blood work for celiac. Celiac bloodwork came back negative and the SIBO medications helped a little bit but not much. DNA testing came back and I am DQ7 & DQ5. The doctor had me do a gluten challenge and this time I started having other issues- tingling in hands and feet, internal tremors at night, muscle spasms and pain in my feet upon standing in the morning. After the gluten challenge was over all of this went away. My period also came back and was regular during the months I was gluten free.

The reason why I am posting is that since then I have lived gluten-free for the past 3 months, with great results. I had one mishap where I was glutened and my symptoms were terrible. Immediate feeling of being drunk followed by running to the bathroom. The interesting part is that in the last few weeks I recently quit my terrible job, and proceeded to have my wisdom teeth removed. After that my doctor asked me to go back to eating gluten to do the biopsy and for some reason I am not having reactions when I eat gluten. I get a little bit stuffy, but my bowel movements are normal and aside from fatigue and slight bloating, I am ok- not nearly as sick as I usually get.

My question is, could I have had a "temporary" gluten intolerance brought on by stress, or the wisdom teeth somehow invovled my sinuses and a temporary food allergy? Note I also took 8 pills of Clindamycin every day for 4-5 days (for the dental work) wonder if that could have killed a parasite or something.

It is so bizarre to me that I was having such intense symptoms after being glutened and now they just went away.

Any help would be appreciated! I am so scared and upset that I don't know what is wrong with me!

[Skylark]

Hi and welcome. There are cases of gluten intolerance and even celiac completely resolving. On the other hand, some of us go through periods where we are more or less sensitive. Stress can really worsen all sorts of immune system problems, so if you quit a terrible job you might have less reaction to gluten. Unfortuately, if it was stress it may flare up again if you get stressed. If I were you I would follow through with the biopsy to see what's going on.

[AzizaRivers]

^ I'm no doctor, but I highly doubt that there are cases of celiac "resolving." Appearing to resolve, yes, but not actually resolving. I don't know about non-celiac gluten intolerance, but celiac is permanent. Once a celiac, always a celiac.

A lot of celiacs, shortly after figuring things out, have a "honeymoon period" during which they seem to be able to eat gluten without ill effect. It's more common in kids than adults (this is why, years ago, celiac was thought to be something kids would outgrow) but it does happen to adults. You're still having gut damage, just not the same outward symptoms. If you keep eating gluten you'll keep hurting your insides, and your symptoms will eventually return, most likely.

[Skylark]

^ I'm no doctor, but I highly doubt that there are cases of celiac "resolving." Appearing to resolve, yes, but not actually resolving. I don't know about non-celiac gluten intolerance, but celiac is permanent. Once a celiac, always a celiac.

This is not true at all. It is a myth that is propagated on this message board.

I heard a talk by one of the leading experts on celiac disease, Markku Mäki, and he said that celiac disease can be desensitized like an allergy sometimes, and other times it disappears after a few years on the gluten-free diet. It's a little bit of a mystery as to why it can vanish but it definitely does in a few lucky people.

There are also some papers I've read but I'm having trouble finding them. I'm usually good with keywords but not today, dangit. One was on DH, where some people with only DH and no villous atrophy who ate gluten-free for a couple years could return to eating gluten and not have the DH come back. The other was on someone who desensitized herself to gluten by eating small, gradually increasing amounts of gluten. She had full mucosal recovery, no antibodies, and was able to eat a full gluten diet. This is why research on a celiac vaccine is ongoing.

Unfortunately most folks are stuck with celiac, but "never say never".

Anyway, even my gluten sensitivity comes and goes and it's very inflammation and stress-related. Some months I can eat out at "gluten-free" places, no problem. I even ate a cracker by mistake with no reaction. Other months I can't even eat "gluten-free" breads and stuff and have to cook everything myself.

[Korwyn]

...even celiac completely resolving.

Do you have any references to this? I know that symptoms may reportedly resolve for non-celiac gluten sensitivity, but celiac disease does not resolve in the sense that one can eat gluten without damage. One could become asymptomatic or non-presenting, but the fundamental underlying auto-immune disorder is non-resolvable (as far as I understand any research I have seen).

[Korwyn]

This is not true at all. It is a myth that is propagated on this message board.

I heard a talk by one of the leading experts on celiac disease, Markku M

[Skylark]

Here is one. My keyword mojo is returning. This is the lady who desensitized herself.

Open Original Shared Link

And the article showing 10% of DH patients go into remission and can return to a gluten diet. (That one was tricky to dig up.)

Open Original Shared Link

I don't have any specific references for Markku M