<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> My original question was, "How many of you had gall bladder problems or were diagnosed with osteoporosis before your celiac diagnosis?" Thanks for all the replies. I had to cut some of the longer ones, but here is the most pertinent information. - Linda I have been gluten free for several years. I had some problems before being diagnosed with Celiac Sprue and I had emergency surgery last week to remove my gall bladder. I was told by the surgeon that it was very bad when removed and probably been sick for a very long time and did not realize it was my gall bladder. I was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis a couple of years before being diagnosed, but since I was 68 at the time, it didn't seem so unusual. Gall bladder disease or malfunction is often associated with celiac disease. CCK (cholecystokinin) is the hormone responsible for gall bladder contraction. The bulk of this hormone is produced in the duodenum. In active celiac disease the duodenum is damaged, and it would be likely, then, to cause a reduction or a cessation of duodenal production of CCK. For more on this connection see the article at Ron Hoggan's web site: http://www.gluten-free.org/hoggan/gall.txt ... severe osteoporosis and anemia a year and a half before diagnosis ... no digestive problems except for hideous non-stop heartburn. biopsy diagnosed (they were looking for a duodenal ulcer to explain the anemia) almost 2 years ago at 53. Had my gallbladder removed at a young age and appendix an so did most of my kids. I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis 5 months before being dg with Celiac and still my GP didn't catch the connection..... it was my gyno that first suggested CD I had gallstones and subsequently had my gall bladder removed a year before I was diagnosed with CD. With hindsight, I had CD symptoms before this but the GP put my tiredness and feeling ill down to having 3 young children! My husband had his gall bladder removed 2-4 years before he was diagnosed with CD. He was being treated by another doctor who was treating him for gastritis, esophagitis, and duodenitis. My aunt had gall bladder problems and she is from the side of the family where I suspect I got the gene (Western Ireland roots) I had a bone scan just after diagnosis at my doctor's recommendation. I had osteopenia (slight loss) especially in my upper body. I had my gall bladder removed in '96. I didn't present with symptoms for CD until Jan. '00. I had a test done to check for osteoporosis in Mar. '00. I was considered normal for my age group (52), but I have recurring pain in my left wrist and knees that I am scheduled to have tests for in Nov. I was on a gluten free diet for 9 years before having gall bladder problems. I just had my gall bladder out. Because I had celiac disease, my gp thought that my symptoms were caused by that and I had to do the investigating and diagnosing myself. I might have had mild symptoms of CD before they removed my gallbladder 2 years ago... I Don't know, but my Mom did have pretty good symptoms of her CD before they removed her Gallbladder - she was GF for about 5 months before her gallbladder was found to be gangrenous. They ignored the pains and said it was just the CD... she almost died. I've had gall bladder problems for many years. I was just diagnosed with CD this summer. I just had a bone density scan last week - don't have the results yet. I had terrible gall bladder symptoms for many years which nobody could diagnose and it was after its removal that the celiac symptoms became really terrible. As I look back I always had some symptoms but not the traditional ones. I had brain fog, anxiety, fatigue, anemia, and muscle pains all my life. I was rediagnosed with CD two months ago (I was diagnosed with it as a baby and thought I had outgrown it, not knowing that "once a celiac, always a celiac). Four years ago, I was diagnosed with Osteopenia, which progressed to Osteoporosis, despite the fact that I was on Hormone Replacement Therapy, Vitamin D supplements, and Calcium supplements, as well as jogging 50-60 miles per week. I was diagnosed over 1 1/2 years ago and had gall bladder removed 26 years ago, the start of ostoeporosis and symptoms for many years. I am 68 years old. still having some stomach problems, but much better since GF. I am a 49 year old celiac for 2 years. In '98 I was having severe weight loss and many tests. An ultra sound indicated I had multiple gall stones as well as being an obese person. My Doc told me there was no way this result could be me. They did not want to perform another ultrasound. Anyway, they removed my gallbladder with NO gallstones being present - bummer man! During a visit with my surgeon, he told me my intestine looked very strange during the gallbladder procedure. He sent me to a GI specialist that afternoon. Within 10 days they had me diagnosed. Linda, when you have problems assimilating fats, and you cannot digest them as happens when your gut cannot absorb fats and you have steatorrhea (stools that float and leave an oily film on the water), you are likely to also have gall bladder problems. Any time you cut all fats out of the diet, like those strict fasting liquid diets they use in some hospitals, you are likely to lose your gall bladder as my daughter found out at 27 years of age after a hospital supervised liquid diet to lose weight. I was having symptoms of CD that I was trying to indentify when I was found to have gallstones ("numerous large"). After the surgery, the quest for a diagnosis continued and CD was "found". I was diagnosed with osteoporosis one year prior to CD diagnosis. The gall bladder diagnosis came shortly after being on GF regimen. Yes I had my gall bladder removed after being celiac diagnosed for 6 years. I also have osteopenia, the precursor to osteoporosis. My body probably lost calcium before diagnosis when the calcium was not being absorbed. I had some gall bladder problems before my CD diagnosis. The dr. always said that if it got worse I would need to do something about it, meaning surgery. A couple of years after my CD diagnosis, actually Sept, 99, it was removed. Also, gall bladder problems run in my family. I suspect, but don't know, that CD does also. I had my gall bladder out 2 years ago. The day I came home from the hospital I received a call from my daughter's GI saying my blood tests were sky high, that I had CD and needed to find a GI for myself! I wonder how many other people also had these types of problems? yes I had Osteoporosis, digestive problems, and pernicious anemia before diagnosis 7 years ago and now have gallstones, colitis and GI bleeding. I've tried to be very careful but seem to becoming allergic to so many foods lately; mainly lactose, Millet, Soy and have severe bouts of bleeding which lowers hemoglobin and has that has caused kidney problems. I am becoming very discouraged as I am 82 and get so tired of wondering what I can eat. I had my gall bladder out and wondered why I didn't feel "great" like everyone said I would after 6 days! i had the kind where they make 4 little incisions and one is supposed to "snap back fast". Sure!! I was STILL dragging around after 6 WEEKS, let alone days! lol Well, now i know I had celiac and that is why I didn't "get over" my gall bladder surgery! My GI-related CD symptoms were so vague and, until less than a year prior to my diagnosis, mild that I never associated my chronic and worsening health problems with a gastroenterologic problem. I was diagnosed in 1998, at age 48, with CD. Several years earlier, however, in my early 40's, I was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis. My primary care physician told me in the mid-1990's that my bones were those of an osteoporotic woman in her mid-70's. I may also have had 1 bout of a gall bladder flare-up, but it subsided within 5 days and was never followed up. That occurred about 4 months prior to my being diagnosed with CD. I was diagnose with osteoporosis before I was found to be a Celiac. My main symptom of Celiac was depression, and I had no symptoms of osteoporosis.