A blood test is now available to screen for the presence of specific antibodies. A biopsy of the intestine before beginning a gluten free diet is needed to make confirm and make a final diagnosis. Untreated celiac disease can be life threatening. People with celiac disease are more likely to be afflicted with problems relating to malabsorption, including osteoporosis, tooth enamel defects, central and peripheral nervous system disease, pancreatic disease, internal hemorrhaging, organ disorders gall bladder, liver, and spleen , and gynecological disorders.
Untreated celiac disease has also been linked an increased risk of certain types of cancer, especially intestinal lymphoma. At this time, there are no drugs to treat celiac disease and there is no cure. But patients with celiac disease can lead normal, healthy lives by following a gluten free diet. This means avoiding all products derived from wheat, rye, and barley.
Individuals with celiac disease cannot outgrow the disease since it is a lifelong autoimmune disorder like diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Celiac disease is not a food allergy; rather it is an autoimmune disease. Food allergies, including wheat allergy, are conditions that people can grow out of. This is not the case with celiac disease. Symptoms of celiac disease include diarrhea, constipation, weight loss, abdominal pain, fatigue, weakness, headache, and other non-specific complaints.
In children, the symptoms may include poor growth or poor weight gain, irritability, an inability to concentrate, diarrhea, constipation, and bloating. Further, people affected by celiac disease may experience extra intestinal symptoms that involve many systems and organs including bones osteoporosis, arthritis, and joint pain , blood anemia and bleeding , reproductive system infertility and reoccurring abortion , nervous system peripheral neuropathy, depression, dementia , and behavioral changes.
Nearly 1 out of every Americans suffer from celiac disease, according to a new study by the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore. The research indicates that celiac disease is twice as common as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and cystic fibrosis combined. A biopsy of the intestine before beginning a gluten free diet is needed to make a final diagnosis.
Therefore a gluten free diet should never be started before consulting with a gastroenterologist. Patients with celiac disease are more likely to be afflicted with problems relating to malabsorption, osteoporosis, tooth enamel defects, central and peripheral nervous system disease, pancreatic disease, internal hemorrhaging, organ disorders gall bladder, liver, and spleen , and gynecological disorders.
There are no drugs to treat celiac disease and there is no cure. But celiacs can lead normal, healthy lives by following a gluten free diet. The tests we use to evaluate for celiac disease include:. While the presence of tTG antibodies is suggestive of celiac disease meeting with a gastroenterologist and confirming the diagnosis with an endoscopy while on a gluten containing diet is necessary.
The current diagnostic tests for celiac disease are very accurate, particularly when tTG and anti-endomysial antibodies are elevated. The villi are not permanently damaged. The intestine is an organ, which renews itself every three days.
Long family history of bowel problems, auto-immune and all sorts of cancers. My G-mother informed me that she was put on a gluten free diet after she had my mom 's , of course she stopped when she felt better. She has had problems ever since I can remember. While remission can occur, doctors refer to it as a 'honeymoon' period, damage is still being done.
This remission was the reason why doctors years ago commonly thought that celiac was a childhood disease and that children could outgrow it.
It can take a long time for symptoms to reoccur and they are not always the GI symptoms that are usually thought of but can be damage to others organs. Back 50 years ago gluten sensitivity was usually diagnosed by eliminating wheat, barley and rye from the diet and noticing the improvement.
Your son may have had a wheat allergy and this may have cleared up as he got older. He may have had non-celiac sprue Leaky Gut Syndrome which cleared up on the gluten free diet, especially if he was gluten-free at 5 months when the intestinal wall matures and prevents food antigens from entering the body. If he had autoimmune Celiac Disease it may have become silent but there may have been some continuing damage to his small intestine even tho he had no symptoms.
Also the Molecular Serology test Prometheus Labs could give the same information. The serology test is ordered by Drs. Probably not a wheat allergy. He was hospitalized the first time for dehydration at one month of age. I had tried nursing him but didn't have enough milk, so he was on whatever formula we used back then.
I have no idea what was in it. At six months he was anemic so the Dr. One-fourth of a teaspoonful was enough to give him diarrhea.
Again, I don't know what was in it. Back then you didn't ask questions of your Dr. You just followed orders. Last night I gave him copies of a few pages from Dr. Green's book to read. Since he is very health conscious, he will probably go to his Dr. At least I hope so. If you're in remission you haven't outgrown it. It's just lurking in the shadows and you don't know when it will come back. We patients report so many non GI issues that cleared up with gluten free diet, so it's likely that the "remission" is just for GI symptoms and the person can be presenting with other things the docs aren't linking to celiac.
Allergy is a whole different game. Allergy is a histamine response. With allergy shots you can condition your body not to react to an allergen and yes allergies can be outgrown. Celiac is autoimmune and you cannot outgrow it even if it does go in remission.
I had it my whole life and got diagnosed at There were times I felt good though and I believe it was in remission. But it always reared its ugly head again. As for the OP's son, I would like to know his entire health picture. Does he stumble or bump into things? Does he have asthma, allergies or sinus infections? Joint pain? There are so many non GI symptoms of celiac. Lots of doctors diagnosed me with lots of things including IBS, lactose intolerance, wheat intolerance, and quite a few of them threw up their hands in total confusion.
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