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

Can You Make Yourself Sensitive To Gluten By Avoiding It?

Chakra2

Recommended Posts

Chakra2 Contributor
Chakra2
Posted

My husband and I were gently debating this topic the other day. Both my 2 yr old and I went gluten-free before celiac testing (and got life-changing results) so now my husband wonders if the kiddo and I react so strongly to gluten just because we've been avoiding it. I understand that people with true gluten intolerance can get more sensitve to it the longer they stay away so I'm really trying to ask about a different phenomenon: what happens if you don't start off with any gluten problem, but then you avoid gluten for a long time and try to eat it again? Could "normal" people become gluten-sensitive just by avoiding it?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


nora-n Rookie
nora-n
Posted

Yes what happens is that you got something called freshly activated T cells.

Several places are even doing trials on it, to develop a new kind of means to test for celiac. Only celiacs get this reaction. (freshly activated T cells)

Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

My husband and I were gently debating this topic the other day. Both my 2 yr old and I went gluten-free before celiac testing (and got life-changing results) so now my husband wonders if the kiddo and I react so strongly to gluten just because we've been avoiding it. I understand that people with true gluten intolerance can get more sensitve to it the longer they stay away so I'm really trying to ask about a different phenomenon: what happens if you don't start off with any gluten problem, but then you avoid gluten for a long time and try to eat it again? Could "normal" people become gluten-sensitive just by avoiding it?

No, I really don't think so. I avoid brussel sprouts for long stretches at a time and have never managed to develop a sensitivity to them. :P But seriously, my brother and SIL did a full elimination diet and didn't eat gluten for about a month, since it was one of the last things added back in, and neither of them had any reaction whatsoever.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

No, I really don't think so. I avoid brussel sprouts for long stretches at a time and have never managed to develop a sensitivity to them. :P But seriously, my brother and SIL did a full elimination diet and didn't eat gluten for about a month, since it was one of the last things added back in, and neither of them had any reaction whatsoever.

I agree completely. If folks reacted to stuff just because they don't eat it elimination diets and challenges would be worthless as folks would react to everything they added back in.

GlutenFreeManna Rising Star
GlutenFreeManna
Posted

Many people here have gluten free households, meaning their entire family eats gluten free at home whether they need to or not, but outside of the house they can eat whatever. If going back to eating gluten was a problem with everyone, then there would not be people that can eat gluten free at home and indulge in gluten while at parties, restaurants, etc. without any symptoms. Or another way to look at it would be to look at populations of the world where their main staple is rice (or other grains) instead of wheat. They may not eat products with wheat very often but they don't react to it when they do eat it.

I think what you are really trying to ask is, is this a placebo effect or do you really need to avoid gluten? Or another similar question might be, is this all in your head? The answers are no and no. I think everyone goes through a denial phase at first. Or everyone has a point where they have to convince a family member this is real. I hope your husband reads up a bit on celiac disease/gluten intolerance and comes to the conclusion that this is a real illness. This is not something that you "caused" to happen to yourself by avoiding gluten. And it's not something that you chose. Be sure to explain that, you are not just choosing to do this, but that you MUST do it for your health. I'm sure if we all had the choice to go back to eating gluten and not feel sick after a while of trying it again, we would do it. But sadly it doesn't work that way.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

I don't think so either. When you think about it, we all have things that we only eat once in a while--like at holidays and such.

Also, I've been retested twice by blood and had a repeat endoscopy in the 5 years I've been gluten-free, and while I react to trace amounts of gluten with unpleasast reactions, I have always tested in normal ranges with the retesting.

Archived

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

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,160
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Elaine Gilbert
    Newest Member
    Elaine Gilbert
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.1k
    • Total Posts
      70.7k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Testing

      By trents · Posted

      Did your symptoms improve after going on a gluten-free diet?
    • Scott Adams
      Testing

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Thank you for sharing your genetic test results and background. Your results indicate you carry one half of the DQ2 heterodimer (DQA1*05), which is associated with a very low celiac disease risk (0.05%). While most celiac patients have either DQ2 or DQ8, these genes are also present in people without celiac disease, so the test alone doesn’t confirm a diagnosis. Since you’ve been gluten-free for 10 years, traditional diagnostic methods (like endoscopy or blood tests) would not be reliable now. If an official diagnosis is important to you, consider discussing a gluten challenge with your doctor, where you reintroduce gluten for a period before testing. Alternatively, you could focus on symptom management and dietary adherence, as your gluten-free diet seems to be helping. Consulting a gastroenterologist or celiac specialist could provide further clarity.  Here is more info about how to do a gluten challenge for a celiac disease blood panel, or for an endoscopy: and this recent study recommends 4-6 slices of wheat bread per day:    
    • Scott Adams
      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      @cvz Thank you for sharing your daughter’s story. It sounds like she is managing multiple complex conditions with great care and diligence. It’s encouraging to hear that she is compliant with her gluten-free diet and that her Addison’s disease symptoms are under control. The addition of electrolytes seems like a thoughtful suggestion, especially given her fluid intake. It’s also reassuring that she hasn’t shown noticeable symptoms from accidental gluten exposure, though it’s understandable how challenging it can be to monitor for such incidents. The unexplained high lipase levels are intriguing—perhaps further investigation or consultation with a specialist could provide more clarity. Wishing you both continued strength and success in managing her health. Please keep us updated on her progress!
    • Kj44
      Testing

      By Kj44 · Posted

      Hello I received this in a genetic lab test I requested from my provider.    The patient is positive for DQA1*05, one half of the DQ2 heterodimer. The celiac disease risk from the HLA DQA/DQB genotype is approximately 1:1842 (0.05%). This is less than the 1% risk in the general population. Allele interpretation for all loci based on IMGT/HLA database version 3.55 HLA Lab CLIA ID Number 34D0954530 Greater than 95% of celiac patients are positive for either DQ2 or DQ8 (Sollid and Thorsby, (1993) Gastroenterology 105:910-922). However these antigens may also be present in patients who do not have Celiac disease.   Some background, I have been eating gluten free for about 10 years now. I have never had an official celiac diagnosis due to endoscopy and labs tested after I had already been eating gluten free for over 1 year. I was constantly sick and told you slowly remove foods and see what effects my symptoms. I have also come to realize that I have other symptoms of celiacs and recently requested the genetic testing shown above.    I am looking to see if anyone has other recommendations for testing or just to clarify the results for me as I feel the official diagnosis could be helpful but I am not positive that it is even true for me. 
    • cvz
      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      By cvz · Posted

      My daughter, age 48, has Down syndrome, hypothyroidism, Addison's disease, and Celiac disease, which was diagnosed based on blood tests last July.  After a small intestine biopsy last fall, we were told that she has severe celiac disease.  She is taking both levothyroxine and leothyronine for her hypothyroidism and both hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone for Addison's disease.  She also takes Folic acid, magnesium, vitamin B-12, DHEA (DAGA), and a multivitamin.  In July, she started on a gluten-free diet and is very compliant.  She has had constipation and diarrhea issues all her life and now controls the constipation with Miralax, prunes, and apricots.  Shel has only very occasional syncopes or vasovagal events and muscle aches in her upper back and neck.  She drinks 4-6 or more 12 oz bottles or of liquid per day.  Her doctor has just suggested adding electrolytes to one of those bottles daily.   We are sorry to learn about the issues you are having and would like to stay in touch.  We do not know anyone else with both Addison's disease and celiac disease.  So far, she has no recognizable symptoms.  We are doing our best to keep her gluten-free, but have no way of knowing if she has had an exposure to it unless we catch it ourselves.  For example, a few weeks ago, a restaurant mistakenly breaded her fish, and I did not notice it until she had eaten most of it.  She had no identifiable symptoms of the exposure then or days later. By the way, the reason she was screened for Celiac disease was that her blood lipase levels were unexplainably high.  They still are.  We have no idea why.    
×
×
  • Create New...