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Celiac Disease?


gottarun96

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gottarun96 Newbie

I am questioning if I have celiac disease. Does this sound similiar. I poop MANY times per day. It is by far the worst when I first wake up nut occurs through out the day. Many times I could not wait longer than a couple minutes to go. When I do go it is long and skinny and tan. Sometimes there is something floating in the water. It looks like mucus maybe? I am bloated a lot and I have a lot of gass. I do not know if this is related but I have a red rash on my legs.


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eatmeat4good Enthusiast

The rash, if it is related, would be called Dermatitis Herpetiformis, the skin form of Celiac. Does it itch or burn? Is it worse at night? Does it get worse after eating gluten or salty food?

The other symptoms you have are also consistent with Celiac.

Are you thinking of getting tested?

If so, you need to keep eating gluten...if not you can do the elimination of gluten and see if your symptoms go away.

gottarun96 Newbie

The rash is pretty constant. It doesn't really itch.

Is there a reason to get tested? If I eliminate gluten and symptoms go away is there anything the Doctor will do besides say I have celiac disease?

MitziG Enthusiast

It is important to know if you have celiac disease. You may be gluten sensitive instead, meaning gluten makes you sick, but you do not have the auto-immune process of celiac disease going on. If you go gluten free, and feel better, you will stick with the diet awhile. But it is a very hard diet. Eventually, you will cheat.

If you have celiac, you can not ever cheat. Even small amounts of gluten can have damaging effects long term, some of them are life threatening and will not be noticeable until it is too late.

If you have celiac, it is genetic, and the rest of your family needs to be tested as well.

If you have celiac, you must be 100% gluten free, for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. It isn't something one will commit to without knowing for sure.

Once you go gluten free, you can not be tested without doing a "gluten challenge" which for most people involves several months of eating large amounts of gluten which is not as much fun as it sounds. If you are even sensitive to gluten, once you quit eating it, your sensitivity will likely increase- meaning eating even a little gluten will make you very sick. So the idea of making yourself very, very sick for the sake of being tested becomes difficult.

Many on this board didn't think testing was a big deal, didn't think they needed to know, in the beginning. As time goes on, and they aren't sure if gluten is their issue, or if it is the ONLY issue, they want to know. And then they have to do a miserable challengw.

Take my advice. Get tested asap. Do not go gluten free until all tests are done. If you have celiac, then you know. If your tests are negative, THEN try a gluten frree diet anyway. Gluten sensitivity can NOT be tested for, that is something you can only find out by experimenting.

Your symptoms sound very much like they could be caused by gluten, whether you have celiac disease or not.

kittty Contributor

I am questioning if I have celiac disease. Does this sound similiar. I poop MANY times per day. It is by far the worst when I first wake up nut occurs through out the day. Many times I could not wait longer than a couple minutes to go. When I do go it is long and skinny and tan. Sometimes there is something floating in the water. It looks like mucus maybe? I am bloated a lot and I have a lot of gass. I do not know if this is related but I have a red rash on my legs.

I didn't have the rash, but your poop habits sound like mine were for a couple of years. Later on it turned into diarrhea and ONLY diarrhea, several times per day, for about a year until I stopped eating gluten. It cleared up quite quickly after that.

Getting tested is up to you. I had given up on doctors who could provide no relief after years of medical issues, so I just started eliminating food groups one at a time until I found my answer. By that time I was already off the gluten, and couldn't bare the thought of feeling ill, missing work and putting my job at risk, being anxious, and running to the bathroom all over again just to get medical confirmation.

bartfull Rising Star

The rash could be excema or psoriasis and I am convinced that they are both caused by food. My psoriasis has cleared up completely after 14 months gluten-free. I'm sure it would have gone away sooner but I developed sensitivities to other foods as well and one of them was corn which is almost impossible to avoid completely. But now that my gut has finally healed I have been able to add corn (and potatoes) back to my diet. My insomnia, brain fog, digestive issues, psoriasis, swelling ankles and feet, snoring, and heart palpitations have all gone away. My energy level has increased too.

And you have no idea what it has done for my mood! I was pretty grumpy for a while there, but now I wake up smiling and the little things don't set me off anymore. I feel like a new person.

I hope it goes as well for you. :)

gottarun96 Newbie

So how do they test you? If iit is an intolerance nothing will show up? Does it sound like an intolerance if the test shows up negative?


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    • tiffanygosci
      Thank you for sharing all of this, Knitty Kitty! I did just want someone to share some commonality with. I did not know This one Deficiency was a thing and that it's common for Celiac Disease. It makes sense since this is a disorder that causes malabsorption. I will have to keep this in mind for my next appointments. You also just spurred me on to make that Dietician appointment. There's a lot of information online but I do need to see a professional. There is too much to juggle on my own with this condition.<3
    • RMJ
      I think your initial idea, eat gluten and be tested, was excellent. Now you have fear of that testing, but isn’t there also a fear each time you eat gluten that you’re injuring your body? Possibly affecting future fertility, bone health and more? Wouldn’t it be better to know for sure one way or the other? If you test negative, then you celebrate and get tested occasionally to make sure the tests don’t turn positive again. If you test positive, of course the recommendation from me and others is to stop gluten entirely.  But if you’re unable to convince yourself to do that, could a positive test at least convince you to minimize your gluten consumption?  Immune reactions are generally what is called dose response, the bigger the dose, the bigger the response (in this case, damage to your intestines and body). So while I am NOT saying you should eat any gluten with a positive test, the less the better.  
    • knitty kitty
      @Riley., Welcome to the forum, but don't do it!  Don't continue to eat gluten!  The health problems that will come if you continue to eat gluten are not worth it.  Problems may not show up for years, but the constant inflammation and nutritional losses will manifest eventually.  There's many of us oldsters on the forum who wish they'd been diagnosed as early.    Fertility problems, gallbladder removal, diabetes, osteoporosis and mental health challenges are future health issues you are toying with.   To dispel fear, learn more about what you are afraid of.  Be proactive.  Start or join a Celiac group in your area.  Learn about vitamins and nutrition.   Has your mother been checked for Celiac?  It's inherited.  She may be influencing you to eat gluten as a denial of her own symptoms.  Don't let friends and family sway you away from the gluten-free diet.  You know your path.  Stick to it.  Be brave. 
    • knitty kitty
      @tiffanygosci, Hello.  I apologize for your thread being hijacked.   I recognize your symptoms as being similar to what I experienced, the migraines, food and chemical sensitivities, hives, nausea, the numbness and tingling, joint pain, tummy problems, sleep problems, emotional lability, and the mom brain.  My cycle returned early after I had my son, and I became pregnant again with all my symptoms worsening.  Unfortunately, I lost that baby.  In hindsight, I recognized that I was suffering so much from Thiamine deficiency and other nutritional deficiencies that I was not able to carry it.   Celiac Disease affects the absorption of nutrients from our food.  There's eight B vitamins that must be replenished every day.  Thiamine Vitamin B1 becomes depleted first because it cannot be stored very long, less than two weeks.  Other B vitamins can be stored for two months or so.  But Thiamine can get low enough to produce symptoms in as little as three days.  As the thiamine level gets lower, symptoms worsen.  Early symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are often attributed to life situations, and so frequently go unrecognized by medical professionals who "have a pill for that".   I used to get severe migraines and vomiting after gluten consumption.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to turn carbohydrates, fats and proteins into fuel for our bodies.  With a large influx of carbohydrates from gluten containing foods, the demand for Thiamine increases greatly.  Available thiamine can be depleted quickly, resulting in suddenly worsening symptoms.  Emotional stress or trauma, physical activity (athletes and laborers) and physiological stresses like pregnancy or injury (even surgery or infection) increase the need for Thiamine and can precipitate a thiamine insufficiency. Pregnancy requires more thiamine, not just for the mother, but for the child as well.  The mother's Thiamine stores are often depleted trying to meet the higher demand of a growing fetus.  Thiamine insufficiency can affect babies in utero and after birth (autism, ADHD).  Having babies close together doesn't allow time for the mother to replenish thiamine stores sufficiently.   Thiamine insufficiency can cause migraines, pins and needles (paresthesia), and gastrointestinal Beriberi (gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, back pain).   Thiamine deficiency can cause blurry vision, difficulty focusing, and affect the eyes in other ways.  Thiamine deficiency can damage the optic nerves.  I have permanent vision problems.  High histamine levels can make your brain feel like it's on fire or swelling inside your cranium.  High histamine levels can affect behavior and mood.  Histamine is released by Mast Cells as part of the immune system response to gluten.  Mast Cells need Thiamine to regulate histamine release.  Mast Cells without sufficient thiamine release histamine at the slightest provocation.  This shows up as sensitivities to foods, smelly chemicals, plants, and dust mites.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to lower histamine levels.  Vitamin D is needed to calm the immune system and to regulate our hormones.  Menstrual irregularities can be caused by low Vitamin D.   Celiac Disease is a disease if Malabsorption of Nutrients.  We must take great care to eat a nutritionally dense diet.  Our bodies cannot make vitamins.  We must get them from what we eat.  Supplementation with essential vitamins and minerals is warranted while we are healing and to ensure we don't become deficient over time.  Our bodies will not function properly without essential vitamins and minerals.  Doctors have swept their importance under the rug in favor of a pill that covers the symptoms but doesn't resolve the underlying issue of malnutrition. Do talk to your doctor and dietician about checking for nutritional deficiencies.  Most blood tests for the eight B vitamins do not reflect how much is available or stored inside cells.  Blood tests reflect how much is circulating in the blood stream, the transportation system.  Blood levels can be "normal" while a deficiency exists inside cells where the vitamins are actually used.  The best way to see if you're low in B vitamins is to take a B Complex, and additional Thiamine and look for improvement.   Most vitamin supplements contain Thiamine Mononitrate, which is not easily absorbed nor utilized by the body.  Only thirty percent of thiamine mononitrate listed on the label is absorbed, less is actually utilized.  This is because thiamine mononitrate is shelf stable, it won't breakdown sitting on a shelf in the grocery store.  It's so hard to breakdown, our bodies don't absorb it and can't turn it into a form the body can use.  Take Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine or TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) which the body can utilize much better.  (Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for Thiamine level.  Though not accurate, this test does better picking up on a thiamine deficiency than a blood test.) Are you keeping your babies on a gluten free diet?  This can prevent genetically susceptible children from developing Celiac Disease.   P. S. Interesting Reading  Thiamine deficiency in pregnancy and lactation: implications and present perspectives https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10158844/ Descriptive spectrum of thiamine deficiency in pregnancy: A potentially preventable condition https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37458305/ B vitamins and their combination could reduce migraine headaches: A randomized double-blind controlled trial https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9860208/
    • trents
      @Riley, on this forum we sometimes get reports from people with similar experiences as you. That is, their celiac disease seems to go into remission. Typically, that doesn't last. At age 18 you are at your physical-biological peek in life where your body is stronger than it will ever be and it is able to fight well against many threats and abuses. As Wheatwacked pointed out, absence of symptoms is not always a reliable indicator that no damage is being done to the body. I was one of those "silent" celiacs with no symptoms, or at least very minor symptoms, whose body was being slowly damaged for many years before the damage became pronounced enough to warrant investigation, leading to a diagnosis. By that time I had suffered significant bone demineralization and now I suffer with back and neck problems. Please, if you choose to continue consuming gluten, which I do not recommend, at least get tested regularly so that you won't get caught in the silent celiac trap down the road like I did. You really do not outgrow celiac disease. It is baked into the genes. Once the genes get triggered, as far as we know, they are turned on for good. Social rejection is something most celiacs struggle with. Being compliant with the gluten free diet places restrictions on what we can eat and where we can eat. Our friends usually try to work with us at first but then it gets to be a drag and we begin to get left out. We often lose some friends in the process but we also find out who really are our true friends. I think the hardest hits come at those times when friends spontaneously say, "Hey, let's go get some burgers and fries" and you know you can't safely do that. One way to cope in these situations is to have some ready made gluten-free meals packed in the fridge that you can take with you on the spot and still join them but eat safely. Most "real" friends will get used to this and so will you. Perhaps this little video will be helpful to you.  
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