So Many Questions ,

[cloudsxxx]

So I am awaiting test results from my doctor , in the mean time he has asked me to go on a gluten free diet also dairy free to see how I will feel. I have started to do so and after not even 2 weeks i already feel better , but I still have questions. I have done allot of reading on this and what keeps popping up in most of my readings is that people usually experience significant weight loss and well how to put it lightly ( get the runs ) lol, but I am a bigger girl I weight around 170 I actually put on 40 pound in the last year, no madder how hard i try to exercise, and eat well without yo -yo-ing nothing seems to work , I also get blocked up instead of getting the (runs) lolol , how is it then that I could possible have celiacs. Oh also .... does gluten allergy always mean u have celiacs, is it the same thing ?

[GottaSki]

Welcome!

THE BIGGEST problem with doctors and most information related to Celiac Disease online/in the media is that you have to be underweight with diarrhea to be considered for Celiac Disease. FALSE! FALSE! FALSE!

Sorry for the rant, but I went undiagnosed for 43 years because of this misinformation throughout the medical community.

Many with Celiac have chronic constipation rather than diarrhea. Many are overweight rather than underweight. Those with Celiac Disease come in ALL ages, shapes and sizes. Although I weighed more than I should - healthy diet and tons of exercise stopped controlling my weight in my 20s - all of my nutrients were far below normal. My body was not absorbing nutrients because the damage to my small intestine was severe. Some theorize that the body goes into starvation mode because it is trying to retain as many nutrients as possible thus causing the weight gain. Celiac Disease and Thyroid problems often occur together. If you are heavier than you should be - your thyroid should be tested. TSH along with Free T3 and Free T4 - the TSH is not enough.

I am happy to hear you are already having improvement gluten-free, but am concerned that you had the proper tests. Your doctor had you go gluten-free a bit prematurely. Should you need further blood testing or endoscopic biopsy to diagnose Celiac Disease - you need to be ingesting gluten!

If your doctor did run a full celiac panel you have your best chance for diagnosis without the need of endoscopy. Often doctors will only run one Celiac screening blood test - this is not enough. If the tests that were run are positive, you have Celiac Disease.

If the tests are negative, you may need more tests or may have Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance (NCGI) - there are no tests to diagnose this. That being said - you having improvement in two short weeks is a great indication that you have either Celiac Disease or NCGI. Testing nutrients can be another indicator of Celiac Disease - if your doctor hasn't run them request: Vitamins Bs, D, K and Minerals Iron, Ferritin, Copper and Zinc - other folks suggest A and Magnesium be added to the list.

Although the solution is the same for Allergy, Celiac Disease or NCGI - remove ALL gluten - an allergy to gluten is not the same thing as Celiac Disease. In Celiac Disease there is and auto-immune reaction to gluten - your body produces antibodies to destroy gluten - in the process the small intestine is damaged - the villi are destroyed which prevents proper absorption of nutrients which can cause many systems of the body to fail. There are over 300 symptoms of Celiac Disease including digestive, muscle/joint pain, fatigue, behavioral, skin rash and many, many more. An allergy is a histamine reaction - severe allergic reactions can be dangerous as they can cause swelling / severe breathing problems. It is important to know if you have an allergy to gluten - it is rare but possible to have both allergy and Celiac Disease.

You have found a great place for information and support as you learn to live gluten-free. Read and ask questions - the transition to completely removing gluten is tough, but the benefit to your health is well worth the effort!

Good luck to you

[mushroom]

Hi and welcome.

To answer your last question first off, celiac disease is actually not an allergy - it is an autoimmune response by the body to gluten. This means that the body mistakenly starts attacking itself. An allergy is when you develop hives or anaphylacic shock after eating something.

There is a mistaken belief by many that you have to have lost weight in order to be a celiac. This leads to many people not being tested by their doctors because they obviously are not starving In actual fact, it is just as common, most especially in adults, to gain weight that just cannot be lost. It is apparently because the body is not absorbing the nutrients it needs and reacts as if it were starving by storing all the calories it can find. You can still be deficient in many nutrients and very much overweight. Also, constipation is just as common as diarrhea. So you definitely fit in the spectrum of celiac symptoms.

I hope you get some definitive answers in your testing. Bear in the mind, though, that there is an error rate in the testing or you may be non-celiac gluten intolerant. It is usually recommended that if your testing comes back negative that you give the diet a trial for three months to see if gluten is your problem.

[psawyer]

Weight loss and diarrhea are common symptoms, but are not universal. Some gain weight. Some experience constipation.

[nvsmom]

I've had "C" and celiac my entire life. My mom told me stories how as an infant, I would get so blocked up that they would have to "help me" get things going with thermometres inserted where... ahem, you used to take a baby's temperature. This is back in the day when they introduced "solids" in the form of a thin wheat gruel before a baby was one month of age.

I also have hypothyroidism (as Lisa said, it's fairly common) and that also causes "C". Taking hormones to treat my Hashimoto's hypothyroidism was the thing that finally caused my chronic "C" to lessen considerably. Yeah!

As an adult, I've been a bit heavy for my height. I could do with losing a few... and I did when I went gluten-free. I lost about 15 lbs in the first 2-3 months without trying to cut back... I even went on vacation while the weight was coming off. I still could lose another 20 but my BMI is no longer in the overwieght range.

Best wishes!