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Sharon,

I hope you don't mind my going public on this answer, because I think it
might be of general interest.  I have no idea if some antibiotics could be
harmful to celiacs.  I'm guessing (purely conjecture) that it might be
possible that the enzyme problems that belong to the opiate excess theory
could happen to a celiac before he develops celiac and could still be there
even if the person is not eating gluten.  My reason for supposing this is
that I've noticed that some of the same autoimmune diseases seem to happen
in some of the families of celiacs and in some of the families of people
with autism, and that  makes me wonder if there is a common cause in all of
these diseases.  In private correspondence, one of the researchers in this
metabolic error told me that they have found the same sulfation problems in
autism, migraines, and autoimmune disease.  Celiac is an autoimmune disease.
I don't know if anyone has tried to find the sulfation problems in celiac
specifically.   Problems with sulfation lead to membranes in the body being
overly permeable.

I wish I knew more about the action of antibiotics, but I know that when
chloramphenicol was given to me as a child, I developed anemia and
thrombocytopenia purpura, an autoimmune disease.  I'm guessing that instead
of only dealing with the organism they are supposed to eradicate, some
antibiotics, if permitted admittance by weakened membranes, might interact
with the inner contents of cells of the body it is supposed to be
protecting.  Somehow in me, the result of taking an antibiotic was that my
body started to think my own platelets were a foreign substance and coated
them with antibodies, so that the rest of the immune system set out to
destroy them, putting me in great jeopardy of bleeding to death.  My eye
hemorrhaged, and I lost permanently the vision in one of my eyes.  I barely
escaped death, and lost a good part of my junior high and high school years
to numerous hospitalizations.

I find that little research looks at all of a life in one snapshot.
Antibiotic reactions are seen as a random strike of fate instead of an
understandable interaction of body chemistry.  I inquired about the
Macrodantin on both the celiac and autism lists for I felt that on these
lists I might have a better chance of finding how my daughter's unique
chemistry might react to the drug. All reports about "qualified" individuals
were negative, and one mother of a celiac patient was reported to have
serious liver problems as a side effect that went away when the drug was
removed.  Since my first side effect on chloramphenical was losing my eye, I
have been reluctant to use a "try it and see" approach on my daughter!

I appreciate your interest, and am not trying to be alarmist.  I just know
that this sulfation problem is not considered a knowable risk category, and
doctors tend to interpret undefined risk as no risk.  This practice can have
dangerous consequences!

I would like to know if anyone on our list has had problems occur after
other antibiotics
besides Macrodantin.  Any stories?  It also might be interesting to see if
it is common to develop over sensitivity to antibiotics, as that has
happened with me and penicillin.

Thanks,

Susan Owens
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                            (Walter & Susan Owens)
                            [log in to unmask]
                            Dallas, Texas  USA