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

Lots Of D - But Antibodies Normal


plumbago

Recommended Posts

plumbago Experienced

All,

I am posting on behalf of a colleague at work, who for the last eight months has been suffering through constant - 4 times a day - D and lower abdominal pain (hypogastric region - not inguinal). This pain often wakes her in the middle of the night. She is young, mid-20s.

There is a family history of IBS. She recently went to the gastroenterologist who scoped her large intestine. What the dr found was nothing that worrisome - no polyps, no outward indication of inflammation, just very mild redness, though a biopsy will indicate anything more, results not back yet. This exam also revealed interior and external hemorrhoids - but she and I are thinking that is because of the constant D. At any rate, I do not think the hemorrhoids would explain the D and the abdominal pain.

Other: She had a Celiac workup done 10 days or so agao (I am not sure of the exact tests), and her antibodies were not high. They were fine. Her absorption of vitamins is good. Most other indicators on the blood tests were fine.

She is slightly - slightly - sensitive to milk, she says. So she does not drink it alone, but if a brownie has it or some other food has milk as an ingredient, she will eat it.

The last time she had a solid stool was many months ago. Nevertheless, she gave a sample to the gastroenterologist (I'm not sure what they would be searching for), and is expecting the results back within the next week or so.

I myself have not researched irritable bowel. She is terrified that this is what it is because there's nothing you can do about it, she says. I'm not so sure this is true. There must be a cause, is my thinking.

That's most of what it is. I so appreciate your reading this and any thoughts and ideas you may have.

Sincerely,

Plumbago


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



gluten free overseas Apprentice

I am sorry to hear about your friend. Even though her antibodies came back normal, she could try going gluten free to see if it helps. Has she visited a tropical or humid climate or lived somewhere like that? Tropical sprue has the same symptoms as celiac but is not caused by gluten. It's when an overgrowth of bacteria wrecks your intestines, basically. It often happens when a person has lived or visited humid climates and eaten a lot of hawker food. I am not sure how they treat it, but I think antibiotics and stay off sugar and yeast and foods that cause bacteria to grow rapidly. I wonder if a stool sample would show if there is a gross overgrowth of bacteria.

I hope your friend does not give up and will keep pounding the pavement until she finds an answer. That's so tough.

everything-free Newbie

I would be helpful to search up Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS), I found a great site written by doctors at the Mayo Clinic that may give her some good information. There are links at the bottom of each description to lead you to the next important page. Open Original Shared Link

Unfortunately for you're friend there is very little that can be done about IBS, if that is what she ends up being diagnosed with. There are a few pills that can be prescribed but only by specialized doctors (there is a list on the site I suggested), and as far as I am aware you need to have either D OR C, not both, for them to work properly, so they may work for your friend.

I am in my early 20's and was diagnosed with IBS over a year ago, but my symptoms vary a lot and none of these pills are a good option for me. I've tried fiber supplements like Metamucil, and then stool softeners at other times and both of these have just made the D, C, and cramping worse. After having an endoscopy I was told that I was lactose intolerant. I have also noticed a large difference in my symptoms since going gluten and potato free over six months ago, and sugar free a month and a half ago. Alcohol and not getting enough sleep (I need about ten hours a night and even then I never feel rested) are also big triggers for me and make my symptoms extremely worse and because of all of this, having IBS has impacted my social life. I still go to the bathroom regularly, on a good day twice a day, sometimes up to 5 or 6, and the bloating pain has not completely gone away but it has gotten better.

This may be another option for you're friend, the elimination diet, as stated above. A lot of people with IBS have a problem with gluten and/or lactose, as well as many other GI irritants. The struggle is finding out which ones irritate different individuals. IBS is not something that can be cured, you need to learn how to manage it and figure out what are you're bodies triggers and what is safe for you. Most people find exercise helps to relieve some symptoms.

Hopefully something will show up on one of your friends tests to say that she has something other than IBS, that can be treated a little easier, since it is difficult altering your lifestyle just to manage your symptoms, let a lone get rid of them.

Best of Luck! :)

plumbago Experienced

Thanks for the two replies so far! I hope to get more.

It's especially good to hear from someone in the same age group.

Plumbago

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,666
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    bailey1023
    Newest Member
    bailey1023
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Inkie
      Thank you for the information ill will definitely bring it into practice .
    • Scott Adams
      While plain, pure tea leaves (black, green, or white) are naturally gluten-free, the issue often lies not with the tea itself but with other ingredients or processing. Many flavored teas use barley malt or other gluten-containing grains as a flavoring agent, which would be clearly listed on the ingredient label. Cross-contamination is another possibility, either in the facility where the tea is processed or, surprisingly, from the tea bag material itself—some tea bags are sealed with a wheat-based glue. Furthermore, it's important to consider that your reaction could be to other substances in tea, such as high levels of tannins, which can be hard on the stomach, or to natural histamines or other compounds that can cause a non-celiac immune response. The best way to investigate is to carefully read labels for hidden ingredients, try switching to a certified gluten-free tea brand that uses whole leaf or pyramid-style bags, and see if the reaction persists.
    • Scott Adams
      This is a challenging and confusing situation. The combination of a positive EMA—which is a highly specific marker rarely yielding false positives—alongside strongly elevated TTG on two separate occasions, years apart, is profoundly suggestive of celiac disease, even in the absence of biopsy damage. This pattern strongly aligns with what is known as "potential celiac disease," where the immune system is clearly activated, but intestinal damage has not yet become visible under the microscope. Your concern about the long-term risk of continued gluten consumption is valid, especially given your family's experience with the consequences of delayed diagnosis. Since your daughter is now at an age where her buy-in is essential for a gluten-free lifestyle, obtaining a definitive answer is crucial for her long-term adherence and health. Given that she is asymptomatic yet serologically positive, a third biopsy now, after a proper 12-week challenge, offers the best chance to capture any microscopic damage that may have developed, providing the concrete evidence needed to justify the dietary change. This isn't about wanting her to have celiac; it's about wanting to prevent the insidious damage that can occur while waiting for symptoms to appear, and ultimately giving her the unambiguous "why" she needs to accept and commit to the necessary treatment. This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.    
    • Scott Adams
      Welcome to the community! Generally, for a gluten challenge before celiac disease blood tests, Tylenol (acetaminophen) is considered safe and should not interfere with your antibody results. The medications you typically need to avoid are those like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) that can cause intestinal irritation, which could potentially complicate the interpretation of an endoscopy if you were to have one. However, it is absolutely crucial that you confirm this with either your gastroenterologist or your surgeon before your procedure. They know the specifics of your case and can give you the definitive green light, ensuring your surgery is comfortable and your celiac testing remains accurate. Best of luck with your surgery tomorrow
    • Xravith
      Thank you for the advice. I’ve actually never checked for nutritional deficiencies, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve always taken vitamin and mineral supplements — otherwise my symptoms get worse. This week I stopped eating gluten to confirm whether my symptoms are really caused by it. Starting next week, I’ll reintroduce gluten — it’s sad to go back to how I was before — but at least I’ll be able to take the necessary tests properly. I think the diagnostic process will be long, but at least I’m happy that I finally decided to address this doubt I’ve had for years.
×
×
  • 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.