Signs and Symptoms

As I said before, there are over 250 different symptoms associated with Celiac Disease. "Symptoms of Celiac Disease occur after eating foods containing gluten. These foods trigger an abnormal immune system response that damages the intestine. Symptoms vary widely: they may be very mild and go completely unnoticed, or they may be severe and impact daily life...Symptoms of celiac disease also occur with a variety of other conditions, which can delay the initial diagnosis." (http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/celiac-disease--symptoms)

There are two different categories of symptoms that I'm going to talk about. The first are "classic" symptoms that effect the G.I. Tract. The second are "atypical" symptoms that are extra-intestinal, or occur outside of the G.I. Tract. I'll also talk about some of the more severe, long-term effects that Celiac Disease can have on the body.

Some of the more common, "classic" symptoms include:
-Chronic diarrhea
-Bulky, pale, foul stools
-Belly distention (bloating), cramps, and pain
-Weight loss or weight gain
-Loss of or voracious appetite
-Vomiting
-Constipation
-Recurring mouth ulcers
-Dental enamel effects
-Lactose Intolerance

Some of the "atypical" symptoms include:
-Tired or no energy (chronic fatigue), iron deficiency, anemia
-Irritable, depressed (mental illness)
-Dermatitis Herpetiformis ("...a rare, chronic, skin disorder characterized by the presence of groups of severely itchy...blisters and raised skin lesions...These are more common on the knees, elbows, buttocks and shoulder blades." (http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/dermatitis-herpetiformis))
-Osteopenia/Osteoporosis (premature bone loss)
-Infertility, miscarriage
-Neurological findings (neuropathy)
-Abnormal liver tests
-Muscle, joint pain
-Delayed growth in children (failure to thrive)
-Delayed puberty and other developmental delays
-ADD/ADHD, other mental manifestations
-Frequent respiratory infections
-Problems with memory and concentration
-Muscle weakness


The signs and symptoms of Celiac Disease vary from individual to individual, with some people showing many symptoms that affect their day to day life and others showing no symptoms at all. Celiac Disease is more common in people with the following diseases:
-Dermatitis herpetiformis
-Type 1 Diabetes
-IgA deficiency
-Down syndrome
-Autoimmune thyroid disease
-Sjogren's Syndrome
-Turner Syndrome
-Microscopic Colitis
-Primary Billary Cirrhosis


As you can see there are many symptoms of Celiac Disease so it is difficult to diagnose. Most symptoms that people go to the doctor for are classified as "atypical", so it often gets misdiagnosed as something else such as Lactose intolerance or IBS. That's why it's important to do your research and ask lots of questions if you go into the doctor to make sure you get the right diagnosis.

So, what the heck is Celiac Disease? (Part 2)

Now that we know what gluten is, let's talk about what it does to someone with C.D. when they eat it.

Gluten causes an immune reaction in genetically susceptible people and causes damage to the small intestine when it is ingested into the body. This causes the abnormal absorption of nutrients into the body. In your small intestine there are these little, finger-like appendages sticking up that help in the absorption of nutrients. When someone with C.D. eats gluten your immune system attacks the gluten and harms your small intestine, causing "blunting" of the villi.

On the left is a picture of healthy villi. On the right is a picture of blunted villi. (I have seen pictures of blunted villi where the small intestine is completely smooth, which can happen in severe cases of C.D.)

I want to clear up that Celiac Disease is NOT another name for a wheat allergy or gluten intolerance. Here are the differences:

1) Celiac Disease is an immune mediated disease that effects approximately 1% of the U.S. population, which is 2-3 million people or 1 out of every 133 people. Out of these people, 85% of them have yet to be diagnosed.

2) Wheat allergy affects about 10% of food allergy sufferers. A wheat allergy is rarely an allergy to gluten and is more often an allergy to other proteins found in wheat.

3) Gluten sensitivity/intolerance is not a gluten allergy. People with gluten sensitivity/intolerance only develop symptoms after ingesting gluten.

Celiac Disease can occur at all ages but is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 60. One of the myths related to C.D. is that it only occurs in people of European origin. This is not true. C.D. has been found to occur in people of all races, but is very rare in people of Japanese origin due to their diet. Genetics play a key role in who gets C.D. This means that if one person in a family has it, at least one other person does, too.

Celiac Disease is a lot more common than people think, but because the symptoms of C.D. are so vast it is often mistaken for other illnesses such as IBS. Because of better education and more research, more people are being diagnosed every day.

So, what the heck is Celiac Disease? (Part 1)

If you've never heard of Celiac Disease (abbreviated C.D.) you're probably wondering what the heck it is. Since it's not a very well-known disease like Diabetes or Crohn's, I'm not surprised you may not have heard of it. This post is aimed towards explaining what C.D. is and why it's so important that we raise awareness about it.

In order to explain C.D., I have to explain what Gluten is.

"Gluten (from Latin gluten "glue") is a protein composite that appears in foods processed from wheat and related species, including barley and rye...Gluten is the composite of a prolamin and a glutelin, which exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperm of various grass-related grains. Gliadin, a water-soluble, and glutenin, a water-insoluble, (the prolamin and glutelin from wheat) compose about 80% of the protein contained in wheat seed...Worldwide, gluten is a source of protein, both in foods prepared directly from sources containing it, and as an additive to foods otherwise low in protein." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten)

So, basically, Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye and their derivatives. If Gluten were just found strictly in wheat, barley, and rye it would be much easier to find them, but the fact that Gluten is found in derivatives of these grains (such as malt flavoring, dextrin, brewer's yeast, and hydrolyzed plant protein) it makes it much more difficult to choose foods that are Gluten Free (abbreviated GF).

So, what can people with C.D. eat?


Typically, oats are considered GF if they are pure oats. This means that the oats have not been processed on the same machinery or even in the same plant as wheat, barely, and rye products, which they often are. Pure oats contain very little gluten protein so eating them won't activate C.D. unless they are consumed in very, very large amounts. Pure oats will be labeled as such on the packaging. If they have been processed in the same plant as wheat, somewhere on the package it will say "May contain wheat ingredients", or something like that.

Rice (white and brown), corn, sorghum, millet, and teff are all okay to eat. Other nutritious foods and grains that don't contain Gluten are:
-Amaranth
-Arrowroot
-Beans
-Buckwheat
-Flax
-Montina
-Potatoes
-Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah)
-Soy
-Tapioca
-Nuts and seeds

Even though it may seem like there are lots of foods that people with C.D. can't eat because they contain gluten, there are tons of other options that they can have...And often they're better for you or taste better!

Now I bet you're wondering, "So, then why is gluten so bad? What does it to do you when you eat it?" This will be covered in part 2.

Introductions

Hi! I'm Bri, and this is a blog about Celiac Disease. What is Celiac Disease? We'll get into that later, but first I want to give you some background about myself. I want to point out that I am by no means a medical professional . The information that I will talk about in this blog is based on things I have learned through research and personal experience with Celiac Disease through books, websites, doctors visits, and seminars I have listened to or watched on T.V. or the internet. If you have any questions about Celiac Disease feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to answer them, but I also recommend and strongly encourage you to talk to your doctor if you have serious concerns about your health and well-being. I also encourage you to do your own research and ask lots of questions!

All of my life I've struggled with dietary and digestive problems, some of which include malnutrition, belly cramps/pain, chronic fatigue, and depression and anxiety. I never felt well and often had trouble sleeping, and when I would wake up in the morning I would feel extremely nauseous. I would even miss school sometimes because of how awful I felt. On the outside, I appeared just fine but on the inside my body was raging a war against itself because of what I was eating. I just didn't know it yet.

About a year ago I got hired at a local cafe that makes foods for special diets such as vegans, vegetarians, and people with Celiac Disease and others who can't eat Gluten. Until then I had no knowledge of Celiac Disease or gluten Intolerance/Sensitivity. A man with severe Celiac Disease often came in to the cafe to eat, since not many places in my hometown carry Gluten Free foods, and after various conversations with him I started learning more about the disease. Curious, I did more research. After reading about Celiac Disease on webmd.com (http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-topic-overview) I realized that I needed to make an appointment with my doctor.

So many of the symptoms listed were what I had been struggling with for the last twenty years of my life. If Celiac Disease wasn't the answer to my health problems, I wasn't sure if I'd ever find the answer. When I went to the doctor, I explained my situation to her and told her that I thought I might have Celiac Disease. Now, Celiac Disease is difficult to diagnose, mostly because there are over 250 symptoms attributed to it. For this reason it is often mistaken for other health problems like IBS, Lactose Intolerance, or Acid Reflux. Celiac Disease can also occur as a result of some other illnesses such as Diabetes. For this reason, my doctor was pretty impressed that I had taken this step toward diagnosis.

My doctor readily admitted that she didn't know much about Celiac Disease. I wasn't surprised, seeing as it isn't one of the most widely known illnesses in the medical community, but was grateful that she was willing to do the research to get me diagnosed and on the road to better health. After doing some research, she decided that the first step was for me to take a blood test. The test came back positive. With that result and the fact that I had so many of the symptoms, it was clear: I had Celiac Disease. My life would never be the same again. Little did I know, adjusting to this new lifestyle would be one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life.

This blog is intended to educate people on Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance/Sensitivity, and hopefully raise awareness about this disease that affects approximately 1% of the U.S. population. (That's 2-3 million people, or 1 in every 133 people.) Like I said before, I am NOT a medical professional. I can neither diagnose nor treat you, but what I can do and intend to do is give you information about the disease and diagnosis, and give you resources and support to help you get diagnosed and cope with this life-changing disease.