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

Levels Of Celiac

rweintritt

Recommended Posts

rweintritt Newbie
rweintritt
Posted

I was just reading about the contamination of oats. On one of the threads, I read a big debate about whether there are varying levels of Celiac. It caught my attention because about 4 months ago my doctor tested me for Celiac. Several times my results came back borderline. I was consistently a few points below diagnosis but he said that I was definitely borderline and should avoid gluten. So, wouldn't borderline be a varying level of celiac?

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

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Guest Viola
Guest Viola
Posted

Celiac Disease, is just that. There is no border line on having the disease. However, there is varying degrees of damage to be detected during the tests. You should be on a gluten free diet, and perhaps be thankful that you don't have serious damage as yet. If the tests are showing little damage, perhaps you will be lucky and heal quickly with the diet. That's not to say that you can ever go off the diet, just that your symptoms hopefully will go away quicker on it :rolleyes: Now ... have I really confused you? :huh:

KaitiUSA Enthusiast
KaitiUSA
Posted

There are not degrees of celiac disease but there are degrees of symptoms. Some people may have worse reactions and so forth but the people who don't get bad reactions are in the exact same boat of having to avoid ANY amount of gluten.

Some people may have had worse damage then others because of going undiagnosed for so long but again it does not effect the diet they need to follow.

If you are celiac then you are celiac...no levels about it...

hope this cleared up some questions about it

rweintritt Newbie
rweintritt
Posted
  • Author

Well, I only had blood tests, not biopsies. So, I don't know about damage that I may have. I have definitely felt better being on the diet and last week I ate pizza and thought I was going to die. I couldn't get out of bed for a week, but that never happened before, when I was eating gluten. So, obviously my body has adjusted to being gluten-free. I guess my confusion is in the interpretation of the blood results. I had a much higher than normal antibody count, but it wasn't quite enough to diagnose Celiac. So, what does all this mean? Does the antibody count correlate to the amount of damage? Thanks to you who have replied.

KaitiUSA Enthusiast
KaitiUSA
Posted
Does the antibody count correlate to the amount of damage?

Not necessarily. Antibodies in the blood indicate there is a negative response to gluten going on in your body. Some of the time when there are antibodies present there will be some damage..to what extent of damage that can vary. Other times damage may not have arised yet. I think it depends how long the celiac has been activated and gone undetected. The longer you go with it undetected the more damage I would think you would get.

ianm Apprentice
ianm
Posted

For me the symptoms seemed to have been there since day 1. Sometimes they would get real bad and sometimes it went into remission. It wasn't until my mid-20's that it became chronic and by my early 30's I was in real bad shape. The level of symptoms can vary but sooner or later they do catch up with you.

Archived

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

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


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,516
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    River girl
    Newest Member
    River girl
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.2k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Certified gluten free oats

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Gluten-free oats can cause villous atrophy in people with celiac disease who are sensitive to oats (~10% of celiacs). While oats are naturally gluten-free and often safe for most individuals with celiac disease, a small percentage of people with the condition are sensitive to avenin, a protein found in oats that is structurally similar to gluten. For these individuals, consuming oats—whether labeled gluten-free or not—can trigger an immune response, leading to intestinal damage, including villous atrophy.
    • trents
      Certified gluten free oats

      By trents · Posted

      This thread is confusing. Apart from any kind of oats, whether gluten free, certified gluten free or just regular oats, you should have been consuming plenty of gluten for a period of weeks leading up to the day of the endoscopy. Consuming wheat products would have been the best choice as wheat is the grain highest in gluten. Once you begin to remove gluten from your diet, inflammation in the small bowel begins to subside and healing of the mucosal lining starts. If enough healing happens before the egd/biopsy there may be no damage to see and the procedure would have been invalid. Recently updated "gluten challenge" guidelines call for the daily consumption of at least 10 g of gluten (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for at least two weeks leading up to the day of the procedure.
    • badastronaut
      Still unsure.....

      By badastronaut · Posted

      Dear forum members, I’m still trying to find out whether or not I actually have gluten sensitivity or not. Recent blood test showed a slightly elevated Bilirubine and Lipase but an abdominal ultrasound showed no problems with the liver or pancreas. My zinc and folic acid where both too low. When I eat gluten I get a lot of mucus with my stool and most of the times it’s quite thin. As soon as I take gluten away from my diet my stool becomes normal. I also have been quite anxious and little bit down for quite some time now and it seems to correlate with my gluten intake. The problem is that my colonoscopy showed no damage to my gut and my blood test for celiac always come back negative. Can you be gluten sensitive without damage to your villi? (I believe that’s what is normally seen in celiac disease). Thanks for helping! I don’t seem to get anywhere with my doctor so I thought I’d give this forum another try.  
    • knitty kitty
      Can gallbladder issues cause symptoms of celiac disease?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @robingfellow and @Mr-Collateral531, I also had to have my gallbladder removed in emergency surgery.  The gallbladder uses lots of thiamine vitamin b1 to function.   The gallbladder cannot secrete bile if it doesn't have sufficient thiamine.  Thiamine provides our muscles and glands energy to move and secrete needed enzymes and hormones.  The thyroid is another gland that requires lots if thiamine to function and secrete hormones.   Our brains, just thinking at a desk job, requires as much thiamine as our muscles do if running a marathon.   Migraines are linked to thiamine deficiency. Thiamine is the first of the eight B vitamins that our body needs. Thiamine can only be stored for three weeks at most.  Our thiamine stores can be depleted in as little as three days.  We need more thiamine when we have a physical injury (like recovering from surgery or fighting the flu), if we're emotionally stressed or traumatized, and if we're physically active.  Thiamine, like the other B vitamins, is water soluble and easily excreted in urine or most in diarrhea.  B vitamins are commonly poorly absorbed in Celiac Disease.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins need to be taken together because they interact with each other to make life sustaining enzymes.  Thiamine deficiency can affect individual organs.  Gallbladder dysfunction is connected to thiamine deficiency, as is hypothyroidism.    Migraines are connected to thiamine deficiency.  Gastrointestinal Beriberi (abdominal pain, vomiting, etc.) is a result of thiamine deficiency.  Tachycardia and fatigue are also symptoms of thiamine deficiency.   Thiamine and magnesium make enzymes that are essential for life.   Thiamine is needed to absorb certain minerals like iron.  Anemia and thiamine deficiency frequently occur together.  Thiamine deficiency can cause poor blood cell production (including low antibody production).   Thiamine interacts with other vitamins and minerals.  Vitamin D is not utilized by the body until turned into an active form by Thiamine. Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  High doses of thiamine correct deficiencies quickly which prevent further health deterioration.  A one a day type multivitamin is not sufficient to correct vitamin and mineral deficiencies that occur in the malabsorption of Celiac Disease.   The Gluten free diet is low in vitamins as they are not required to be enriched with vitamins lost in processing.  Supplementing with thiamine and the B vitamins boosts their absorption.   Helpful Reading: Hiding in Plain Sight: Modern Thiamine Deficiency https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8533683/ Gastrointestinal Beriberi and Wernicke's Encephalopathy Triggered by One Session of Heavy Drinking https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6739701/ P. S. Try a DNA test to see if you have any known genes for Celiac Disease before doing a gluten challenge.
    • Matt13
      Certified gluten free oats

      By Matt13 · Posted

      Thanks for the reply ! I am asking because tomorow i have egd and nobody told me not to eat gluten-free oats… and i was scared that it could ruin my biopsy results… 
×
×
  • Create New...