Many people who are misdiagnosed for
a long time
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 Summary Part II


Many people who are misdiagnosed for
a long time and try a gluten
free diet and feel better believe that this is enough proof for
them.  I work with a woman – all of her blood work was negative.  She
went gluten free – felt better…challenged herself with some gluten and felt
bad. Not everyone in the medical profession would agree but until we have
foolproof tests it is good enough for me. You might be urged to get a scope and
biopsy…if so make sure they biopsy in 4 – 6 places as the damage could be
anywhere in the 10 feet of intestine.  
I can run this by our diabetes
experts but I do not think that your gestational DB has anything to do with Celiac
Disease.  Will ask this question on another forum and see if
we get more information on this.  Also, the protein that is causing the CD
would have to pass over your intestine (which is can, as we know CD effects our
whole system) but I would think that the additional barrier to the baby would
prevent it from passing intact and affecting him/her.  A very good
question and one worth investigating.
We do find that a certain % of
people with Type I DM will also have Celiac Disease.  Which comes first is
hard to know but they are both auto immune diseases.  However, if your mom
is managing hers with diet only she is not a Type 1 but a Type 2.  Type 1
is when your pancreas stops producing insulin, so, she would need/requires
insulin.  Some Type 2 can be managed with diet, some require an oral agent
and some require that plus insulin.  
Several
people commented that if you are tested for Celiac during pregnancy you may get
negative blood test results due to your immune system being “off” due to your
hormones and other body changes.   Testing during pregnancy does not
provide accurate results since the immune system in depressed during this time
so the baby isn't rejected as a foreign body.(I was tested prior to
the pregnancy). 
Several
women wrote about having miscarriages until they went gluten free and then they
were able to carry a baby to term.   One
woman wrote about having gestational diabetes with her first pregnancy (who was
later diagnosed with celiac) and after a miscarriage and negative blood test
learned she had the same gene as her diagnosed son, so went gluten free with
the next pregnancy and didn’t even fail the first diabetes test. 
I
am not a medical doctor but through my own experience I've found that going
gluten free is not something that should be regarded as a bad diet whether you
have celiac or not.  Our whole house is gluten free, and has been for over
2 years.  My youngest daughter has NEVER had gluten and won't.  My
two oldest boys both have developmental delays with my oldest also having
Asperger Syndrome...a high functioning form of autism.  Research is out there stating a possible connection between gluten and autism, and
develpmental delays...it just isn't worth the risk to us.  Besides, I am
now expecting twins, (which we didn't know until our 20 week ultrasound), and
have been unbelievably healthy...which I attribute to my gluten free
diet.  The weight gain has been great, and no gestational
diabetes...(a much higher risk for that with twins)

Lots of folks told me to “trust your gut”!!   As one stated.. You are a mom, let those
maternal insticnts lead you where you feel is right...your kids have so many
milestones to reach in such a short period of time...don't let diet...something
you can control...take them off track before they even get started!!
fyi...celiac, diabetes and alcholism are on the same
gene strand
Continue
taking a prenatal vitamin/supplemental no matter what else is decided.
In
my humble opinion, if you think you are a Celiac, I would stop ALL  gluten
IMMEDIATELY, especially while you are pregnant. It can cause low-birth weight, premature labor, and
if your gut is damaged, you are not going to be absorbing nutrients like
you need to.

Your baby, at this time, should not "have" Celiac and my
understanding is that it doesn't effect a fetus, it only starts after the
child  begins eating gluten.
Why
take chances? There is good evidence that gluten isn't good for most people,
and esp. not while you are pregnant. Also the celiac tests are notoriously
unreliable.

But more ... celiac is one specific kind of autoimmune
disease related to gluten. T1 diabetes is another. Lupus is
another. Gluten tends to cause autoimmune problems,
and if you don't have celiac now, you might develop it (or it might get bad
enough to detect), or you might develop some other autoimmune disease. Once you
get an autoimmune problem, it's hard to get rid of.

Also, women tend to develop these problems while they are pregnant. So even if
you decide to eat the stuff later ... avoid it now, and perhaps save your health.
It'll be better for the baby too.
If gestational
diabetes is diet related, the increased amount of simple carbs in
the g.f. diet now in place at home may be a factor in diabetes presenting earlier in this
pregnancy.  (We do eat a fair amount of
rice and rice based pastas, breads, etc)   For you health & the rest of the family, limit the empty white
carbs--tapioca, cornstarch, and white
rice. For the same calories, add whole grains that naturally supply vitamins and minerals as well as fiber.  The extra fiber slows digestion and helps maintain more
even blood sugar levels.


Apparently
I had celiac during all three of my pregnancies and 1 has celiac, one does not,
and I am still waiting to find out about my third!  
Get
in touch with ROCK, raising our celiac kids...they are the  
experts. (The Colorado Metro area ROCK seems to be defunct – if this is not the
case and someone knows how to reach someone with the group, please let me
know.  I have left messages and sent
emails to various folks since January with no response).
Very conflicting information on when to introduce gluten to a baby/child – so am
not including all the responses.   Studies seem to cite both to do it after age 4 and between 4 to 6
months.  Most mothers seemed to be
waiting until after their child was at least 2 since that is a critical
developmental time frame and if they have celiac or some other gluten
intolerance it can cause so much damage.  This issue is not yet resolved for me (and
probably is an individual choice for most parents and families anyway).   I fortunately have a few more months to
process all the varying studies.


      

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