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

Not Sure If Celiac Or Crohn's - Please Help!

Rusty Shackleford

Recommended Posts

Rusty Shackleford Newbie
Rusty Shackleford
Posted

I am not sure if I have Celiac or Crohn's. I am a 15 year old male, and I weigh 82 lbs and about 5 feet tall. I have noticed symptoms of delayed growth and chronic diarrhea. I was tested for Celiac with a blood panel, but the results returned negative. I am now scheduled to have some type of biopsy to see if I have Crohn's. At this point, I'm hoping I have Celiac. I read about Crohn's, and it made me very nervous and scared. Please help me!!!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Hi Rusty and welcome to the board.

It is not uncommon to test negative on the celiac bloodwork; there is known to be an error rate in the testing. Did you have the complete panel of tests? Can you tell us what tests were done and what your scores and the ranges were? The most important not to leave out are the total IgA, and also the DGP.

If your doctor is now considering Crohn's as a diagnosis and is doing biopsies, that would be from a colonoscopy checking out the colon, which will not tell you anything about celiac which affects only the small intestine.. For celiac you need to make sure your doctor also does an endoscopy to check the upper intestinal tract, and takes at least 6 biopsy samples to send to the pathologist, because it is possible to be negative on blood work and positive on biopsy.

It is also possible you have non-celiac gluten intolerance (NCGI) which can cause a lot of the same malabsorption issues as celiac because your food doesn't hang around long enough for you to absorb it. Although celiac does seem more likely if you carry the 'failure to thrive' diagnosis. NCGI can give you practically the same problems as celiac; you just can't pass the test which is geared to measure damage to the lining of the small intestine and which apparently doesn't happen in NCGI.

Anyway, if you would, let us have a look at your test results.

At any rate, you definitely need the upper endoscopy to rule out celiac; a colonoscopy will not do that, although it could potentially rule in Crohn's. For your sake I hope that one is negative too. :)

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Just to add to Shroomie's info - the endoscopy ( upper end) can be done at the same time as the colonoscopy ( lower end). I would think he might like to do that just to make sure you don't have anything like an ulcer & he could biopsy for Celiac, too!

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Hi Rusty,

It should also be less expensive to get the endoscopy and colonoscopy done at the same time. Doing both at once saves another trip to the hospital. For the endoscopy they need to take multiple biopsy samples, 5 to 8 is good. Celiac is treated with the gluten-free diet. There are treatments for Crohn's and some people with Crohn's follow the gluten-free diet. But often some drugs are needed for flares. Flares are usually intermittent though, and can go into remission with drugs or other treatments. People can live a long healthy life with Crohn's with proper treatment.

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. MogwaiStripe
      - MogwaiStripe replied to annamarie6655's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      2

      Airborne Gluten?

      I can't prove it, but I truly believe I have been glutened by airborne particles. I used to take care of shelter cats once per week at a pet store, and no matter how careful I was, I would get glutened each time even if I wore a mask and gloves and washed up well after I was done. I believe the problem was that because I'm short, I couldn't do the the tasks...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Midwestern's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      16

      Gluten Issues and Vitamin D

      Hello, @MogwaiStripe, Vitamin D is turned into its activated forms by Thiamine. Thiamine deficiency can affect Vitamin D activation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14913223/ Thiamine deficiency affects HLA genes. HLA genes code for autoimmune diseases like Celiac, Thyroiditis, Diabetes, etc. Thiamine deficiency inside a cell triggers a...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to annamarie6655's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      2

      Airborne Gluten?

      Hello, @annamarie6655, Yes, there's many of us who react to airborne gluten! Yes, animal feed, whether for chickens or cats or dogs, can release airborne gluten. I can get glutened from the bakery section at the grocery store. The nose and mouth drain into the digestive system and can trigger systemic reactions. I find the histamine release...
    4. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Butch68's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Guinness, can you drink it?

      This article may be helpful:
    5. Kirita
      - Kirita posted a topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      0

      Recovery from gluten challenge

      I’m wondering if anyone has had any experience with the gluten challenge. My teenager completed a gluten challenge over the summer, it ended up being 10 weeks although she stopped being consistent eating gluten after 6. Her previous endoscopy was negative but this past August it was positive after the gluten challenge. If you have done the gluten challenge, ...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,243
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Dorfor
    Newest Member
    Dorfor
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • MogwaiStripe
      Airborne Gluten?

      By MogwaiStripe · Posted

      I can't prove it, but I truly believe I have been glutened by airborne particles. I used to take care of shelter cats once per week at a pet store, and no matter how careful I was, I would get glutened each time even if I wore a mask and gloves and washed up well after I was done. I believe the problem was that because I'm short, I couldn't do the the tasks without getting my head and shoulders inside their cages, and so the particles from their food would be all over my hair and top of my shirt. Then I had to drive home, so even if I didn't get glutened right then, the particles would be in my car just waiting for me to get in the car so they could get blown into my face again. I gave up that volunteer gig and stopped getting glutened so often and at such regular intervals.
    • knitty kitty
      Gluten Issues and Vitamin D

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @MogwaiStripe, Vitamin D is turned into its activated forms by Thiamine.  Thiamine deficiency can affect Vitamin D activation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14913223/ Thiamine deficiency affects HLA genes.  HLA genes code for autoimmune diseases like Celiac, Thyroiditis, Diabetes, etc.  Thiamine deficiency inside a cell triggers a toggle switch on the gene which in turn activates autoimmune diseases carried on the gene.  The reference to the study is in my blog somewhere.  Click on my name to go to my page, scroll down to the drop down menu "Activities" and click on blogs.  
    • knitty kitty
      Airborne Gluten?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @annamarie6655, Yes, there's many of us who react to airborne gluten!   Yes, animal feed, whether for chickens or cats or dogs, can release airborne gluten.  I can get glutened from the bakery section at the grocery store.   The nose and mouth drain into the digestive system and can trigger systemic reactions.   I find the histamine release in response to airborne gluten will stuff up my sinuses and bother my eyes.  High histamine levels do cause anxiety and migraines.  The muscle spasms can be caused by high histamine, too.  The digestive system may not manifest symptoms without a higher level of gluten exposure.   Our bodies make an enzyme, DAO (diamine oxidase), to break down histamine.   Pyridoxine B 6, Cobalamine B12, Vitamin C, copper, zinc, and iron are needed to make DAO.  DAO supplements are available over the counter.  Taking a B Complex supplement and additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine or TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) helps reduce the amount of histamine being released.  Mast cells without sufficient Thiamine have an itchy trigger finger and release histamine at the slightest provocation.  Thiamine helps mast cells refrain from releasing their histamine.    I find taking additional TTFD thiamine helps immensely with neurological symptoms as TTFD can easily cross the blood brain barrier without a carrier.  High histamine in the brain can cause the muscle spasms, anxiety and migraines.  Vitamin C really helps with clearing histamine, too.   The Digiorno pizza mystery reaction could have been caused by a reaction to the cheese.  Some people develop lactose intolerance.  Others react to Casein, the protein in dairy, the same as if to gluten because Casein resembles the molecular structure of gluten.  An enzyme used in some dairy products, microbial transglutaminase, causes a gluten reaction because it is the same as the tissue transglutaminase our bodies make except microbes make it.  Those tTg IgA blood tests to diagnose celiac disease measure tissue transglutaminase our bodies release as part of the autoimmune response to gluten.   You're doing great!  A Sherlock Holmes award to you for figuring out the connection between airborne gluten and animal feed!!!  
    • Scott Adams
      Guinness, can you drink it?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      This article may be helpful:  
    • Kirita
      Recovery from gluten challenge

      By Kirita · Posted

      I’m wondering if anyone has had any experience with the gluten challenge. My teenager completed a gluten challenge over the summer, it ended up being 10 weeks although she stopped being consistent eating gluten after 6. Her previous endoscopy was negative but this past August it was positive after the gluten challenge. If you have done the gluten challenge, how long did it take you to feel back to normal? It took about two months before she got “glutened” again but now she’s having difficult coming back from that and has a lot of fatigue. I’m hoping someone has some advice! 
×
×
  • 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.