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

Exact Opposite Reaction To Meds?


Duhlina

Recommended Posts

Duhlina Apprentice

All my life I seem to have the exact opposite reaction to medications. If I take Nyquil, it's like speed and I'm up all night, same with Benadryl - most people take these and are down for the count. I also seem to have a very high tolerance to pain meds. Basically nothing works. The last time I went to the ER I had an abscessed tooth. They ended up prescribing me Dilaudid (morphine derivative) because nothing else works....well, Darvocet worked but it's been taken off the market. Even the Dilaudid did squat for me! Nothing works! I end up taking one more than I should and then I get sick from it.

Is this something that the celiac causes? Am I the only person that has this symptom?


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



lovegrov Collaborator

I know folks without celiac who have the same thing with Nyqui and Benadryl. And some folks simply have a high resistance to pain meds. Pretty hard to pin it on celiac.

richard

Jestgar Rising Star

It can happen to anyone. It's related to body chemistry, not celiac disease.

love2travel Mentor

I have always had this problem as well but do not see a link to my celiac. Benadryl, morphine, Demerol, Oxycontin - you name it, they have kept me wired and wide awake! :angry:

However, my chronic pain management doctor told me that those with fibromyalgia (myself) are extremely sensitive to meds and that side effects can be much worse than those who do not have FMS. And as FMS is an auto-immune disease as well, who knows whether there is a correlation? :huh:

Strawberry-Jam Enthusiast

I have the same problem. There are some medicines like that which keep me up but if I take half the dose they put me down.

Caffeine makes me alert if I have one cup of tea, and sleepy if I have a cup of coffee's worth or more.

Pain medications don't work for my headaches, but do help with cramps so idk if I am immune to pain meds or if only my headaches are immune to pain meds.

My mother has the same problem but does not have celiac.

mushroom Proficient

Yeah, Nyquil, Benadryl = speed; sleeping pills = insomnia, antidepressants (well, the only one I ever took) made me depressed), pain meds - the onlly thing that works is Demerol (all morphine derivatives make me vomit :huh: , Tylenol will take the edge off something mild :) I am a contrarian when it comes to most meds :blink: But I don't know of a connection to celiac.

T.H. Community Regular

Theoretically, it could contribute.

Celiacs don't just absorb nutrients properly, we can potentially not absorb meds properly as well, when we're undiagnosed. So some ingredients of the meds may be absorbing at different rates than they should, or in different amounts than they should, so they might be having different effects. The side effects might be more likely to occur if we're not absorbing the meds properly, possibly.

That said, my GI doc (he's the celiac go-to guy in my city) said that a much higher percentage of his patients with celiac disease seem to have more issues with medicine side effects. I know that myself, my daughter, and my grandmother (who we suspect had it) always get lots of bizarro side effects to medicines we've had to take.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



mushroom Proficient

Theoretically, it could contribute.

Celiacs don't just absorb nutrients properly, we can potentially not absorb meds properly as well, when we're undiagnosed. So some ingredients of the meds may be absorbing at different rates than they should, or in different amounts than they should, so they might be having different effects. The side effects might be more likely to occur if we're not absorbing the meds properly, possibly.

That said, my GI doc (he's the celiac go-to guy in my city) said that a much higher percentage of his patients with celiac disease seem to have more issues with medicine side effects. I know that myself, my daughter, and my grandmother (who we suspect had it) always get lots of bizarro side effects to medicines we've had to take.

Could be, although I would think (hope :o ) I am absorbing better now. Just had a "bizarro" summer where I was tried on lots of different meds and reacted to most of them in one way or another that meant I couldn't take them. I even reacted to meds (two antibiotics) I have tolerated fine before. The fewer meds I take the better :ph34r:

pricklypear1971 Community Regular

I'm one of those that overreacts. Recently to corticosteroids, antibiotics....,

Ironically I can drink coffee all night and go to sleep in a blink. But give me ONE EXCEDRIN....and I'm cleaning my room and reorganizing drawers with a 102+ fever.

I'm just weird.

Archived

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

  • 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. - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      2

      Son's legs shaking

    2. - Scott Adams replied to Paulaannefthimiou's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Bob red mill gluten free oats

    3. - knitty kitty replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

    4. - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

    5. - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,868
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    LMGarrison
    Newest Member
    LMGarrison
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      @lizzie42, You're being a good mom, seeking answers for your son.  Cheers! Subclinical thiamine deficiency commonly occurs with anemia.  An outright Thiamine deficiency can be precipitated by the consumption of a high carbohydrate meal.   Symptoms of Thiamine deficiency include feeling shakey or wobbly in the legs, muscle weakness or cramps, as well as aggression and irritability, confusion, mood swings and behavior changes.  Thiamine is essential to the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which keep us calm and rational.   @Jsingh, histamine intolerance is also a symptom of Thiamine deficiency.  Thiamine is needed to prevent mast cells from releasing histamine at the slightest provocation as is seen in histamine intolerance.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins and Vitamin C are needed to clear histamine from the body.  Without sufficient thiamine and other B vitamins to clear it, the histamine builds up.  High histamine levels can change behavior, too.  High histamine levels are found in the brains of patients with schizophrenia.  Thiamine deficiency can also cause extreme hunger or conversely anorexia.   High carbohydrate meals can precipitate thiamine deficiency because additional thiamine is required to process carbohydrates for the body to use as fuel.  The more carbohydrates one eats daily, the more one needs additional thiamine above the RDA.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses. Keep in mind that gluten-free processed foods like cookies and such are not required to be fortified and enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts are.  Limit processed gluten-free foods.  They are often full of empty calories and unhealthy saturated fats and additives, and are high in histamine or histamine release triggers.  It's time you bought your own vitamins to supplement what is not being absorbed due to malabsorption of Celiac disease.  Benfotiamine is a form of Thiamine that has been shown to improve intestinal health as well as brain function. Do talk to your doctors and dieticians about supplementing with the essential vitamins and minerals while your children are growing up gluten free.  Serve nutritionally dense foods.  Meats and liver are great sources of B vitamins and minerals. Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
    • Scott Adams
      Oats naturally contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to the gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. While avenin is generally considered safe for most people with celiac disease, some individuals, around 5-10% of celiacs, may also have sensitivity to avenin, leading to symptoms similar to gluten exposure. You may fall into this category, and eliminating them is the best way to figure this out. Some people substitute gluten-free quinoa flakes for oats if they want a hot cereal substitute. If you are interested in summaries of scientific publications on the topic of oats and celiac disease, we have an entire category dedicated to it which is here: https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/oats-and-celiac-disease-are-they-gluten-free/   
    • knitty kitty
      @SamAlvi, It's common with anemia to have a lower tTg IgA antibodies than DGP IgG ones, but your high DGP IgG scores still point to Celiac disease.   Since a gluten challenge would pose further health damage, you may want to ask for a DNA test to see if you have any of the commonly known genes for Celiac disease.  Though having the genes for Celiac is not diagnostic in and of itself, taken with the antibody tests, the anemia and your reaction to gluten, it may be a confirmation you have Celiac disease.   Do discuss Gastrointestinal Beriberi with your doctors.  In Celiac disease, Gastrointestinal Beriberi is frequently overlooked by doctors.  The digestive system can be affected by localized Thiamine deficiency which causes symptoms consistent with yours.  Correction of nutritional deficiencies quickly is beneficial.  Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine, helps improve intestinal health.  All eight B vitamins, including Thiamine (Benfotiamine), should be supplemented because they all work together.   The B vitamins are needed in addition to iron to correct anemia.   Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
    • trents
      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining of the small bowel which generates specific kinds of antibodies. Some people are IGA deficient and such that the IGA antibody tests done for celiac disease will have skewed results and cannot be trusted. In that case, there are IGG tests that can be ordered though, they aren't quite as specific for celiac disease as the IGA tests. But the possibility of IGA deficiency is why a "total IGA" test should always be ordered along with the TTG-IGA. The other modality is an endoscopy (scoping of the upper GI track) with a biopsy of the small bowel lining. The aforementioned autoimmune response produces inflammation in the small bowel lining which, over time, damages the structure of the lining. The biopsy is sent to a lab and microscopically analyzed for signs of this damage. If the damage is severe enough, it can often be spotted during the scoping itself. The endoscopy/biopsy is used as confirmation when the antibody results are positive, since there is a small chance that elevated antibody test scores can be caused by things other than celiac disease, particularly when the antibody test numbers are not particularly high. If the antibody test numbers are 10x normal or higher, physicians will sometimes declare an official diagnosis of celiac disease without an endoscopy/biopsy, particularly in the U.K. Some practitioners use stool tests to detect celiac disease but this modality is not widely recognized in the medical community as valid. Both celiac testing modalities outlined above require that you have been consuming generous amounts of gluten for weeks/months ahead of time. Many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even reducing their gluten intake prior to testing. By doing so, they invalidate the testing because antibodies stop being produced, disappear from the blood and the lining of the small bowel begins to heal. So, then they are stuck in no man's land, wondering if they have celiac disease or NCGS. To resume gluten consumption, i.e., to undertake a "gluten challenge" is out of the question because their reaction to gluten is so strong that it would endanger their health. The lining of the small bowel is the place where all of the nutrition in the food we consume is absorbed. This lining is made up of billions of microscopically tiny fingerlike projections that create a tremendous nutrient absorption surface area. The inflammation caused by celiac disease wears down these fingers and greatly reduces the surface area needed for nutrient absorption. Thus, people with celiac disease often develop iron deficiency anemia and a host of other vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is likely that many more people who have issues with gluten suffer from NCGS than from celiac disease. We actually know much more about the mechanism of celiac disease than we do about NCGS but some experts believe NCGS can transition into celiac disease.
    • SamAlvi
      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
×
×
  • 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.