Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • 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

Getting diagnosed just a few questions!

Sebastian95
 Share

Recommended Posts

Sebastian95 Rookie
Sebastian95
Posted

Hello all!

I have dealt with stomach issues for about the past almost 8 years. About to weeks ago I went to my doctor and bad blood tests for literally everything possible done they took 8 tubes of blood.

So I got a call from the medical assistant a few days ago that my blood results (which i have not seen yet nor has my doctor until this week) supposedly are showing strong results that indicate celiac disease. And that I have an infection somewhere in my body i don’t know if that’s connected to the celiac at all?

but for years I’ve had symptoms of, diarrhea, fatigue, like brain fog/feeling heavy, as well as muscle weakness sometimes. Are these common with celiac? For reference im 27 never had any issues and don’t take any medications. 
 

I look forward to any input and help on this if possible if anything to at least calm my nerves. I appreciate any help and information possible. Thank you!

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


trents Grand Master
trents
Posted

Welcome to the forum, Sebastian!

Essentially all of your symptoms are commonly found in the celiac community.

The infection is probably not related to celiac disease, at least not directly.

Many or most of the symptoms you describe are likely related to nutritional deficiencies which goes hand in hand with celiac disease. celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder defined by damage to the villi that line the small bowel, which is where essentially all of the nutritional elements of what we eat are absorbed. When someone with celiac disease consumes gluten, the immune system interprets it as an invader and generates inflammation in order to deal with it. However, when this inflammation is repeated meal after meal it flattens the little finger-like projections which make up the villi. This reduces the surface area for absorbing nutrients and over time results in nutritional deficiencies, even though the individual may be eating well.

There are some very specific blood tests used to diagnose celiac disease. These tests are designed to detect inflammation markers from the ongoing damage to the SB villi. Here is a primer: https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/screening-and-diagnosis/screening/ These tests are not a part of the standard CBC/CMP bloodwork ordered for most other things in a general checkup.

Let us know when you get the results of your bloodwork and if there were celiac antibody tests ordered we encourage you to post them online along with the reference ranges for each test as to what is negative/positive. Different labs use different values for the reference ranges so including that info is important if you want our input on the results.

Your doctor may want to order and endoscopy with biopsy of the small bowel lining to confirm the blood test results so it's very important to continue eating regular amounts of gluten until that procedure is complete, should your doctor want this. Going gluten free preliminary to testing will invalidate the results as it will allow healing and the inflammation antibody markers to subside.

Sebastian95 Rookie
Sebastian95
Posted
  • Author
43 minutes ago, trents said:

Welcome to the forum, Sebastian!

Essentially all of your symptoms are commonly found in the celiac community.

The infection is probably not related to celiac disease, at least not directly.

Many or most of the symptoms you describe are likely related to nutritional deficiencies which goes hand in hand with celiac disease. celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder defined by damage to the villi that line the small bowel, which is where essentially all of the nutritional elements of what we eat are absorbed. When someone with celiac disease consumes gluten, the immune system interprets it as an invader and generates inflammation in order to deal with it. However, when this inflammation is repeated meal after meal it flattens the little finger-like projections which make up the villi. This reduces the surface area for absorbing nutrients and over time results in nutritional deficiencies, even though the individual may be eating well.

There are some very specific blood tests used to diagnose celiac disease. These tests are designed to detect inflammation markers from the ongoing damage to the SB villi. Here is a primer: https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/screening-and-diagnosis/screening/ These tests are not a part of the standard CBC/CMP bloodwork ordered for most other things in a general checkup.

Let us know when you get the results of your bloodwork and if there were celiac antibody tests ordered we encourage you to post them online along with the reference ranges for each test as to what is negative/positive. Different labs use different values for the reference ranges so including that info is important if you want our input on the results.

Your doctor may want to order and endoscopy with biopsy of the small bowel lining to confirm the blood test results so it's very important to continue eating regular amounts of gluten until that procedure is complete, should your doctor want this. Going gluten free preliminary to testing will invalidate the results as it will allow healing and the inflammation antibody markers to subside.

Happy to be here!

And awesome thank you for all the valuable info, it’s greatly appreciated! This will all be a big help

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

After all testing is done and your doctor recommends that you go gluten-free, this article may be helpful:

 

Jays911 Contributor
Jays911
Posted
On 7/30/2022 at 7:05 PM, Sebastian95 said:

Hello all!

I have dealt with stomach issues for about the past almost 8 years. About to weeks ago I went to my doctor and bad blood tests for literally everything possible done they took 8 tubes of blood.

So I got a call from the medical assistant a few days ago that my blood results (which i have not seen yet nor has my doctor until this week) supposedly are showing strong results that indicate celiac disease. And that I have an infection somewhere in my body i don’t know if that’s connected to the celiac at all?

but for years I’ve had symptoms of, diarrhea, fatigue, like brain fog/feeling heavy, as well as muscle weakness sometimes. Are these common with celiac? For reference im 27 never had any issues and don’t take any medications. 
 

I look forward to any input and help on this if possible if anything to at least calm my nerves. I appreciate any help and information possible. Thank you!

You have typical symptoms. But there are so many, over 300. Brain fog and fatigue were two of mine. Get tested. Hang in there. 

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
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,692
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    NICODE
    Newest Member
    NICODE
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.3k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • growlinhard1
      Colonoscopy with large are of inflammation

      By growlinhard1 · Posted

      Thank you for the response. I didn't think of  the things you presented but they make a ton of good sense. I'm in the USA so no stipend for a formal dx. With the added cost of gluten free food, I wish there was some program to help. I bought a loaf of gluten free bread that cost $7.99 and my usual multi grain is $2.57!  I REALLY felt the doctors taking you more seriously comment. That is a huge issue. I just had fairly extensive blood work done, none of which was testing for celiac, and everything came back normal. I felt completely dismissed by my doctor even though my symptoms remained unchanged. As a matter of fact, Celiac disease wasn't even on my regular doctors radar. I think after studying the symptoms and comparing them with my symptoms that should have been one of his top differential diagnoses. I will follow your advice and wait until after the bx to begin eating gluten free. I'm fairly certain of the diagnosis at this point because 4 days of no gluten has made a difference. I feel somewhat stronger, nowhere near as anxious or irritable, urinating every 2 hours instead of every 30 minutes to an hour and much less nausea.  If anybody has any other words of wisdom, advice, really anything, please let me know..I'm kind of alone in this.
    • knitty kitty
      Not sure if this is Celiac or just a gluten-free intolerance

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Yes, some people with Celiac do react to quinoa.  I know i do.  Apparently, two different "breeds" of quinoa can stimulate the immune system. Read here... Variable activation of immune response by quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) prolamins in celiac disease https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22760575/#:~:text=Cultivars Ayacuchana and Pasankalla stimulated,for patients with celiac disease. And some of us react to corn (maize) as well. Maize prolamins could induce a gluten-like cellular immune response in some celiac disease patients https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24152750/   P.S. @Brook G have you thought about getting a genetic test done for known Celiac genes?  
    • Brook G
      Not sure if this is Celiac or just a gluten-free intolerance

      By Brook G · Posted

      People who are Celiac don't have a gluten response to Quinoa, but some people who are gluten intolerant do.  I react to quinoa just like I do to gluten.  Freddies/Kroger came out with their own gluten-free Bread and I didn't think to read the ingredients.  I couldn't figure out where I would have gotten gluten in my diet until I read the ingredients in their bread... QUINOA
    • trents
      Testing positive for antibodies, are there visible changes to the colon that could be seen without a biopsy?

      By trents · Posted

      Thanks for the additional information. I was thinking of asking you if your daughter was taking methylated vitamins since she has the MTHFR gene but you beat me to it. To answer the question you posed in your original post, as I explained, celiac disease does not damage the colon but the lining of the small bowel. If the damage is pronounced enough and the doc doing it is experienced, yes, the damage done to the lining of the small bowel can be spotted with the naked eye.
    • cameo674
      Testing positive for antibodies, are there visible changes to the colon that could be seen without a biopsy?

      By cameo674 · Posted

      I could not locate the correct Gary Brecka video where he explains the methylation process and specifically states things about how people with the MTRR homozygous gene mutation are known to suffer from heartburn due to a weakened valve/sphincter where the esophagus and the stomach connect.  My brother had the youtube video sent to him from 10x health which is probably why I cannot locate it.     I will have read up on mast cell activation.  I do not know anything about it.  Tums is my preferred gerd treatment.  I always figured a little extra calcium could not hurt me.  
×
×
  • Create New...