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

Can something besides gluten cause a positive biopsy for Celiac?

skc
 Share

Recommended Posts

skc Newbie
skc
Posted

I've been 100% gluten free for at least 6 years due to "gluten sensitivity".  My bloodwork consistently tests negative for celiac.... in fact my blood work always looks great.  I recently figured out I was iron deficient, and was told to get a colonoscopy and endoscopy.  To my surprise, the biopsy came back as Celiac!!  My question is could there be anything else besides gluten that would damage my small intestine?  I have been gluten free for too long for it to be the reason my intestines are positive for celiac.

 

  • 6 months later...
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

Interesting, and this sounds like a trick question. So if you've been on a gluten-free diet for 6 years, can I assume that the blood tests you did were while you were on the diet? That would explain why they were negative. One must be getting a fair amount of gluten in their diet, and be sensitive to it, to have positive blood tests.

So the hard part is how your biopsy could now be positive if your diet was gluten-free? Was it 100% gluten-free? Are you sure you fully understand the diet and all the hidden ingredients? Do you eat out regularly?

Sorry it took so long to reply!

frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

make sure the results were actually yours..

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Many things can cause villi damage besides celiac disease:

https://www.cureceliacdisease.org/faq/what-else-can-cause-damage-to-the-small-intestine-other-than-celiac-disease/

Many celiacs are actually seronegative.  Either you were not diet compliant or something else was causing damage.  Non-compliance is common per this study.  Gluten can be hidden in so many areas.  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3598839/

Posterboy Mentor
Posterboy
Posted

skc,

Cyclinglady has given you good advice.

You might also cut out dairy if you haven't already and see if you feel better... a lot of Celiac's do better at least temporarily getting off dairy for a while.

Here is the research on dairy....

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540100400003204

If you wan to study more about what else can be causing your villi blunting here is a good  recent study from the Mayo Clinic about this topic.

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(17)30892-3/fulltext

I also had problem with my BP medicine.

Here is a thread about it.

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/119462-what-else-can-cause-villi-blunting-has-any-body-had-expereince-with-losartan-and-villi-blunting/

Don't be afraid to re-evaluate any medicines you might be taking. . .it is not well known but NSAIDS can also cause villi blunting in some people.

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advice.

2 Timothy 2: 7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” this included.

Posterboy by the Grace of God,

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
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. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Hmart's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Is this celiac?

      @Hmart, The reason why your intestinal damage was so severe, yet your tTg IgA was so minimal can be due to cutting back on gluten (and food in general) due to worsening symptoms. The tTg IgA antibodies are made in the intestines. While three grams of gluten per day for several weeks are enough to cause gastrointestinal symptoms, ten grams of gluten...
    2. Trish G
      - Trish G replied to Trish G's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      10

      Fiber Supplement

      Thanks, that's a great addition that I hadn't thought of.
    3. trents
      - trents replied to Hmart's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      13

      Is this celiac?

      Other diseases, medical conditions, medications and even (for some people) some non-gluten foods can cause villous atrophy. There is also something called refractory celiac disease but it is pretty uncommon.
    4. trents
      - trents replied to kpf's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      15

      ttg iga high (646 mg/dl) other results are normal

      knitty kitty asks a very relevant question. So many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even a reduced gluten diet soon before getting formally tested.
    5. trents
      - trents replied to Trish G's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      10

      Fiber Supplement

      Another great fiber option is dried apricots. Four of them give you 3g of fiber and I find they don't produce all the gas that some other high fiber options do. They taste good too. Costco sells a large bag of them that are labeled gluten-free so you don't have to worry about cross contamination issues like you might in bulk grocery settings.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,347
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Emhope1107
    Newest Member
    Emhope1107
    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

    • knitty kitty
      Is this celiac?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Hmart, The reason why your intestinal damage was so severe, yet your tTg IgA was so minimal can be due to cutting back on gluten (and food in general) due to worsening symptoms.  The tTg IgA antibodies are made in the intestines.  While three grams of gluten per day for several weeks are enough to cause gastrointestinal symptoms, ten grams of gluten per day for for several weeks are required to provoke sufficient antibody production so that the antibodies move out of the intestines and into the blood stream where they can be measured in blood tests.  Since you reduced your gluten consumption before testing, the antibody production went down and did not leave the intestines, hence lower than expected tTg IgA.   Still having abdominal pain and other symptoms this far out is indicative of nutritional deficiencies.  With such a severely damaged small intestine, you are not absorbing sufficient nutrients, especially Thiamine Vitamin B 1, so your body us burning stored fat and even breaking down muscle to fuel your body.   Yes, it is a very good idea to supplement with vitamins and minerals during healing.  The eight essential B vitamins are water soluble and easily lost with diarrhea.  The B vitamins all work together interconnectedly, and should be supplemented together.  Taking vitamin supplements provides your body with greater opportunity to absorb them.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins cannot be stored for long, so they must be replenished every day.  Thiamine tends to become depleted first which leads to Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a condition that doctors frequently fail to recognize.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi are abdominal pain and nausea, but neuropathy can also occur, as well as body and joint pain, headaches and more.  Heart rhythm disruptions including tachycardia are classic symptoms of thiamine deficiency.  Heart attack patients are routinely administered thiamine now.   Blood tests for vitamins are notoriously inaccurate.  You can have "normal" blood levels, while tissues and organs are depleted.  Such is the case with Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency in the digestive tract.  Eating a diet high in carbohydrates, like rice, starches, and sugar, can further deplete thiamine.  The more carbohydrates one eats, the more thiamine is required per calorie to turn carbs into energy.  Burning stored fats require less thiamine, so in times of thiamine shortage, the body burns fat and muscles instead.  Muscle wasting is a classic symptoms of thiamine deficiency.  A high carbohydrate diet may also promote SIBO and/or Candida infection which can also add to symptoms.  Thiamine is required to keep SIBO and Candida in check.   Thiamine works with Pyridoxine B 6, so if Thiamine is low and can't interact with Pyridoxine, the unused B 6 accumulates and shows up as high.   Look into the Autoimmune Protocol diet.  Dr. Sarah Ballantyne is a Celiac herself.  Her book "The Paleo Approach" has been most helpful to me.  Following the AIP diet made a huge improvement in my symptoms.  Between the AIP diet and correcting nutritional deficiencies, I felt much better after a long struggle with not feeling well.   Do talk to your doctor about Gastrointestinal Beriberi.  Share the article linked below. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Keep us posted on your progress!
    • Trish G
      Fiber Supplement

      By Trish G · Posted

      Thanks, that's a great addition that I hadn't thought of. 
    • trents
      Is this celiac?

      By trents · Posted

      Other diseases, medical conditions, medications and even (for some people) some non-gluten foods can cause villous atrophy. There is also something called refractory celiac disease but it is pretty uncommon.
    • trents
      ttg iga high (646 mg/dl) other results are normal

      By trents · Posted

      knitty kitty asks a very relevant question. So many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even a reduced gluten diet soon before getting formally tested.
    • trents
      Fiber Supplement

      By trents · Posted

      Another great fiber option is dried apricots. Four of them give you 3g of fiber and I find they don't produce all the gas that some other high fiber options do. They taste good too. Costco sells a large bag of them that are labeled gluten-free so you don't have to worry about cross contamination issues like you might in bulk grocery settings.
×
×
  • 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.