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Celiac Or Something Else?

phil1

By phil1
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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phil1 Apprentice
phil1
Posted

I have had celiac symptoms for several years now (bad reactions to wheat, painful stomach, painful digestion, gas, weakness, dizziness, twicthing muscles, difficulties concentrating, sever muscle cramps, etc,.) About three years ago I was tested for celiac... it came back negative. But when I cut wheat and pasta from my diet most of my "celiac" symptoms went away. So, thiking that I do in fact have celiac and that the test was wrong, I tried to eat gluten free past and cereal. But the gluten free products made all of those symptoms return. Is it possible to have celiac disease and not be able to eat gluten free products? Maybe I have celiac along with another alergy?

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txplowgirl Enthusiast
txplowgirl
Posted

Hi phil1

There are a lot of us here that test negative for Celiac but still have the symptoms. That is what is called Non Celiac Gluten Intolerance. Me personally consider myself Celiac even though i've never even tried to test out because the tests are notorious for giving false negatives. As for eating gluten free foods. I'm one of many here who can't eat them. That is what we call Sensitive celiac and we have a thread on that here also. A lot of us can only eat the natural gluten free whole foods like plain meats, chicken, fish, fruits and veggies.

Also, you can have a secondary food intolerance and not even know it. Read, read read and ask all the questions you can. KNOWLEDGE Is POWER!

Welcome to the forums and a whole new life.

Txplowgirl

cahill Collaborator
cahill
Posted

I have had celiac symptoms for several years now (bad reactions to wheat, painful stomach, painful digestion, gas, weakness, dizziness, twicthing muscles, difficulties concentrating, sever muscle cramps, etc,.) About three years ago I was tested for celiac... it came back negative. But when I cut wheat and pasta from my diet most of my "celiac" symptoms went away. So, thiking that I do in fact have celiac and that the test was wrong, I tried to eat gluten free past and cereal. But the gluten free products made all of those symptoms return. Is it possible to have celiac disease and not be able to eat gluten free products? Maybe I have celiac along with another alergy?

Yes it is possible to have celiac's and not be able to eat gluten free products,if you are super sensitive to gluten. Gluten free does NOT necessarily mean 100% gluten free.

Often other intolerances and /or allergys go along with celiac's.

Some things to consider are ; do those gluten free products have soy in them? could you be sensitive to soy? could you be super sensitive to gluten??do they contain dairy or nightshades(potatoes,peppers,tomatoes ect,,,,, ??

One suggestion would be to avoid processed products,stick to whole foods as much as possible.

Once your gut has a chance to heal a bit, slowly try to reintroduce gluten free products to see what you can tolerate and what you can not.

Welcome to the forums :)

phil1 Apprentice
phil1
Posted
  • Author

Thanks guys! Great info! I'm going to look into sensitive celiac. I think that's what I have. I noticed that I feel way better when eating only meat, fish, veggies... but it's still hard to keep my energy levels up. I mean, I have way more energy than if I were eating wheat, but still not at 100%. For instance, 6 years ago I could run 5 miles a day... nowadays if I'm staying away from gluten I can run about a mile a day for four days, then on the fifth day my legs are too cramped to run at all. And if I've eaten any wheat, forget about it... I can't run more than a city block. I also have lots of muscle spasms/cramps on and off gluten... although they are much less prevelent when not eating gluten. Will I ever be able to run long distances again? Will my muscles ever stop spasming? How can I build my strength again?

cahill Collaborator
cahill
Posted

Thanks guys! Great info! I'm going to look into sensitive celiac. I think that's what I have. I noticed that I feel way better when eating only meat, fish, veggies... but it's still hard to keep my energy levels up. I mean, I have way more energy than if I were eating wheat, but still not at 100%. For instance, 6 years ago I could run 5 miles a day... nowadays if I'm staying away from gluten I can run about a mile a day for four days, then on the fifth day my legs are too cramped to run at all. And if I've eaten any wheat, forget about it... I can't run more than a city block. I also have lots of muscle spasms/cramps on and off gluten... although they are much less prevelent when not eating gluten. Will I ever be able to run long distances again? Will my muscles ever stop spasming? How can I build my strength again?

With eating mostly meats,fish ,veggies most of your energy will come from fats ((instead of carbs that were your energy source when you were eating gluten)).If you can tolerate nuts try increasing your consumption of "good" fats to get your energy level up.

Lori2 Contributor
Lori2
Posted

I also have lots of muscle spasms/cramps on and off gluten... although they are much less prevelent when not eating gluten. Will I ever be able to run long distances again? Will my muscles ever stop spasming? How can I build my strength again?

Magnesium will almost always take care of muscle cramps. Lesson learned from my son who does long-distance bike riding.

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

I am another super sensitive celiac. I initially felt cured giving up cereal and bread. Then I went out and got the gluten free processed foods and reacted to them, just like you did. Then came the long process of finding out where gluten was hiding and eliminating it.

After all that I'm on a whole foods diet with everything carefully sourced and I grow what I can myself. It's good to feel healthy again. I even did a mini triathlon!

Keep a journal with a list of what you eat and how you feel. It helps you figure things out. I haven't figured out any allergies yet, but I have found that some sources of items are better than others. Don't just keep track of the food, keep track of where you got it, who made it etc.

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

I agree with the previous posters. Some people are also sensitive to ALL grains, whether gluten-containing or not, and have to eliminate grains completely from their diet. I don't know if you are currently eating grains of any kind, but it is another thing to try in your elimination process. Also, some grains are cross-contaminated with wheat and you will sometimes have to sort through your rice looking for the odd wheat grain (if you tolerate rice).

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