<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Only 3 people stated that there was no connection or relationship between
the two conditions.
However, most of you felt there was a connection on some level. For me to
try to put a label on it would be irresponsible, so here's what you said:-
**
I've read that some celiacs are misdiagnosed as anorexics because of
the weight loss, malnutrition, and refusal to eat (due to the fact that
the CD symptoms make eating painful).
Check the following web page:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/980301ap/pruessn.html
**
You are mistaken ,anorexia and vomiting go along with a lot of people with
celiac.
**
This is from http://www.aafp.org/afp/980301ap/pruessn.html Detecting Celiac
Disease in your Patients.
Body system Presentation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
General systemic
Adults: lassitude, inanition, depression, fatigue,
irritability, general malnutrition with or without weight loss
Children: irritability, fretfulness, emotional withdrawal or
excessive dependence, nausea, anorexia, malnutrition
with protruberant abdomen, muscle wasting of buttocks,
thighs and proximal arms; with or without vomiting and
diarrhea.
**
There is plenty of connection between the two. To start see:
http://www.gluten-free.org/hoggan/anorexia.txt
**
About anorexia, I do not have any factual information for you. However, A
lot of the posts seem to talk about anorexia. People have been told that
their problem is psychological (anorexia) and not physical. I have also
read posts from folks who claim to be anorexic. The only possible reason I
can see for this is that if food makes you sick you just might stop eating.
**
What a wonderful question. For me personally, my stomach has always
taken the abuse whenever anything emotional has happened to me in my life.
Personally, I've been borderline anorexic several times in my life. There
is definitely a connection between emotions/anxiety and the stomach. There
is not a doubt about that. I'm wondering about the connection of CD myself.
**
My own medical notes pre diagnosis of CD ( 1973 ) include the statement: 'He
is anorexic.......' meaning 'lacking in appetite'.
The following medical papers on 'CD and anorexia nervosa' have been
published in the past.
I do not have access to the abstracts of the first two papers. I have a
full copy of the third paper - it is in Italian - and have included the
English abstract.
The fourth paper has been published more recently . I only have the
abstract.
Your question is very valid. Coeliac disease can and has been mistakenly
diagnosed as anorexia nervosa.
1. Ferrara A. Fontana VJ. Coeliac disease and anorexia nervosa. N.Y. State
J. Med. 66, 1000, 1966. [ No abstract ]
2. Grenet P. Paillerets F de. Gallet JP. Gubert JP. Olivier C.
Anorexic forms of celiac syndromes ]. [ Les formes anorexiques des
syndromes coeliaques ] Annales de Pediatrie. 19(6):491-7, 1972 Jun-Jul.
[ No abstract ]
3. de Toni T. Casamassima MS. Gastaldi R. Franchini R. [Celiac
disease and anorexia nervosa]. [ La malattia celiaca e l'anoressia
mentale. ] Minerva Pediatrica. 38(10):409-12, 1986 May 31.
After a brief review of the clinical characteristics of mental anorexia
and coeliac disease a case is described that is a significant example of
how the absence of the classic signs of coeliac disease can lead to
diagnostic error. The different clinical forms taken by the anorexic
symptom in the two diseases is ) emphasised.
[ My note: In this case a child was managed under the diagnosis of anorexia
nervosa for several years until, in desperation, the parents obtained
further specialist opinion resulting in a diagnosis of CD. ]
4. Ricca V; Mannucci E; Calabr`o A; Bernardo MD; Cabras PL; Rotella CM.
Anorexia nervosa and celiac disease: two case reports. Int J Eat Disord,
27(1):119-22 2000 Jan.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Anorexia nervosa (AN) has been reported to be
associated with several chronic medical illnesses. In this study, we report
two cases of women suffering from AN and celiac disease. The former received
the diagnosis of celiac disease before the onset of the eating disorder. For
the latter, the diagnosis of celiac disease followed that of AN. Authors
discuss the complex relationships between celiac disease and AN. They
suggest that in the first case the dietary restriction could act as a
trigger for the eating disorder, whereas in the second case, the onset of
celiac disease could have exacerbated the clinical symptoms of AN.
**
This is the critical age for first wave onset (e.g. about 14) when they
become preoccupied with body image, but, what if eating is just so painful
for them because of undiagnosed CD so they just stop eating - then they like
their slim figure and it becomes a perpetuating loop? By the time anorexia
is full blown, they are in pain anyway and might have forgotten about the
original trauma they had from eating regular food.
**
I have read of several documented cases of schizophrenia going into
remission after treatment with the GF diet. I'm personally acquainted a
young person who was having hallucinations & hearing voices before
dramatically reducing gluten consumption. Could it be that your niece
is actually mentally ill from being an untreated celiac?
**
As for a connection - well, I do know of a case where celiac was
misdiagnosed as anorexia - the boy in question kept complaining he was
afraid to eat because it hurt, and since anorexia is such a well-known
illness (almost, sick as this is, 'trendy' in the USA), all anyone heard
for too long was 'afraid' not 'because it hurts'. I guess to that since
celiac comes from a conbination of genetic predisposition and trauma,
usually a virus, anorexia might also be a trigger - that's speculation on
my part. Also, full-blown anorexia often takes on a life of its own in
susceptible people from an intitial weight loss or reduction of food
intake that made sense in terms of some illness or life event initially -
and I guess then CD pains could do that.
**
There are connections between Coeliac and Anorexia. It is mentioned in much
of the literature. I believe that anorexia has had this label of "in the
mind" put on it, simply because doctors have not been able to put a reason
to it. The sufferer genuinely feels ill when he/she eats food, and it is a
physical nausea not just in the mind. And possibly the food eaten or
vomitted is a gluten-containing food. The leaflets from CSA and GIG mention
eating disorders like Anorexia and Bulimia as possible symptoms of Coeliac.
**
I was so malnourished and had lost so much weight that my body had gone into
an anorexic state. I had muscle loss, developed heart problems, etc., but I
was not intentionally losing weight. However, I was so ill for about 1 year
that I decided that not eating was a better choice than being so sick...So,
my diet was toast, crackers and soup (all containing gluten, I might add).
But, my weight loss wasn't because I thought I was fat. BIG DIFFERENCE
between the body being in an anorexic state due to malabsorption and
actually being anorexic.
**
I'd have to say the connection is "malnutrition".
People thought I was anorexic. I looked just like a
person with anorexia because I was nothing but skin
and bones and grey in color.
**
My mother and I are both self-diagnosed celiacs - she at 41, me at 10. In
her early 20s, she had anorexia, and now that I'm there, I'm fighting the
early warning signs, myself.
**
Perhaps she is as sick as I was and feeling sicker, by eating, is just
not an option. I had a SEVERE aversion to food during that time of
sickness. I couldn't stand to smell food, look at it, or much less eat
it. It still wasn't because I was trying to lose weight or thought
that I was fat though. Perhaps she's at that point of eating not being
worth feeling so sick...
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