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Damaged Villi

ILOVEOMC

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ILOVEOMC Enthusiast
ILOVEOMC
Posted
:D Is there anything else besides celiac disease that causes damage to the villi in the small intestines?
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skoki-mom Explorer
skoki-mom
Posted

I don't think so, that is why the antibody blood tests are so accurate. The antibodies are present because of villi damage, and I asked my GI if it could be anything else besides celiac disease and he said no.

KaitiUSA Enthusiast
KaitiUSA
Posted

I believe that milk can cause some villous atrophy in some pretty rare cases.

However, the antibodies would not show anything if it was milk because they only detect the gluten side of things.

ILOVEOMC Enthusiast
ILOVEOMC
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the input. I didn't know that about milk, Katie. I will have to keep that in mind to ask the doc about at a follow-up appointment. There always seems to be something we are wondering about with this condition.

Carriefaith Enthusiast
Carriefaith
Posted
I believe that milk can cause some villous atrophy in some pretty rare cases.
I didn't know that about milk, Katie. I will have to keep that in mind to ask the doc about at a follow-up appointment.

In this book I have called Breaking The Vicious Cycle, it says that "the flattened or blunted intestinal surface has been reported in innumerable disease states" this includes: infectious hepatitis, ulcerative colitis, parasitic infections, soy protein, cow's milk protein (casein), intractable diarrhea of infancy, chohn's disease, and bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine. I don't know how valid this list is, and the author only lists references for a few of them. Keep in mind that this is also the author that clearly states... "The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has been shown to completely cure most cases of celiac disease if followed for at least one year" (this is word for word from the book, BTW) so I don't know how valid her info is :rolleyes:. And for those of you new to celiacc and the diet... that statement would be false.

celiac3270 Collaborator
celiac3270
Posted

Right. I had heard about villous atrophy also occuring in hepatitis and crohn's...

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    • trents
      Virus, celiac disease or both?

      By trents · Posted

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    • Shining My Light
      Virus, celiac disease or both?

      By Shining My Light · Posted

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    • trents
      Probably celiac but also confused

      By trents · Posted

      Lot's of folks would trade places with you with regard to the unintentional weight loss. Seriously, though, I would be concerned about vitamin and mineral depletion due to malabsorption in the small bowel. One thing you can do now to address that which will not jeopardize the accuracy of further testing for celiac disease would be to start taking some high potency vitamin and mineral supplements. Make sure they are all gluten free if you will continue to use them - after diagnosis, that is. Wheat starch is sometimes used as a filler in pills. A multivitamin may not be potent enough. So, I would go for a B-complex, magnesium glycinate (the form of magnesium is important for good absorption and to prevent a laxative effect), zinc picolinate, and D3 (around 5000IU daily). These are supplements we routinely recommend on this forum to newly diagnosed celiacs and in view of your dramatic weight loss it would likely be appropriate for you as well. It often takes around 2 years for the villous lining of the small bowel to fully heal after going gluten free and until then, nutrient absorption will be compromised. The small bowel is the section of the intestines where all of our nutrition is taken up. Keep us posted.
    • terrymouse
      Probably celiac but also confused

      By terrymouse · Posted

      I'm 5'2" so it's weight I could afford to lose. I guess what's concerning is that it's not on purpose, I haven't been active because I don't have much energy, and it's been steadily going down since I started keeping track of it. So I'm not too worried about where I'm at right now, but it's something I'm keeping an eye on.
    • trents
      Probably celiac but also confused

      By trents · Posted

      A classic case of more than one medical problem going on at a time. We often forget that can happen. Are you concerned about your weight loss? Is your current weight too thin for your height, gender and general build?
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