Anyone Have A Good Explanation For Celiac

[JerryK]

I was trying to explain Celiac to my twin the other day. My brother is frankly overweight, but he hurts all over the place. He has the classic aches and pains that you could attribute to celiac disease, plus we both have the severe enamel hypoplasia that I discussed earlier.

He wanted to know how something like celiac disease, could manifest itself with weight gain, instead of loss. I know

that's listed as one of the symptoms. Anyone have an idea how this weight gain works...where it comes from? Thanks!

[natalunia]

I was told because the small intestine is the size of a tennis court if laid out flat, you could have a small area of the small intestine that is damaged/affected, with a great deal more area of small intestine unaffected and still able to absorb nutrients and fat enough to keep you within a normal to overweight range. Also, I know before I realized what I had, I was eating over 3000 calories per day on a regular basis, which made up for anything I wasn't absorbing. I drank a ton of sugar filled sodas and drinks all day long. Those are empty calories, but they still make you gain weight!

[JerryK]

I was wondering if Gluten simply made him feel so crappy, tired and painful, that he simply doesn't get enough exercise....

It's hard to go for a walk if you are so sore you can barely move....

[natalunia]

That was part of my problem too. It's been almost 2 months gluten free for me, and I am just now feeling well enough to start seriously exercising again. I am about 40 pounds overweight...

[debbiewil]

Thyroid disease is frequently associated with celiac as well, and overweight is one of the first signs of hypothyroid. Adrenal insufficiency is another autoimmune disease that can be found with celiac, and overweight can be a symptom of that as well. So I think sometimes there are actually a couple of contributing factors, and it takes longer to diagnose because there are opposing symptoms. Many times, when one autoimmune disease is identified and treated, others will either clear up on their own, or the symptoms will become so obvious that they are identified and can be treated.

Debbie

[ravenwoodglass]

  JerryK said:

I was trying to explain Celiac to my twin the other day. My brother is frankly overweight, but he hurts all over the place. He has the classic aches and pains that you could attribute to celiac disease, plus we both have the severe enamel hypoplasia that I discussed earlier.

He wanted to know how something like celiac disease, could manifest itself with weight gain, instead of loss. I know

that's listed as one of the symptoms. Anyone have an idea how this weight gain works...where it comes from? Thanks!

I can not answer for all of course but for me gluten did two things that caused me to gain weight. First I was addicted to it. I would consume enormous amounts of food and never feel full. My DS and I beleve the constant hunger also comes from the body sending signals because although it is getting calories I was not absorbing much. I also had a great deal of full body edema. This only became obvious after I was gluten-free for about 6 months and realized that I had lost 2 shoe sizes and ring sizes and 8 inches off my waist with only a 10 lb weight loss. My weight redistributed itself as I got better and was able to excersize a bit and the best bonus for me was that I am now the same size I was as a teen, at 50 I went from a size 12 to a size 4 without effort.

[Nancym]

For me, it was the addictive nature of gluten. I'd eat some, feel kind of good for a few minutes, but have to keep eating more to keep the feeling going. It sort of "woke me up" to eat it but then I'd feel foggy and need to eat more to keep the brain fog at bay.

[Guest nini]

I actually ate very little and still gained tremendous amounts of weight before my dx. Since my dx I've lost 105 pounds over 3 years... I was told that in my case, my body was so malnourished that it went into starvation mode and held onto the only thing it could, which was the fat molecules... So basically while I was suffering from malnutrition, and starving, I was gaining weight. At one point one Dr. put me on a very low calorie, high fiber diet (full of gluten) and in ONE WEEK I gained over 10 pounds on that diet... I was miserable. When I was able to eat large quantities, I immediately threw it up and had "D" for days so I have no idea how my body was able to gain so much weight.

[penguin]

Um, ditto Nini. I've been on a gluten challenge for about a month and I've gained 16 lbs

I think my body thinks it's starving. My GI didn't seem surprised for some reason. I just bought a gazelle, maybe if I use that it'll help.

[mouse]

I agree with Nini. I was very overweight before I became what they call "the typical Celiac". I watched my calories, worked out 5 days a week and was on my treadmill twice a day. I could not lose weight. I went to an endrocrynolgist (sp) and he said that sometimes they did not know why this happens. Now I know it was the Celiac Disease and I had to have had malabsorption even then.

[Kaycee]

Hi.

I am coeliac, and one of the overweight ones. Alwasy have been overweight. I lost about 12 kilos, (2 stone), before I was diagnosed. It wasn't too hard to do, but once I had plateaued at just over 12 stone and I was still trying to diet, I found I was so hungry it felt like I could not fight the hunger. I had to eat, or go crazy. I was having diahroea everyday as well.

Throughout all this, and even now, I walked heaps, with the dog and with a friend, probably everyday.

But the moment I went gluten free, I notice a complete change in my appetite. The change is still there, I am nowhere near as hungry. But have I lost more weight? No, but I have not gained either. The dr said it was because I was not eating as much in the way of carbohydrates, and carbos make you hungry.

But I disagree, I think it is more than that. Being an undiagnosed coeliac, your body is craving for nutrients, and that is why I feel I was so hungry, I was starving. But being starving, I probably ate a lot of calories, and that probably went into the excess weight I carried. My blood tests have always been not too bad, the worst is a little low on iron at times, not all the time. So I was getting most of the nutrients I needed, but probably had to eat in excess, just to get those nutrients.

Does that make sense.

Cathy

[Ursa Major]

I was as thin as a stick as a child, teenager and young adult. But when I was pregnant for the first time, I started gaining weight, without ever being able to lose any, no matter what I tried. The only time I ever lost some weight was some years ago, when I went on a high protein/low carb diet for a few weeks (which meant very little starch, including bread, of course).

But my kids and husband thought I was crazy, and told me I'd die of a heart attack and I needed to eat less meat and more carbs. I gave in to their constant pressure, even though I knew that the 'regular' diet made me feel lousy and I gained all the weight back, and kept gaining.

Last year in the summer I had chronic, watery diarrhea for six months, everything went right through me within 20 minutes of eating it. Still I was gaining weight! I had reached 238 pounds by October last year, and was getting very desperate, especially because everybody accused me of eating too much. And actually, I was eating very little, since whatever I ate made me sick.

I started losing weight when I finally figured out I have celiac disease, and went gluten free. I agree with others, that my body thought it was starving (actually, it was), and put on the pounds for 'lean' times.

I also was very swollen. My ankles often looked awful by nighttime, and I had trouble bending my fingers. All that went away gluten-free.