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Hello all,

Several days ago I sent the question about whether or not I am a celiac
candidate.

One dr. found Gliadine Antibodies. A second dr. stated that then the
absorption of e.g. iron and other minerals should be decreased, which is
not the case. Only Vitamin B 12 is not absorbed.

Other symptoms I have: chronic fatigue, infectious, sleeping problems,
flatulence, high proteins products (meat, fish, nuts, dairy products) are
digested very bad. So at least some of the symptoms seem to fit.

Thanks for the reactions I got.

1. I was not iron deficient and my tests were all negative. I have an IgA
deficiency which made everything have a false neg. I can't eat many of the
things you can't including milk, eggs, citrus fruits and corn derivitives.
I do not know if I am a celiac, I never had a biopsy, I cannot eat anything
with gluten hidden in it.


2. Even when I was very sick with celiac disease I was not anemic - low in
iron, but was low in calcium.  Can you stay on a regular (wheat) diet and
have a gastroscophy?

3. You are probably celiac. I don't think you can have the antibodies and
NOT be. Not everyone has every symptom, and not everyone has anemia, etc.
Do the biopsy.


4. The ONLY way to be sure is to be biopsied.

5. Stay gluten-free whatever the tests say.  Tests are often inconclusive
anyway!

6. I highly recommend the article about detecting celiac disease found at
http://www.aafp.org/afp/980301ap/pruessn.html
   My only abnormality was extremely low cholesterol before diagnosis.


7. there is one test for measuring how much IRON is taken into the
body, and a DIFFERENT IRON test to find out how much of that iron is
actually ABSORBED.!

8. All celiacs are different.  Some show normal levels of iron and
other minerals and others have severe deficiencies.

Your symptoms are all compatible with celiac disease, but they also occur
in other diseases which makes it important that you and your doctor know
exactly what you are dealing with.

9. Everybody has different symptoms, so get the endoscopy and then they'll
know for sure.  Your other symptoms sound like Celiac.

10.  I had my small intestine biopsy in 1992, and the results were very
obvious.

11.  You could by asymptomatic where you are not completely deprived of
minerals and nutrients ...

12.  It seems possible that if you were eating foods that gave you more
minerals than you actually needed, then even if your body was not
absorbing, say, 75% of them then it might still be absorbing enough for
you to show normal levels.

13.  My wife ( not a celiac ) had many of the symptoms you mentioned, got
a series of B12 injections and the symptoms seem to have gone away.  You
may be dealing with two ailments, not just CD.  It would seem to me that
the least uncomfortable treatment would be to get the B12 shots and see
how things go, how many of the symptoms go away.


14.  If only the first part of the small intestine is affected, you may
still absorb the necessary nutrients in the latter part.  The greater the
length of intestine is affected, the more symptoms one will have.

It would seem wise to me to proceed with the endoscopy with biopsy.   If
you are not a celiac, they may find something else wrong.

Now the situation is this. I did the gastroscopy and the small intestine
(and the stomach) was O.K. So it seems I am no celiac.
That means (unfortunately) the puzzle what explains the above symptoms goes
on.

Untill now we didn't find an explanation for the B-12-malabsorption nor the
protein-intolerance. Since two years I get B 12 injected but the symptoms
don't go away.

Nevertheless the day I did the gastroscopy I started GF diet and the
flatulence decreased quickly.


But according to the above reactions, I am no celiac because of the
negative biopsy.

I'll keep searching.........


Best wishes

Kareem