Does Eating Gluten Make All Celiacs Sick?

[alexsami]

the reason i ask is because i went gluten free for a month...and this past week i have been eating gluten....i do NOT get horrible sick like i hear most of you do.....my stools are still somewhat suspect but they still werent great gluten free yet either.....i am having an endoscopy wednesday because of an elevated gliadin antibody.....just curious.....thanks

[alexsami]

i should add that i do get bloated but not violently ill like some people

[MerrillC1977]

My understanding is that a person can have Celilac Disease without experiencing any intestinal symptoms at all (gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc)....however, if you do have Celiac Disease, eating gluten will still seriously damage your intestines even if you aren't feeling it happen. So, just because you don't have the "typical" symptoms doesn't mean you aren't hurting yourself.

[pricklypear1971]

No. Not everyone gets sick at their stomach.

Some have very mild stomach issues, or no issues.

Some develop reflux over long periods of exposure.

Some get migraines, etc., vague symptoms re: other systems.

The list goes on. The longer you eat it, the more intense your symptoms may become.

[alexsami]

No. Not everyone gets sick at their stomach.

Some have very mild stomach issues, or no issues.

Some develop reflux over long periods of exposure.

Some get migraines, etc., vague symptoms re: other systems.

The list goes on. The longer you eat it, the more intense your symptoms may become.

that makes sense....thanks

[love2travel]

When I ate gluten for 3.5 months on my gluten challenge I did not get sick even once. Now that I have been strictly gluten-free six months I do not care to find out whether I will get sick or not! Has not happened since I went gluten-free, either. The thought of all that damage to my villi (they were totally flat according to my GI doctor) keeps me on the right path.

The past month I did get quite sick but linked it to dairy which I have now eliminated as well.

[AVR1962]

the reason i ask is because i went gluten free for a month...and this past week i have been eating gluten....i do NOT get horrible sick like i hear most of you do.....my stools are still somewhat suspect but they still werent great gluten free yet either.....i am having an endoscopy wednesday because of an elevated gliadin antibody.....just curious.....thanks

My issues are not so much digestive. I get very dizzy, my speach is effected, my memory gets bad, I may even have blurred vision.

[Librariangirl]

I have no symptoms except for my DH.

[MerrillC1977]

I have no symptoms except for my DH.

So, if a person is actually diagnosed with Celiac, but never had any intestinal symptoms....can that person assume that as long as they don't ahve intestinal symptoms, that their intestines are not being damaged (i.e. they are not on the way to intestinal cancer unless/until they have intestinal symptoms)?

Can a diagnosed Celiac person who never gets intestinal symptoms safely get away with eating gluten once in a while? (I understand that other symptoms might be triggered in this process.)

[Bubba's Mom]

If you are a diagnosed Celiac you can NEVER have gluten! The damage will still happen. You may not notice it until you get to the point that you have malabsoption and start to get various symptoms that can come from that.

The Lymphoma can occur too without tummy symptoms.

I've had an intestinal cancer(not Lymphoma). I had no symptoms for quite a while. With any cancer it's common to have no noticeable symptoms until it has progressed to a very serious stage.

PLEASE don't ever take the chance that "it might not happen to you..just a little gluten won't hurt."

[love2travel]

So, if a person is actually diagnosed with Celiac, but never had any intestinal symptoms....can that person assume that as long as they don't ahve intestinal symptoms, that their intestines are not being damaged (i.e. they are not on the way to intestinal cancer unless/until they have intestinal symptoms)?

Can a diagnosed Celiac person who never gets intestinal symptoms safely get away with eating gluten once in a while? (I understand that other symptoms might be triggered in this process.)

Sadly, no. I did not have any GI symptoms but my biopsies showed severe damage to my villi - they were totally flattened. I was told I have to be all the more vigilent for that reason.

Don't forget that once you are off gluten for awhile many people seem to become more and more sensitive if accidentally glutened so we could still get hit hard in the future. We can also have other food intolerances occur suddenly; I was off gluten five months before I strongly reacted to dairy.

[MerrillC1977]

Thank you, Bubba's Mom and love2travel, for those answers.

Here's another question -- once going OFF gluten, do the previously damaged villi recover?

[love2travel]

Thank you, Bubba's Mom and love2travel, for those answers.

Here's another question -- once going OFF gluten, do the previously damaged villi recover?

You're welcome. When I first joined this board I was SO grateful for all the help I received - the amount of information here is incredible.

Your damaged villi certainly can recover; in fact, they can in the vast majority of people. I was told it can take between 2-5 years for that to happen. Of course recovery will be quicker in some and longer in others. I had bloodwork done recently; initially six months ago the values were WAY off the chart positive and now they are negative!! As I do not feel ill from eating gluten I requested bloodwork to ensure I was not getting any accidentally. So, it shows that I am starting to heal.

Don't forget that although our villi heal, we can never, ever eat gluten again because damage to the villi can happen quickly (though likely cumulatively but it does not take much).