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I had the same thing happen to me at around your age, and to this day it's the most painful experience I've ever had. For me it was the right side of my head, above my ear, running from my nerves in my neck. For years before my outbreak I felt a tingling sensation shooting along the exact nerves that ended up exactly where the shingles blisters appeared. I highly recommend the two shot shingles vaccine as soon as your turn 50--I did this because I started to get the same tingling sensations in the same area, and after the vaccines I've never felt that again.  As you likely know, shingles is caused by chicken pox, which was once though of as one of those harmless childhood viruses that everyone should catch in the wild--little did they know that it can stay in your nervous system for your entire life, and cause major issues as you age.

Keep us posted.

Thanks for the info. I recently moved to CA from Wyoming and in that western region the Costco and Sam's /Walmart Brands have many nuts and more products that are labeled gluten free. I was told it's because those products are packaged and processed  in different  plants. Some plants can be labeled  gluten free because the plant does not also package gluten products and they know that for example the trucks, containers equipment are not used to handle wheat, barely or Rye. The Walmart butter in the western region says gluten free but not here. Most of The Kirkland and Members Mark brands in CA say they are from Vietnam. That's not the case in Wyoming and Colorado. I've spoken to customer service at the stores here in California. They were not helpful. I check labels every time I go to the store. The stores where I am are a Sh*tshow. The Magalopoly grocery chain Vons/Safeway/Albertsons, etc. are the same. Fishers and Planters brands no longer say gluten free. It could be regional. There are nuts with sugar coatings and fruit and nut mixes at the big chains that are labeled gluten free but I don't want the fruit or sugar.  It's so difficult I am considering moving again. I thought it would be easier to find safe food in a more populated area. It's actually worse.  I was undiagnosed for most of my life but not because I didn't try to figure it out. So I have had all the complications possible. I don't have any spare organs left.  No a little gluten will hurt you. The autoimmune process continues to destroy your organs though you may not feel it. If you are getting a little all the time and as much as we try we probably all are and so the damage is happening. Now the FDA has pretty much abandoned celiacs. There are no requirements for labeling for common allergens on medications. All the generic drugs made outside the US are not regulated for common allergens and the FDA is taking the last gluten free porcine Thyroid med, NP Thyroid, off the market in 2026. I was being glutened by a generic levothyroxin. The insurance wouldn't pay for the gluten free brand any longer because the FDA took them all off their approved formulary. So now I am paying $147 out of pocket for NP Thyroid but shortly I will have no safe choice. Other people with allergies should be aware that these foreign generic pharmaceutical producers are using ground shellfish shell as pill coatings and anti-desicants. The FDA knows this but  now just waits for consumers to complain or die. The take over of Wholefoods by Amazon destroyed a very reliable source of good high quality food for people with allergies and for people who wanted good reliably organic food. Bezos thought  he could make a fortune off people who were paying alot for organic and allergen free food by substituting cheap brands from Thailand. He didn't understand who the customers were who were willing to pay more for that food and why. I went from spending hundreds to nothing because Bezo removed every single trusted brand that I was buying. Now they are closing Whole foods stores across the country. In CA, Mill Valley store (closed July 2025) and the National Blvd. store in West Los Angeles (closed October 2025). The Cupertino store will close.  In recent years I have learned to be careful and trust no one. I have been deleberately glutened in a restaurant that was my favorite (a new employee). The Chef owner was not in the kitchen that night. I've had  a metal scouring pad cut up over my food.The chain offered gluten free dishes but it only takes one crazy who thinks you're a problem as a food fadist. Good thing I always look. Good thing they didn't do that to food going to a child with a busy mom.  I give big tips and apologize for having to ask in restaurants but mental illness seem to be rampant. I've learn the hard way.          I don't buy any processed food that doesn't say gluten free.  I am a life long Catholic. I worked for the Church while at college. I don't go to Church anymore because the men at the top decided Jesus is gluten. The special hosts are gluten less not gluten free. No I can't drink wine after people with gluten in their mouth and a variety of deadly germs. I have been abandoned and excluded by my Church/Family.  Having nearly died several times, safe food is paramount. If your immune system collapses as mine did, you get sepsis. It can kill you very quickly. I spent 5 days unconscious and had to have my appendix and gall bladder removed because they were necrotic. I was 25. They didn't figure out I had celiac till I was 53. No one will take the time to tell you what can happen when your immune system gets overwhelmed from its constant fighting the gluten and just stops. It is miserable that our food is processed so carelessly. Our food in many aspects is not safe. And the merging of all the grocery chains has made it far worse. Its a disaster. Krogers also recently purchased Vitacost where I was getting the products I could no longer get at Whole Foods. Kroger is eliminating those products from Vitacost just a Bezos did from WF. I am looking for reliable and certified sources for nuts. I have lived the worst consequences of the disease and being exposed unknowingly and maliciously. Once I was diagnosed I learned way more than anyone should have to about the food industry.  I don't do gray areas. And now I dont eat out except very rarely.  I have not eaten fast food for 30 years before the celiac diagnosis. Gluten aside..... It's not food and it's not safe.  No one has got our backs. Sharing safe food sources is one thing we can do to try to be safe.        

Thank you kindly for your response. I have since gotten the other type of bloods done and am awaiting results. 

I wanted to respond to your post as much for other people who read this later on (I'm not trying to contradict your experience or decisions) > Kirkland Signature Super Extra-Large Peanuts, 2.5 lbs, are labeled "gluten free" in the Calif Costcos I've been in. If they are selling non-gluten-free in your store, I suggest talking to customer service to see if they can get you the gluten-free version (they are tasty) > This past week I bought "Sliced Raw Almonds, Baking Nuts, 5 lbs Item 1495072 Best if used by Jun-10-26 W-261-6-L1A 12:47" at Costco. The package has the standard warning that it was made on machinery that <may> have processed wheat. Based on that alone, I would not eat these. However, I contacted customer service and asked them "are Costco's Sliced Almonds gluten free?" Within a day I got this response:  "This is [xyz] with the Costco Member Service Resolutions Team. I am happy to let you know we got a reply back from our Kirkland Signature team. Here is their response:  This item does not have a risk of cross contamination with gluten, barley or rye." Based on this, I will eat them. Based on experience, I believe they will be fine. Sometimes, for other products, the answer has been "they really do have cross-contamination risk" (eg, Kirkland Signature Dry Roasted Macadamia Nuts, Salted, 1.5 lbs Item 1195303). When they give me that answer I return them for cash. You might reasonably ask, "Why would Costco use that label if they actually are safe?" I can't speak for Costco but I've worked in Corporate America and I've seen this kind of thing first hand and up close. (1) This kind of regulatory label represents risk/cost to the company. What if they are mistaken? In one direction, the cost is loss of maybe 1% of sales (if celiacs don't buy when they would have). In the other direction, the risk is reputational damage and open-ended litigation (bad reviews and celiacs suing them). Expect them to play it safe. (2) There is a team tasked with getting each product out to market quickly and cheaply, and there is also a committee tasked with reviewing the packaging before it is released. If the team chooses the simplest, safest, pre-approved label, this becomes a quick check box. On the other hand, if they choose something else, it has to be carefully scrutinized through a long process. It's more efficient for the team to say there <could> be risk. (3) There is probably some plug and play in production. Some lots of the very same product could be made in a safe facility while others are made in an unsafe facility. Uniform packaging (saying there is risk) for all packages regardless of gluten risk is easier, cheaper, and safer (for Costco). Everything I wrote here is about my Costco experience, but the principles will be true at other vendors, particularly if they have extensive quality control infrastructure. The first hurdle of gluten-free diet is to remove/replace all the labeled gluten ingredients. The second, more difficult hurdle is to remove/replace all the hidden gluten. Each of us have to assess gray zones and make judgement calls knowing there is a penalty for being wrong. One penalty would be getting glutened but the other penalty could be eating an unnecessarily boring or malnourishing diet.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply and links, Wheatwacked. Definitely some food for thought. However, I would point out that your linked articles refer to gliadin in human breast milk, not cow's milk. And although it might seem reasonable to conclude it would work the same way in cows, that is not necessarily the case. Studies seem to indicate otherwise. Studies also indicate the amount of gliadin in human breast milk is miniscule and unlikely to cause reactions:  https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/gluten-peptides-in-human-breast-milk-implications-for-cows-milk/ I would also point out that Dr. Peter Osborne's doctorate is in chiropractic medicine, though he also has studied and, I believe, holds some sort of certifications in nutritional science. To put it plainly, he is considered by many qualified medical and nutritional professionals to be on the fringe of quackery. But he has a dedicated and rabid following, nonetheless.

I'd be very cautious about accepting these claims without robust evidence. The hypothesis requires a chain of biologically unlikely events: Gluten/gliadin survives the cow's rumen and entire digestive system intact. It is then absorbed whole into the cow's bloodstream. It bypasses the cow's immune system and liver. It is then secreted, still intact and immunogenic, into the milk. The cow's digestive system is designed to break down proteins, not transfer them whole into milk. This is not a recognized pathway in veterinary science. The provided backup shifts from cow's milk to human breastmilk, which is a classic bait-and-switch. While the transfer of food proteins in human breastmilk is a valid area of study, it doesn't validate the initial claim about commercial dairy. The use of a Dr. Osborne video is a major red flag. His entire platform is based on the idea that all grains are toxic, a view that far exceeds the established science on Celiac Disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and a YouTube video from a known ideological source is not that evidence.  

Some backup to my statement about gluten and milk. Some background.  When my son was born in 1976 he was colicky from the beginning.  When he transitioned to formula it got really bad.  That's when we found the only pediactric gastroenterologist (in a population of 6 million that dealt with Celiac Disease (and he only had 14 patients with celiac disease), who dianosed by biopsy and started him on Nutramegen.  Recovery was quick. The portion of gluten that passes through to breastmilk is called gliadin. It is the component of gluten that causes celiac disease or gluten intolerance. What are the Effects of Gluten in Breastmilk? Gliaden, a component of gluten which is typically responsible for the intestinal reaction of gluten, DOES pass through breast milk.  This is because gliaden (as one of many food proteins) passes through the lining of your small intestine into your blood. Can gluten transmit through breast milk?  

I don't know of a connection. Lots of people who don't have celiac disease/gluten issues get shingles.

I’m 43, just newly diagnosed with a horrible case of shingles last week . They are all over my face , around my eye, ear , all in my scalp. Lymph nodes are a mess. Ear is a mess. My eye is hurting and sensitive. Pain has been a 10/10+ daily. Taking Motrin and Tylenol around the clock. I AM MISERABLE. The pain is unrelenting. I just want to cry.   But Developing shingles has me a bit concerned about my immune system which also has me wondering about celiac and if there’s a connection to celiac / gluten and shingles; particularly since I haven't been 💯 gluten free because of all the confusing test results and doctors advice etc., is there a connection here? I’ve never had shingles and the gluten/ celiac  roller coaster has been ongoing for a while but I’ve had gluten off and on the last year bc of all the confusion  

Thank you @trents for letting me know you experience something similar thanks @knitty kitty for your response and resources.  I will be following up with my doctor about these results and I’ll read the articles you sent. Thanks - I really appreciate you all.

You're right, doctors usually only test Vitamin D and B12.  Both are really important, but they're not good indicators of deficiencies in the other B vitamins.  Our bodies are able to store Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D in the liver for up to a year or longer.  The other B vitamins can only be stored for much shorter periods of time.  Pyridoxine B 6 can be stored for several months, but the others only a month or two at the longest.  Thiamine stores can be depleted in as little as three days.  There's no correlation between B12 levels and the other B vitamins' levels.  Blood tests can't measure the amount of vitamins stored inside cells where they are used.  There's disagreement as to what optimal vitamin levels are.  The Recommended Daily Allowance is based on the minimum daily amount needed to prevent disease set back in the forties when people ate a totally different diet and gruesome experiments were done on people.  Folate  requirements had to be updated in the nineties after spina bifida increased and synthetic folic acid was mandated to be added to grain products.  Vitamin D requirements have been updated only in the past few years.   Doctors aren't required to take as many hours of nutritional education as in the past.  They're educated in learning institutions funded by pharmaceutical corporations.  Natural substances like vitamins can't be patented, so there's more money to be made prescribing pharmaceuticals than vitamins.   Also, look into the Autoimmune Protocol Diet, developed by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, a Celiac herself.  Her book The Paleo Approach has been most helpful to me.  You're very welcome.  I'm glad I can help you around some stumbling blocks while on this journey.    Keep me posted on your progress!  Best wishes! P.S.  interesting reading: Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/

So interesting that you stated you had sub clinical vitamin deficiencies. When I was first diagnosed with celiac disease (silent), the vitamin levels my doctor did test for were mostly within normal range (lower end) with the exception of vitamin D. I believe he tested D, B12, magnesium, and iron.  I wondered how it was possible that I had celiac disease without being deficient in everything!  I’m wondering now if I have subclinical vitamin deficiencies as well, because even though I remain gluten free, I struggle with insomnia, low energy, body aches, etc.  It’s truly frustrating when you stay true to the gluten-free diet, yet feel fatigued most days. I’ll definitely try the B-complex, and the Benfotiamine again, and will keep you posted. Thanks once again!

Segments of the protein Casein are the same as segments of the protein strands of gluten, the 33-mer segment.   The cow's body builds that Casein protein.  It doesn't come from wheat.   Casein can trigger the same reaction as being exposed to gluten in some people.   This is not a dairy allergy (IGE mediated response).  It is not lactose intolerance.  

Wheatwacked, what exactly did you intend when you stated that wheat is incorporated into the milk of cows fed wheat? Obviously, the gluten would be broken down by digestion and is too large a molecule anyway to cross the intestinal membrane and get into the bloodstream of the cow. What is it from the wheat that you are saying becomes incorporated into the milk protein?

Wheat in cow feed would not equal gluten in the milk, @Wheatwacked, please back up extraordinary claims like this with some scientific backing, as I've never heard that cow's milk could contain gluten due to what the cow eats.

Hello, @NanceK, I'm glad you're willing to give Benfotiamine with B Complex another go!  I'm certain you'll feel much better.   Yes, supplementation is a good idea even if you're healing and gluten free.  The gluten free diet can be low in B vitamins and other nutrients. A nutritionist can help guide you to a nutrient dense diet, but food sensitivities and food preferences can limit choices.  I can't consume fish and shellfish due to the sulfa hypersensitivity and iodine content, and dairy is out as well.  I react to casein, the protein in dairy, as well as the iodine in dairy.  My Dermatitis Herpetiformis is aggravated by iodine.   Blood tests for B vitamin levels are notoriously inaccurate.  You can have deficiency symptoms before blood levels change to show a deficiency.  I had subclinical vitamin deficiencies for years which affected my health, leading to a slow downward spiral.  Because the B vitamins are water soluble, they are easily excreted in urine if not needed.  It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.   Wheat and other gluten containing grain products have vitamins and minerals added to them to replace those nutrients lost in processing.  Manufacturers add cheap vitamins that our bodies don't absorb or utilize well.  Even normal people can suffer from vitamin deficiencies.  The rise in obesity can be caused by High Calorie Malnutrition, where people eat more carbohydrate calories but don't get sufficient thiamine and B vitamins to turn the calories into energy.  The calories are stored as fat in an effort to ration out diminishing thiamine  stores.    It's time to buy your own vitamins in forms like Benfotiamine that our bodies can use well.   Not sleeping well and fatigue are symptoms of Thiamine deficiency.   I'm certain Benfotiamine with a B Complex will help you immensely.  Just don't take them at night since B vitamins provide lots of energy, you can become too energetic to sleep.  Better to take them earlier in your day.   Do keep me posted on your progress!

Oh wow! Thanks for this information! I’m going to try the Benfotiamine again and will also add a B-complex to my supplements. Presently, I just take sublingual B12 (methylcobalomin). Is supplementation for celiacs always necessary even though you remain gluten-free and you’re healing as shown on endoscopy? I also take D3, mag glycinate, and try to get calcium through diet. I am trying to bump up my energy level because I don’t sleep very well and feel fatigued quite often. I’m now hopeful that adding the Benfotiamine and B-complex will help. I really appreciate your explanation and advice! Thanks again Knitty Kitty!

@Hmart, The reason why your intestinal damage was so severe, yet your tTg IgA was so minimal can be due to cutting back on gluten (and food in general) due to worsening symptoms.  The tTg IgA antibodies are made in the intestines.  While three grams of gluten per day for several weeks are enough to cause gastrointestinal symptoms, ten grams of gluten per day for for several weeks are required to provoke sufficient antibody production so that the antibodies move out of the intestines and into the blood stream where they can be measured in blood tests.  Since you reduced your gluten consumption before testing, the antibody production went down and did not leave the intestines, hence lower than expected tTg IgA.   Still having abdominal pain and other symptoms this far out is indicative of nutritional deficiencies.  With such a severely damaged small intestine, you are not absorbing sufficient nutrients, especially Thiamine Vitamin B 1, so your body us burning stored fat and even breaking down muscle to fuel your body.   Yes, it is a very good idea to supplement with vitamins and minerals during healing.  The eight essential B vitamins are water soluble and easily lost with diarrhea.  The B vitamins all work together interconnectedly, and should be supplemented together.  Taking vitamin supplements provides your body with greater opportunity to absorb them.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins cannot be stored for long, so they must be replenished every day.  Thiamine tends to become depleted first which leads to Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a condition that doctors frequently fail to recognize.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi are abdominal pain and nausea, but neuropathy can also occur, as well as body and joint pain, headaches and more.  Heart rhythm disruptions including tachycardia are classic symptoms of thiamine deficiency.  Heart attack patients are routinely administered thiamine now.   Blood tests for vitamins are notoriously inaccurate.  You can have "normal" blood levels, while tissues and organs are depleted.  Such is the case with Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency in the digestive tract.  Eating a diet high in carbohydrates, like rice, starches, and sugar, can further deplete thiamine.  The more carbohydrates one eats, the more thiamine is required per calorie to turn carbs into energy.  Burning stored fats require less thiamine, so in times of thiamine shortage, the body burns fat and muscles instead.  Muscle wasting is a classic symptoms of thiamine deficiency.  A high carbohydrate diet may also promote SIBO and/or Candida infection which can also add to symptoms.  Thiamine is required to keep SIBO and Candida in check.   Thiamine works with Pyridoxine B 6, so if Thiamine is low and can't interact with Pyridoxine, the unused B 6 accumulates and shows up as high.   Look into the Autoimmune Protocol diet.  Dr. Sarah Ballantyne is a Celiac herself.  Her book "The Paleo Approach" has been most helpful to me.  Following the AIP diet made a huge improvement in my symptoms.  Between the AIP diet and correcting nutritional deficiencies, I felt much better after a long struggle with not feeling well.   Do talk to your doctor about Gastrointestinal Beriberi.  Share the article linked below. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Keep us posted on your progress!

Thanks, that's a great addition that I hadn't thought of. 

Other diseases, medical conditions, medications and even (for some people) some non-gluten foods can cause villous atrophy. There is also something called refractory celiac disease but it is pretty uncommon.

knitty kitty asks a very relevant question. So many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even a reduced gluten diet soon before getting formally tested.

Another great fiber option is dried apricots. Four of them give you 3g of fiber and I find they don't produce all the gas that some other high fiber options do. They taste good too. Costco sells a large bag of them that are labeled gluten-free so you don't have to worry about cross contamination issues like you might in bulk grocery settings.

Wow, that's alot of info, Thanks!!!! I had my intake with Nutrionist where we went over basics and then will have follow up where we will talk about all the questions I've come up with (including the fiber question and so many more). I'll talk to her about the info you provided as well.  Thanks again (newbie here 😀)

Hello again. Thank you for the responses to date. I have had several follow-ups and wanted to share what I’ve learned. About a month after my initial blood test and going gluten free, my TtG went from 8.1 to 1.8. I have learned that my copper is low and my B6 is high. My other vitamins and nutrients are more or less in range. After I glutened myself on 10/24, I have been strict about being gluten free - so about a month. I have been eating dairy free and low FODMAP as well because it’s what my stomach allows. Baked fish, potatoes, rice, etc. Whole foods and limited Whole foods. I have continued to lose weight but it has slowed down, but a total of about 15 pounds since I went gluten free. Along with stomach pain, my symptoms included nausea, body and joint pain, a burning sensation throughout my body and heart rate spikes. I still have them but I have them less now. These are the symptoms that led to my doctor appointments and subsequent diagnosis. I also did the DNA screening and was positive. So, at this point, the answer is yes, I have celiac. I have two questions for this group. Any ideas on why my enteropathy was so severe (marsh 3B) and my TtG was so minimal? Is that common? Or are there other things to consider with that combo? And this recovery, still having pain and other symptoms a month later (7 weeks gluten free and 4 weeks after the glutening) normal? I’m going to continue down this path of bland foods and trying to heal but would love to understand the reasons for the long journey. I read so much about people who stop eating gluten and feel amazing. I wish that was my experience but it certainly hasn’t been. Thank you again!

@Trish G,  I like dates, they have lots if fiber as well.  But what I found helped most was taking Thiamine (in the form Benfotiamine which helps promote intestinal healing), Pyridoxine B 6, Riboflavin B 2, and magnesium, and Omega Three fats. The absorption of nutrients is affected by Celiac disease which damages the intestinal lining of the small intestines where our nutrients are absorbed.  If you have constipation, where your body is rather pushing your food away and not interacting with it, the nutrients in the food are not being released and absorbed.  You can develop deficiencies in all the vitamins and minerals necessary for the body to function properly.   The B vitamins cannot be stored for long, so they must be replenished daily.  Thiamine B 1 stores can run out in as little as three days.  Constipation (or diarrhea or alternating) is one of the first symptoms of thiamine deficiency.  Thiamine needs magnesium, Pyridoxine B 6, and Riboflavin B 2 to make the intestinal tract function.  Thiamine and Niacin make digestive enzymes.  Thiamine provides the energy for nerve impulses to carry messages to the brain and back about digestion.  Thiamine provides the energy for the muscle contractions which move your food through the digestive tract. High calorie meals containing lots of starches and sugars can deplete thiamine stores quickly because more thiamine is required to turn them into energy.   Are you taking any vitamin and mineral supplements?  Correction of malnutrition is very important in Celiac disease.  Thiamine, the other B vitamins and magnesium will help with constipation better than adding more fiber.  What did your nutritionist recommend you take, besides just the fiber? The association between dietary vitamin B1 intake and constipation: a population-based study https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11100033/ Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Association between dietary vitamin B6 intake and constipation: a population-based study https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11584952/

@kpf, Were you eating ten grams or more of gluten daily in the month preceding your antibody blood tests? TTg IgA antibodies are made in the intestines.  Ten grams of gluten per day for several weeks before testing is required to provoke sufficient antibody production for the antibodies to leave the intestines and enter the blood stream and be measured in blood tests. If you had already gone gluten free or if you had lowered your consumption of gluten before testing, your results will be inaccurate and inconclusive.   See link below on gluten challenge guidelines. Have you had any genetic testing done to see if you carry genes for Celiac disease?  If you don't have genes for Celiac, look elsewhere for a diagnosis.  But if you have Celiac genes, you cannot rule out Celiac disease. You mentioned in another post that you are vegetarian.  Have you been checked for nutritional deficiencies?  The best sources of the eight essential B vitamins are found in meats.  Do you supplement any of the B vitamins as a vegetarian? Deficiency in Thiamine Vitamin B 1 is strongly associated with anemia which can cause false negatives on antibody tests.  Fatigue, numbness or tingling in extremities, difficulty with coordination, headaches and anemia are strongly associated with thiamine deficiency.  Other B vitamins that contribute to those symptoms are Riboflavin B 2, Pyridoxine B 6, Folate B 9 and B12 Cobalamine.  The eight B vitamins all work together with minerals like magnesium and iron.  So your symptoms are indicative of B vitamin deficiencies.  You can develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies just being a vegetarian and not eating good sources of B vitamins like meat.  B vitamin deficiencies are found in Celiac due to the malabsorption of nutrients because the lining of the intestines gets damaged by the antibodies produced in response to gluten.    

Thanks, I'm not a big fan of prunes but did add them back after stopping the Benefiber. Hoping for the best while I wait to hear back from Nutritionist for a different fiber supplement.  Thanks again

If you were wondering why milk protein bothers you with Celiac Disease.  Commercial dairies supplement the cow feed with wheat, which becomes incorporated in the milk protein. Milk omega 6 to omega 3 ratio: Commercial Dairies: 5:1 Organic Milk: 3:1 Grass fed milk: 1:1

My TMJ ended when I lost a middle lower molar.  I had an amalgam filling from youth (1960s) that failed and the tooth broke.  I had what was left pulled and did not bother to replace it.  My bite shifted and the TMJ went away.  I just had to be careful eating M&M Peanuts because they would get stuck in the hole.

Yes, I wondered about the units as well. That large number sure looked more like what we're used to seeing in connection with total IGA scores rather than TTG-IGA. The total IGA test is given to determine if you are IGA deficient. In the case of IGA deficiency, other IGA tests will b skewed and their scores cannot be trusted. Elevated total IGA can point to other health issues, some of them potentially serious, or it can mean nothing. But it doesn't look like you have celiac disease.

So, since total iga 646, was high ,  was tTg iga even tested? It is not uncommon to test negative for antibodies and even biopsies to still have Celiac Disease.  Many on this forum have gone 10 years testing negative and surviving multiple misdiagnoses before finally being diagnosed as celiac. If trial GFD after all the negative tests are concluded brings improvement, will you continue to eat gluten and suffering since the doctor says you are not sick? Your list of symptoms, mostly unrelated to each other, certainly fits the pattern of celiac disease.  Do you really have nine different diseases, all with cause unknown?  

If you don't like prunes, Figs are rich in fiber, with 3-5 dried figs providing about 5 grams.

edited after your post: "one cup of canned prune juice has 707 mg of potassium, while half a cup of dried prunes has 635 mg... whole prunes provide more fiber and fewer calories per serving." - google  When I complained of constipation due to my BP meds my doctor recommened prune juice without hesitation,  When I bother to eat Prunes or plums it works.   I think the fruit is better for you than the juice for addition nutrients.

Thanks, I do include chia seeds and ground flax seed in my diet to help as well but on days that I'm not close to my target of 30 grams of fiber, I would add the Benefiber. My IBS-C was much better with both natural foods and the supplement so I will continue to search for another natural supplement that is not based on wheat to have when needed. Thanks 

Welcome @Trish G to the forum. Hard or lumpy stools and infrequent bowel movements.  My brother likes Phillips Stool Softener, Ducolate Sodium.   Just a question. Was the benefiber helping? Benefiber is only 3 grams per dose so lots of other foods can supply that.  Nutrition label DV for fiber is 28 g. 5 prunes, dehydrated plums, has 3 grams of fiber and additionally 290 grams of potassium. Potassium is good for IBS-C because it prommotes muscle contractions in the intestines.  Low potassium contributes to constipation and bloating.  Most of us don't eat the RDA for potassium (2600 women, 3400 men) and the DV (Daily Value used on nutrition labels) is 4700 mg a day for men, women and children. When I complained of constipation due to my BP meds my doctor recommened prune juice without hesitation,  When I bother to eat Prunes or plums it works.   I think the fruit is better for you than the juice for addition nutrients.  

I think you may be correct. The way the results are printed makes it appear as though it’s the ttg iga but I think you’re right—the 646 is total iga. So this would be indicative of another issue (another autoimmune condition, infection, cancer, etc.) and my doctor would need to do further testing. Thank you for saying this! 

Are you sure that is the TTG IgA? Based on the units (mg/dL) and having an upper limit to the normal range, it looks like a total IgA result. 

Welcome to the forum, @Trish G! "Gluten free" does not necessarily equate to "no gluten". According to FDA standards it actually means that a food product contains no more than 20ppm of gluten. This is safe for most celiacs but would not be for those who are on the more sensitive end of the spectrum. So, it would depend on the individual celiac and their level of sensitivity to minor amounts of gluten. That's the long and nuanced answer. The short answer is that it is a product derived from wheat and so you can be certain it will contain some residual amounts of gluten. No gluten removal process is 100% effective. So, to be absolutely certain, stay away from it. Have you tried chia seeds? Very high in fiber and quickly turns into a gel when added to water. Make sure you get seeds that are gluten free if you decide to try it.

I was taking Benefiber for my IBS-C before my celiac diagnosis. It does say Gluten Free but lists Wheat Dextrin on the label. I really dont like psyllium fiber, so is there anything else I can take or is the Benefiber really ok for someone with Celiac disease?  Thanks!!!

Abdominal pain and an itchy stomach were the symptoms I asked to see a GI about. Now I’ve learned these other symptoms—that I have but attributed to other issues—could also be related to celiac disease:  fatigue joint pain canker sores numbness or tingling in hands or feet difficulty with coordination anemia headaches neutropenia I never dreamed in a million years she would consider celiac disease. It was a shock to me. It’s definitely not what I went to her for. 

@Rejoicephd, I'm not a doctor, but I experienced severe thiamine deficiency.  Your symptoms seem really familiar.  Malabsorption is a real thing that happens with Celiac.  A multivitamin is not going to prevent nor correct nutritional deficiencies.    Doctors do not recognize nutritional deficiency symptoms.  Gastrointestinal Beriberi is not recognized often.  Caused by thiamine deficiency, high dose thiamine supplements or IV administration with other vitamins, minerals and glucose under doctor's care is needed.   Thiamine deficiency is found in anemia.  Thiamine deficiency in the kidneys can result in electrolyte imbalances and cloudy urine.  Thiamine deficiency can cause high blood sugar which can cause cloudy urine.  Dehydration can cause cloudy urine.   I'm linking some PubMed articles.  You see if your symptoms match.  Discuss the possibility of Gastrointestinal Beriberi with one of your specialists soon!  Just to rule it out.  I'm very concerned.   I'm linking some PubMed articles.  You see if your symptoms match.   Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/#ref3 From Section 3: "In conclusion, TD limited to the gastrointestinal system may be an overlooked and underdiagnosed cause of the increasingly common gastrointestinal disorders encountered in modern medical settings. Left unattended, it may progress to wet or dry beriberi, most often observed as Wernicke encephalopathy.". . And... Refeeding Syndrome https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK564513/

What are your symptoms? What has brought you to the point where you sought celiac disease testing?

Thanks so much. This is what I thought but really wanted a second opinion. I appreciate this. 

I have heard about numerous food sensitivity tests blood and the prick and how nothing is very reliable I think trial and error probably best bet.

As ShariW explained, soy itself doesn't contain gluten but most soy sauces sold in stores and used in restaurants contain wheat as an ingredient so they are not gluten free. As I understand it, there are two traditional ways of making soy sauce. One way contains wheat and one doesn't. The most popular one found out there in the wild does contain wheat, however. Kikkoman offers a line of gluten-free soy sauce and Teriyaki products that are often sold by grocery store chains like Safeway. There are food allergy/food sensitivity tests available and your physician can order them or give you a referral. They fall into two categories, the skin prick kind and the blood test kind. One you might look into is called the ALCAT test which might be the most helpful for foods. However, the reliability of these things is questionable. The results can be helpful as a place to start but the results often don't match up with real life experience. There are reasons for this and you might do well to research food sensitivity testing reliability on the Internet. 

The IGA TTG (aka, TTG-IGA) is the centerpiece of celiac disease blood antibody testing. A high value in this test indicates probable celiac disease, though there are other reasons (some other diseases, some medications and in some cases, even some non-gluten foods) that can cause it to be elevated. And it is not unusual at all for other celiac antibody tests to be normal when the TTG-IGA is high. Normally, when the TTG-IGA is elevated, the physician will order an upper GI with biopsy of the small bowel lining to check for the damage characteristic of celiac disease. The biopsy is then sent out for microscopic analysis. This is to confirm the results of the blood testing and is considered the gold standard diagnostic test. You should not begin a gluten free diet until the endoscopy/biopsy is complete. This is very important because otherwise the results will be invalidated.  This article on celiac disease blood antibody tests might be helpful to you while you are waiting for feedback from the physician:  

Thanks that's what I didn't know about soy hidden with wheat. I know it's autoimmune but want sure about sensitivity to corn or eggs. There's no tests for these which are non gluten is there? I have had gluten free tortillas pastas made with corn and have had eggs so I don't think it bothers me but I was curious if there was a test that does sure sensitivities to these non gluten items for gluten-free people. Thanks

And of course I get these results (the ttg iga marked high at 646 mg/dL) on a Friday in my portal, my doctor wasn't in, and now we are in the weekend—leaving me to have to try and figure things out on my own until sometime next week. None of the nurses at the office would talk to me. 

peptide iga, peptide igg, and ttg igg were all marked normal with limits noted as <15.0

Gliadin peptide iga was 0.7 U/mL Gliadin peptide igg was <0.4 U/mL IGA TTG was 646 mg/dL (marked high with limits noted as 40-350) IGG TTG was <0.8 UmL

I can’t figure out how to attach a photo here, but thank you so much for your response. And thank you for the welcome. 

Are you asking if it is typical to only have the ttg-iga be high and the other tests being within normal range? Is so, the answer is it is very common. What other tests were included in the celiac panel? Can you list all tests and include not only the scores but the reference ranges? Different labs use different reference ranges so it is difficult to say much by just looking at the scores. Welcome to the forum, @kpf!

Levels on my celiac panel were within normal range except ttg iga which was tagged as high (646 mg/dl). Is that typical? 

A lot of people erroneously think soy is a problem for people needing to be on a gluten-free diet. Trents' comment above speaks to some celiacs also having a sensitivity to soy, but this is just some of them.  However, soy sauce is something anyone following a gluten-free diet should be wary of. Many soy sauces contain wheat, which is where the soy/gluten confusion comes into play. There is gluten-free soy sauce available, just read labels to be sure. I use San-J Tamari, which is gluten-free but does contain soy, in place of regular soy sauce.