I have been reading a few posts and searched discussions and it is interesting how many people have mentioned coeliac disease.
So I am curious - just how many here are Coeliac or gluten and/or lactose intolerant?
There's a commonly held belief--one which seems to be backed more by anecdote and personal experience than scientific proof--that gluten tends to cause inflammation. For those seeking to reduce the overall levels of inflammation in their bodies--like those who suffer with PSA and similar auto-immune illnesses--cutting gluten is one way to try to ease symptoms (emphasis on symptoms, NOT A CURE).
For me being gluten free helps my overall sense of well-being. I cheated over the weekend and consequently felt terrible last night and still feel sluggish and bloated today. Gluten tends to make digestion more difficult for me and leaves me feeling tired and gross. Whether this is gluten intolerance, I don't know. I think living without gluten helps you to realize that it can cause difficulties in your body which become spotlighted when you fall off the wagon. It is such a ubiquitous ingredient, however, that to become gluten-free takes serious effort. And getting over certain cravings takes serious willpower.
So, there are many of us who choose to be gluten free without any evidence of Celiac disease or of proven gluten intolerance.
I’ve just been tested for celiac disease along with testing for crohns due to the bowel problems I’ve been having. Came back negative for celiac disease and inconclusive for crohns due to my seronegative status and faecal test have not yet been done.
Certain wheat products certainly make me generally feel worse especially bread and pasta, so these I avoid. If I have just a little wheat each day my body copes, more than that I’m back to bleeding piles and bloating.
For anyone who decides to keep off gluten for a while, be aware that your body may well rebel if you reintroduce it. I know several friends who went gluten free, didn’t notice any change so went back to eating it and suffered pain and bloating for some considerable time
I was diagnosed with Celiac several years ago. I also have other autoimmune issues. It’s not uncommon for someone to have more than one autoimmune disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3820047/
Allesio Fasano has done work on the spectrum of gluten sensitivity, which goes beyond the damage to the small intestine with celiac disease. Also refer to Permutter’s best selling book “grain brain”.
That was the kind of replies I expected. Thanks Ircjvi, I printed that article and have read it now. I will be taking it to my next appointment with doc. I was initially diagnosed with Ceoelic/Celiac some years ago, but my blood tests returned negative and the next step was to eat Gluten for a month and have a colonoscopy. I told my doc that "I didn't need to know that bad" I know my symptoms increase if I accidentally get "Gluted", not to mention the unfortunate digestive and bowel issues. Why on earth would I want to subject myself to that just to get the tick from a medical professional against something that I know doesn't work well with me?
Very intersting
I have had the blood tests for celiac and 2 endoscopies with biopsy as well as a colonoscopy. No evidence of celiac disease (or colitis or crohns). However, both my rhuematologist and GI providers feel my intestinal issues (IBS type) are related to my seronegative inflammatory arthritis. I tried gluten free for 6 weeks a couple years ago and didn’t really notice an improvement.
Fast forward to last July 2013, when I asked my GI how best to lose weight. She casually suggested I try Atkins. Well, when I read the book I realized I would be eating grain, legume and mostly dairy free. I am now 50 pounds lighter and my level of inflammation has improved from that. I also use a combination of Enbrel/injected MTX/Celebrex. My inflammation has improved with that as well.
The interesting thing to me is that my low levels of vitamins due to malabsorption (vit b12/vit d/vit b1/iron) have all increased gradually throughout the year. I have been taking therapeutic doses for years, but changing my diet led to further improvement. Is my gut healing? No IBS symptoms for the last 9 months!
I still have seronegative inflammatory arthritis - but it has improved. (I don’t have psoriasis - but my mother and brother do). So while I don’t eat a strictly gluten free diet, examining every label for hidden ingredients, I do eat grain and legume free and limit my dairy to whole cream/sour cream/cream cheese/hard cheeses.
The rest of my diet includes healthy fats, butter/avacado/coconut oil/olive oil. (No seed or grain oils!) Low carb vegetables and berries and meat/fowl/fish. I seriously believe changing my diet has helped as much as any of the drugs I take. Why didn’t someone suggest this sooner?! I will continue to eat low carb and restrict gluten.
Good luck to you, let us know what your doctor has to say.
Atkins seems to be the "winning" diet around here. It is successful on many levels. You get pretty high energy levels with the diet and a lot of control over blood sugar. The folks in the endurance lab down the hall tell me its more of a reallocation of resources increasing efficiency than anything. Its been a while since we talked about it but diet is one of the sides of the success triangle for dealing with PsA.I
In terms of coeliac, it prolly doesn't hurt to have the test, its a good way to get a colonoscopy if you are on the "ten year plan" but the thing to remember FIRST before you go crazy trying to stack up the diagnoses is that PsA as ICRJVL pointed out is an inflammatory disease. NO part of your body is immune. Why anybody would be surprised when that involves the gut is beyond me.
When one gets success fro eliminating gluten, I'm not so sure that its because its gluten free, but rather because gluten is so dang hard to digest. after all they use it in schools to make paper mache paste. Name one other part of your body when inflamed that operates at top efficiency... We baby our hands back feet why not our intestines?
I forgot to mention how important diet is to changing our gut bacteria. There are many ramifications.
If you are ever offered a free slightly used blender at your hospital as parting gift say no............... That being said be very careful of pro-biotics especially if they come in the top end, almost all of the time the stomach will destroy them
http://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/clinical-updates/di...