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

Don't Know Much About Celiac, Could This Be It?


SUZ42

Recommended Posts

SUZ42 Explorer

Hi,

I don't know much about the s/s of Celiac ds. I have been wondering if I could have it?

Does this sound familiar to any of you?

In Dec 05 I had incredible, indescribable pain that encircled my chest and back. (Same pain in Nov but I ignored it.) It happened 2 eve's in a row. I went to the doctor the next day and was told it was GERD. I said no it's not. EKG and ches x-ray were normal. I was put on a med that didn't help. After being nauseus for a month I was switched to Nexium, no longer nauseus daily.

This could be a very long story, so to make it shorter I'll just list my symptoms, etc.

Symptoms: nausea, feeling of swallowing around lumps in my esophagus, stomach cramping, occassional abdominal cramps, bloating, gas, belching, exhaustion, lightheaded, tingling in hands, around mouth and occassionally feet, midsternal pressure through to mid back pain, constipation, floating stools, lost 30 lbs in 3 months, cold intolerance, occassional headaches.

Tests: EKG, heart Echo, chest X-Rays, MRI thoracic/cervical spine, CT scan of abdomen, Ultrasound of GB, upper GI, Colonoscopy and blood work (not for Celiac). They all came back ok accept bloodwork showed Anemia.

Dx: Jan 06 - GERD. March 06 - (new doctor) Gastritis (to replace GERD), IBS ("constipated" since baby - on and off med whole life for this). May 06 - depression. Oct 04 - B12 deficiency (d/t complaints of exhaustion and pain/diff walking) April 00 - hypothyroidism (d/t complaints of constipation, etc). Dec 06 - anemia (not new, anemic since childhood- but getting worse). Jan 07 serum ferritin deficient.

Meds: syntrhoid, nexium, cymbalta and MOM daily. Iron and benefiber twice daily. B12 inj monthly.

If my dx are correct and the meds are correct, why am I still sick??? The dr's are satisfied with the dx, and primary dr is happy I've gained back about 6 - 8 lbs, it fluctuates. He said I may never feel more than 65% better. I just turned 42, I hope to have many years left. I want to feel good and I want to be satisfied with a dx. Maybe it's too much to ask. Anyway, does this sound like it could be Celiac related?

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Suz


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



psawyer Proficient

Hi, Suz, welcome the board.

Most of the symptoms you describe are consistent with celiac disease. If you have extensive damage to the villi, your body will not be absorbing nutirents. Anemia and other deficiencies such as B12 and folic acid are common with celiac. The full specturm of gastrointenstinal problems can occur, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gas, cramps, bloating, etc. Damage to the villi would not show up on xrays or MRI.

As a result of the malabsoption, other effects occur, such as tiredness, sensitivity to cold, and brain fog. In my case, I had had severe headaches from time to time for years. I did not know at the time of my diagnosis that this was a common celiac symptom, but realized after being gluten-free for a couple of years that I no longer got them. It has been more than six years since I had to hide a quiet, dark room for hours due to a headache.

Sometimes the health-care professionals need help. I was having typical symptoms of celiac, combined with serious difficulty controlling my blood sugar (I'm type 1 diabetic). The diabetes clinic knew somethign was wrong when I could eat and an hour later my sugar level was lower, but they weren't able to identify the cause.

My wife stumbled onto some information about celiac disease while investigating diabetes. The two autoimmune diseases appear to be linked. She showed me what she had found, and said, "Peter, all your symptoms are described right here!"

So, I took the information to my family doctor, who was skeptical that I had what he thought was a rare childhood disease, but he agreed to arrange for a GI specialist to do the biopsy.

Get yourself tested. Reliable blood tests are available today, so an endoscopy and biopsy are not necessarily needed, although many doctors still prefer that route.

CMCM Rising Star

Your symptoms are highly suspicious and very consistent with EITHER celiac disease (the most extreme reaction within the broad spectrum of gluten sensitivity) OR plain old run of the mill gluten sensitivity. Doctors who study this are beginning to suggest that as many as 80% of Americans might be gluten sensitive to one degree or another. Gluten sensitivity is not something to ignore....it can make you just as sick as celiac disease does. It can damage organs and tissues within your body. If your doctor knows nothing about all this, find one who does and get tested. After you get tested, go on a 100% gluten free diet and see how you feel!

Hi, Suz, welcome the board.

Most of the symptoms you describe are consistent with celiac disease. If you have extensive damage to the villi, your body will not be absorbing nutirents. Anemia and other deficiencies such as B12 and folic acid are common with celiac. The full specturm of gastrointenstinal problems can occur, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gas, cramps, bloating, etc. Damage to the villi would not show up on xrays or MRI.

As a result of the malabsoption, other effects occur, such as tiredness, sensitivity to cold, and brain fog. In my case, I had had severe headaches from time to time for years. I did not know at the time of my diagnosis that this was a common celiac symptom, but realized after being gluten-free for a couple of years that I no longer got them. It has been more than six years since I had to hide a quiet, dark room for hours due to a headache.

Sometimes the health-care professionals need help. I was having typical symptoms of celiac, combined with serious difficulty controlling my blood sugar (I'm type 1 diabetic). The diabetes clinic knew somethign was wrong when I could eat and an hour later my sugar level was lower, but they weren't able to identify the cause.

My wife stumbled onto some information about celiac disease while investigating diabetes. The two autoimmune diseases appear to be linked. She showed me what she had found, and said, "Peter, all your symptoms are described right here!"

So, I took the information to my family doctor, who was skeptical that I had what he thought was a rare childhood disease, but he agreed to arrange for a GI specialist to do the biopsy.

Get yourself tested. Reliable blood tests are available today, so an endoscopy and biopsy are not necessarily needed, although many doctors still prefer that route.

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,750
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Ajustice
    Newest Member
    Ajustice
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.4k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      I agree with @RMJ, you have multiple positive tests so celiac disease is likely.  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.     
    • trents
      One small study found that 50% of celiacs react to the dairy protein "casein" like they do to gluten. It is also common for celiacs to be lactose (the sugar in milk) intolerant, though that often disappears in time as the villi heal. About 10% of celiacs react to the oat protein "avenin" like they do gluten.
    • K6315
      Thank you so much Trents (Scott?)! I have started working with a dietitian and did a deep research dive as soon as I got the diagnosis. I am aware of what you mentioned in the first two paragraphs, and was not aware of anything in the third, so I am grateful for that information, and will talk to the dietitian about that. I think I was most interested in the withdrawal process - it gives me hope that, although I have felt unwell recently, I just need to be patient (not a strong suit). I have printed the article you sent and will look at it more closely. Thanks again!
    • Sandi20
      I really like Thorne!  I've researched thier products.  Thank you so much.
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @K6315! Gluten withdrawal typically lasts for a period of a few weeks. But there is a real learning curve involved in actually attaining to a gluten free dietary state. Much more is involved than just cutting out major sources of gluten such as bread and pasta. It's all the places that gluten is hidden in the food supply that is difficult to ferret out, like soy sauce and canned tomato soup, canned chili and canned pork n' beans, some "lite" pancake syrups, potato salad, flavorings, etc., etc. Gluten-containing grain products are hidden through alternate terminology and found in places you would never expect.  There is also "cross contamination" where naturally gluten free foods come into contact with gluten-containing grains during farming, transportation, storage and manufacturing processes. Then there is the issue of "cross reactivity" whereby you may be having gluten-like reaction to food proteins whose structure is similar to gluten. Chief among these are dairy, oats (even gluten-free oats), soy, corn and eggs. I am including this article that you might find helpful:   
×
×
  • Create New...