New Case Or Mild Case?

[shan11180]

Well, I was officially diagnosed with celiac's on Thursday, May 10th. I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed with this info, since it was by accident that it was found! I started seeing a variety of doctors a few years ago, as I was feeling so terrible, that it was begining to scare me. I started seeing my doc for depression, as well as begining the process for weight loss surgery. I was at a point in my life, that I was willing to do ANYTHING to feel better!

In the process, it was discovered that I had hashimoto's as well as vitamin deficiancies, which prompted the doc to test me for celiac's as well. When he told me the test came back positive for celiac's, I simply rolled my eyes at him and though 'Okay...Whatever doc...' However, as I began to research celiac's, reading over the symptoms, I was doing a mental 'check' to each symptom. Some symptoms included depression, fatigue, weight gain (even while dieting and exercising), and of course, constant diarrhea.

The GI seems to think that mine is either a fairly new case, or a mild case. I don't seem to have the awful cramping and pain, or the explosive symptoms that others get, and I'm not immediately in the bathroom if I have a piece of bread or pasta.

My fear is that because I don't experience the pain, it may compromise my diet. Are there any other 'mild' celiac's? If so, how has gluten-free helped? How long does it typically take for a person to begin to feel better after eliminating gluten? Any tips/tricks? I'm open for suggestions and any help, as there is nothing I want more than to feel well enough to put my running shoes back on! Hopefully that alone will keep me motivated to stay on track!

[pricklypear1971]

Well, first congrats on getting a dx. It's a long road for many.

There isn't a "mild case" of Celiac. You are or you aren't - and you are.

You will probably develop gluten symptoms the longer you are gluten-free. I was like you - no GI symptoms (although I did have them at an earlier time).

Now, at almost 1 year gluten-free I am developing GI symptoms if I get glutened. It ain't all it's cracked up to be, trust me.

You will probably feel your other symptoms first - exhaustion, depression, etc. D is a huge gluten symptom and it may warn you quite quickly so beware.

[Raywuwei]

I am in the same boat as you! I just had my diagnosis confirmed by endoscopy and biopsy on May 11th. I am on my 4th day of gluten free eating. Since I wasn't having many physical symptoms I wont know exactly what "getting glutened" feels like until I've been doing this for a while.

Remember, you can read the ingredients on anything you cook yourself, so get a list of additives that are secret words for "gluten" from your doctor. I wont physically know if I get Cross Contaminated for a while and to reduce my stress over that fact, I'm just not eating out at restaurants for a month or two and eating as many naturally gluten free things as possible at home.

Good luck fellow newbie! Its not easy, but we will soon be thriving!

[MitziG]

Mild celiacs is sort of like "a little bit pregnant." Now- you can have a mild amount of intestinal damage, or a lot of intestinal damage, but either way, they BOTH require a gluten free diet for the rest of your life. I emphasize that because you sound a bit wavery...perhaps I misunderstood though?

Many of us who didn't feel we had noticeable reactions when eating gluten soon learned that once you start feeling good, you notice very much when you get glutened! The longer you are gluten-free your reactions to it will likely become very obvious and violent. As your body heals it will be able to take a more "active" role in getting rid of what it views as poison!

You will make mistakes in the beginning. That is just how it is. But you will learn. Lots of info to be found here, so look around.

And welcome to the "club"