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This is a summary of gynecological symptoms and CD.  I recently had bleeding
between periods and my gynecologist likened the symptoms due to involuntary
anorexia as in my case, the CD caused weight loss and she says that she sees
anorexics who have this problem or even no menstrual periods.  I haven't
regained all my weight although recently I added three lbs. which are
finally sticking, after 7 months GF.  I had regained 5 lbs. immediately in
under two weeks after losing 7 further lbs. from gluten challenges in
November and December, as directed by my Gastroenterogist.  Then, I
struggled for the next six months trying to keep any lb. I gained but never
seemed to keep it.  When I attempted to eat more fats, I would lose back any
1-3 lb. weight gains because inability to digest fats according to my GI
doctor who put me on a low fat diet due to Gastroparesis and Gastritis with
steatorrhea.  Now, I'm seeing a definite improvement in my fat tolerance,
stomach symptoms, and my weight that is finally sticking.
My Gynecologist says that the abnormalities discussed above are caused by an
endocrinological problem or hormonal problem, due to suppression of the
hypothalamus as in the case of having no period.  Luckily, my periods have
been generally regular except for this anomaly which occurred twice over the
last two months which made me concerned.  The summary follows:


I have infertility, most likely due to celiac. There have been no other
reasons found. I have been gf for 4 months and we'll see what happens in the
next year or so. About two years ago, I began spotting about a week before
my period for no known reason. It stopped as soon as I went gf. I have
suffered with severe PMS since the age of 11, which has just about
completely disappeared with the gf diet. I think that there is still very
little known about celiac's relationship with gynecological problems, but
based on my experiences, there is definitely a connection.

I used to suffer from vaginal candidose infection all the time. Since I went
GF, no more problems. Also at 17, I had pre-cancer cells detected with a pap
test, but I don't know if it could be related to CD.

I had irregular and heavy/long periods from the time I first got it. Since I
was diagnosed with celiac last year, they became more regular and a little
lighter. My OB-GYN figures I wasn't ovulating due to malabsorption and now
that I am absorbing nutrients, my body has enough energy to ovulate.

One of my symptoms before I was dianosed was bleeding between my periods. I
never got a clear answer as to why it was happening, but it happened for
several months. I had an ultra sound and a few other tests done as well that
all came back normal. Birth control helped slow the bleeding and stop it a
couple of times.

You don't say how old you are. I had very heavy mentrual bleeding frequently
from about 45-50 years of age. An old gyn helped me control it finally with
oral progesterone and occassional D and Cs. I was diagnosed with CD at 47yo
and of course now that I am post menpausal, I don't have to worry about the
bleeding. I really had no diagnosis for the issue.

Yes - I have had gyno problems - no bleeding between periods, but some
spotting. My problems were heavy painful periods with large clots, excessive
diarrhea during periods, and painful intercourse, especially in the last two
weeks of my cycle. These symptoms disappeared when I went gluten-free and
returned briefly when I did a gluten challenge. I have wondered if
endometriosis could be related to celiac. I had done some research on endo
several years ago and found a possible connection between endo and mitral
valve prolapse, which is a type of heart murmur. Recently, I stumbled across
an article that connected mitral valve prolapse and myocarditis (sp?) with
celiac. Myocarditis is a heart infection, a complication of mitral valve
prolapse.

What about frequent yeast infections?


I had severe bleeding from a fibroid many years ago. IT turned out to be a
rare cancer. I am still here 21 yrs later. Don't neglect this symptom. Go to
your gyn.
My onco doc said that he has heard that leaky gut can cause cancer, and in
my case, I think it did. I was undiagnosed for almost 20 yrs.


NO periods from too much weight loss!

I wouldn't assume that these problems are caused by or related to Celiac
Disease if I were you. In fact, I have had many gynecological, hormonal, and
even digestion problems caused by severe endometriosis. My naturopathic
doctor said that it's *possible* that the beginning of these problems was
difficulty ridding my body of estrogen due to constipation secondary to
Celiac disease. But no one can say for sure what caused what. Be sure to
take care of these problems as if they are separate issues rather than
assuming they are just related to CD. Talk to your gynecologist if you
haven't already, just to make sure everything's okay.



I used to have wickedly awful periods in my glutenous days.
Vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, calling in sick, laying on the
bathroom floor nauseauous, very heavy flow. And, of course,
all the PMS psychosis as well: mood swings, paranoia,
huge amounts of anger, etc. etc. Never had any bleeding
in between periods. when I was training for the NYC marathon,
I actually had my periods stop for a while -- which at the time
we chalked up to "normal" due to lower body fat.

Once I went GF, everything changed for the better. I barely
can tell even 12 hours before ... and if gluten does slip by
me, then the next menses is pretty unpleasant.

I'm also supplementing my woman's multi vitamin
[from GNC] with black current + valerian root and
on humid days [like today -- 100 degrees and NO a/c]
I'll toss in a cranberry extract pill for good measure --
cranberry helps with the bloating.

Yes, I had lots of problems with bleeding etc. I finally opted for a
hysterectomy at age 37, just to keep my iron levels at a normal range. Good
Luck!


I had that from wheat...this was way before I was diagnosed....dropped wheat
and no bleeding. Used to also get horrible nose bleeds. Are you sure your
diet is TOTALLY gf? no iffy no-no's like white vinegar [and everything
that's in], canola oil, non-gf meds?


I have no problem with excess bleeding or being irregular. It was probably
to my advantage in this area (among others) that I was diagnosed within
weeks. I'm on the pill which keeps me more regular (to the day) and
experience less cramping. Should also mention that I'm 25.

Yes, I had problems. My menstruation would last about 20 days and then about
3 days of nothing and then it would start up again. I became Anemic, but
when the medication did not help with that condition. They did surgery where
they did a partial hysterectomy, where they just took the uterus. Hope this
is the kind of responce you were looking for. Bonnie Hall


yes I have been going thru many tests since this started for me in January.
I have been Dx w/celiac in May 2000. The final dx (I"m 48 ) was multiple
cystic masses on my Right ovary. I had surgery 2 weeks ago (laproscopy),
they removed my Right ovary and tube and the biopsy was benign stating it
was endometrial tissue mixed w/thick blood. My other ovary and uterus was
fine so they left them in. My cousin is a reproductive endocrinologist and
he did the surg for me so I trusted him and his decisions to leave
everything else in. (My Mom had uterine and cervical cancer and I wanted him
to take everything out). So we'll see if this stops the heavy blackish clots
and blood that I was passing in between periods and after sexual
intercourse. Any questions, please feel free to ask.



In relation to your question, pre diagnosis my period were always
accompanied by a major migraine that would last for 3 - 4days. I also had
very heavy bleeding and back ache etc. Since being GF, the migraines have
gone completely. If I accidently ingest gluten, then I get a migraine plus
the usual gut problems. My blood loss was excessive but mainly caused by an
IUD that decided to bury itself into my uterine wall. This has since been
addressed by surgical removal and replasced with a progestrone coated new
model that virtually eliminated blood loss. It gives slow release
progesterone wich may even eliminate periods altogether. It has also
minimised my pre-menstrual symptoms like irritability (my husband would have
descibed it as unbearability!) and having the blues.





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