Celiac Sprue disease?!
#320783 - 12/15/07 02:38 PM
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steffiejoy
Reged: 11/26/07
Posts: 247
Loc: Cleveland, Ohio
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So I thought I had IBS at least thats what my GI doctor told me I had after the colonoscopy, then I went to a follow-up GI appointment mentioned how much weight I was losing (which I had thought was a good thing!)and he made me get blood work to test for Celiac Sprue. Well the results were positive. But they said that blood work isnt the end all test cause not all of the blood work was positive. So they are doing some sort of camera down the throat thing to look at my stomach and make sure its Celiac Sprue. Anyone know anything about Celiac Sprue? I researched it online and its a gluten-free thing. Well, I'm confused because it seems like all I eat is rice and bread! So now I just dont know what to eat! I'm also lactose intolerant. My down the throat test (I forget the name) isnt until after the holidays so I guess I just deal for now. But I was wondering if any of you knew anything about Celiac. I was also wondering if its possible to have both IBS and Celiac?! It seems like your typical "bad for IBS" foods still bother me. Argh... so confusing. If anyone has any info on Celiac or what I should eat until I get tested (I'm gonna be in Arizona for the holidays) please let know.  It will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks everyone!
Stefanie
*Thanks Alicia*
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Celiac's is pretty common and it is a test that all IBS candidates should have. You can have both Celiac and IBS and that is pretty rough. If you find a Gluten Free (GF) diet makes you almost totally better than Congrats! because those with Celiac's can be GF and then completely symptom free whereas with IBS it is very difficult to be symptom free. There are many folks here that are GF or who avoid wheat. The diet is an adjustment but there are lots of GF choices now a days being it is more common. The GF specific foods are pretty expensive though. The difficult thing about being GF is eating out because sauces often have gluten and you have to avoid any particle of gluten with Celiac's however with IBS you can often be less strict than that. You need to do as much research as possible to see what you can and can't eat.
As for what you should eat, you might want to ask the doctor's office. I know a test for gluten intolerance might come up negative if you DO NOT eat gluten. The antibodies it looks for won't be present unless you eat gluten.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Thanks Minnie,
I know it will be impossible for me to remove gluten while in another state with my in-laws for Christmas. So I guess I will just wait and see. It seems like though IBS triggers such as red meat, artificial flavoring and fatty foods are triggers for me as well as gluten. So maybe I do have both IBS and Celiac. That to me... does not sound fun! Oh well, thanks for the advice.
Stefanie
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Steffie, I just wanted to tell you that you should definitely continue eating gluten containing foods until your endoscopy. They will put the tube all the way into your small intestine to see if your villi have been damaged. Villi are small, hair-like follicles attached to the inner side of the small intestine. They are responsible for nutrient absorption and if you do have celiac disease, they will be very flattened. However, it only takes a few weeks for them to get healthy again. So if you stopped eating gluten the villi would appear healthy and the test would be false negative.
The doctor will also take a few biopsies (samples) to see the extend of the possible damage. There's nothing to worry about, I had it done (negative) and I didn't feel a think, woke up later and was fine. Good luck!
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Thank you Zara. Thats good to know that you didnt feel a thing. And thanks for the advice. I will keep eating gluten products. I mean I dont typically eat wheat products anyways, but from what I've read it seems gluten is in a lot more things then I would have thought. So I guess I will just bare with it until I find out. Thanks again!
Stefanie
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I started Gluten-Free about 3 months ago, and I haven't had a major bloating episode since, and I feel a lot better.
I've started experimenting with gluten-fee baking----there are lots of cookbooks out there. There's usually a section in the books giving advice on how to deal with travelling, parties, going to the in-laws' house, etc. They also list all the gluten containing foods you have to avoid, plus the "hidden" ones. So go to the bookstore first and get ready to do some cooking and meal planning. This is what I did, and it has been a good thing---I had forgotten how much fun it is to cook.
Most of the health food stores have gluten-free products nicely labeled and so ingredients are easy to find.
Calli
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Thanks Calli,
I'm finding some of my typical lunch foods like canned chicken and rice soup have gluten in it. I am just wondering how to manage staying away from IBS triggers, lactose because I am lactose intolerant and gluten. Whats left?! 
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I don't eat dairy either, but like I said in my post before, the cookbooks usually have several chapters to help you choose the right foods, and give you some ideas better than I can. What it comes down to is having to read the ingredient list on every item you buy. And also doing more food preparation at home. That way you have total control over the ingredients.
Most prepared foods have all the "added ingredients" that might contain gluten, so you'll have to find gluten-free substitutes that are similar. I don't know what your triggers are, but I like Blue Diamond Nut-Thins (crackers), I make a lot of soups that are easy to pack and reheat, there's plain sauteed chicken breasts, canned tuna, salad mixes, things like that. I stock up on Almond milk (chocolate flavor is good) and Rice Milk.
I stir-fry lots of veggies and rice--also tasty for lunches.
I bought "The Gluten Free Gourmet" by Bette Hagman--has mostly recipes for breads, cakes, cookies, etc---all the stuff you miss.
You might want to join the Yahoo Group:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/celiacsupport/
Also http://www.celiac.com/
and
http://www.celiaccentral.org
are good resources.
Calli
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Haha, I just noticed that I wrote that I didn't feel a "think". What was I "thinging"?
I ditto the Bette Hagmann books. When I first thought I might have CD I bought "The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread". It has tons of useful info. I used to bake bread all the time but the first one I baked after switching to GF flours was a disaster, lol! It could have been used for bricks . But following the book's instructions I eventually started making pretty good loaves.
When I didn't feel like mixing all the flours together I used a mix. My favorite one was Bob's Red Mill that I got from amazon. They also have it at my local HFS but amazon was much cheaper.
For lunches I would recommend making your own, at least until you really know which products you can trust. I used to eat a sandwich made with GF bread, sliced chicken breast (just baked a few breasts and sliced them up, much safer then store-bought and you can freeze them for later, too) and veggies. Or I would make a pan of stir-fry with rice or rice noodles, put it into containers and had lunches for several days.
The diet might seem overwhelming but once you figure it won't seem as complicated. If you'd like to buy bagels, etc. The Gluten-Free Mall has a lot of products. I haven't ordered from them though so I'm not sure how good they are. I tried not to substitute every single item I used to eat with GF stuff but focus on new ingredients instead. I discovered quinoa which I love now, started using rice noodles instead of spaghetti (or sometimes I'd get GF pasta), corn tortillas instead of flour ones. My local grocery store carries most of these items and it's much cheaper to buy corn tortillas then special ordering GF "flour" ones. I hope you figure out your diet once the endoscopy's done !
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Quote:
I used to bake bread all the time but the first one I baked after switching to GF flours was a disaster, lol!
I totally agree with that! I've been a generous contributor to my local landfill---my "bread" experiments were soggy bricks. It's my own fault for not following recipes---I'm always rebelling and wanting to substitute ingredients. But I've learned my lesson.
I like trying new flours---I've gotten into making injera flat bread. It's an Ethiopian staple food made with teff flour and looks like a sour-dough crepe or thin pancake.
Calli
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