<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hi all, You guys and gals on this list are the greatest ... I rec'd so many responses. Hope others find this info helpful too. Thanks all! =========== My cholesterol was 223 on my last checkup 4 months ago, and I was just this week diagnoised (with biopsy), as having Celiac. Good luck! =========== I have had T-1 diabetes for 30 years this year and about 10 years ago my cholesterol started to rise and was attributed to having diabetes for that period of time. In 1992 I was diagnosed with DH but not put on a g/f diet. Thanks to an article in Diabetes Forecast in August of 1996 that looked like it had been written about me (*Wheat's Your Problem*) I was diagnosed with CD after taking the arti cle to a gastroenterologist. I now take a minimal amt. of Zocor daily 10 mg. I don't know if this answers your question or not? I also have psoriasis. =========== I think you can absolutely have high cholesterol and still be Celiac. My cholesterol was high when I was diagnosed. It is my understanding that malabsorbtion issues arise according to how much of the intestine is damaged and where that damage is. Once you are Gluten-Free and the damage heals those problems should go away. Unless, of course, in the case of calcium and bone loss which would be of a more permanent nature and possibly also in the case of thyroid disease. =========== I too have had slightly elevated cholesterol, even though I eat better than anyone you can imagine. It is also a sign of other things. I just read about symptoms of having low thyroid. All those things you mentioned fit, ============== I knew I had high cholesterol before I knew I had celiac. A change of diet did not improve the numbers, and since all my siblings have high numbers too, the dr concluded that it was due to heredity more than diet. ============== Yes I had and have high cholesterol. I believe it is because the liver is attacked like the pancrease ie diabetes. I could not take the zocor or other meds BUT that may be because the doc didn't pay attention to my warning that I could only take the lowest doses of meds and he gave me the same dose my 200 lb brother was given and I weigh 115. I got very weak and though it took my chol down over 100 pts in 2 weeks it took me 6 mths to recover and my chol went back up. I have not been retested since I was diagnosed. Be careful! ============= My last cholesterol numbers were extrememtly high -- 425 for total. This is double what is considered mildly high! ============= At the time I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I was participating in a drug study on the benefits of using a statin for those with cholesterol levels that were above normal but not at the level at which drugs were being prescribed. There is no reason that a person cannot have high cholesterol and have untreated celiac disease. ============= Yep, I had high cholesterol before being diagnosed. Up close to 300. When you have floating stools is there an oily film on the water? Stools may float for either of two reasons: 1. steatorrhea, is when the celiac does not absorb fat and it passed on in the stool, which is a pale color, floats and leaves an oily film on the water surface. This usually means you are celiac. But three other conditions may cause the same symptom: liver, pancreatic, or gall bladder problems. 2. when there is a lot of gas and that gas is absorbed into the stool it floats because it has air in it and does not leave an oily film. This may be a dark color. Though some celiacs may have this symptom, it can be caused by other things and does not necessarily mean you are celiac. Another symptom is thin or skinny stools from the diameter of your thumb to the diameter of a wood pencil. Or incomplete defecation. ================ I was diagnosed Dec.99 and my doctor told me that I had a borderline high cholesterol. It was just over the normal. (this was told to me before my biopsy) I always thought that of all the things I would not have to worry about it would be cholesterol. My diet was always low fat healthy foods. Esp. before my diagnosis because I couldn't eat much of anything without feeling sick. Anyway, I believe it is possible to have high cholesterol and be CD. =============== I had high cholesterol & triglecerides for several years before I had CD. I did all the things that the doctors told me to do & not do to lower them (Avoid fats, eggs etc.) The readings stayed high (239 & 280 respectively). I had trauma (high stress & a fall). Many symptoms followed....'acid stomach', aches & pains, exhaustion, poor sleep, & lack of ability to handle any stress. Doctors didn't help with most of the problems. I started doing my own 'research & diagnosis'. I went on an antifungal diet. My cholesterol & triglecerides dropped to >200 in a couple of months & I was eating all the eggs I wanted along with good fats! This is my understanding at this time..... It is my opinion that my CD was triggered by the fall. There was an overgrowth of candida (bad bacteria) in my intestines which 'bored holes' into my intestines. This allows things into the bloodstream that don't belong there and I feel is the main cause of a lot of 'allergies'. I believe that cholesterol is caused by yeast (candida) in the bloodstream. There is a connection between CD, Candida, & Cholesterol. Most, if not all of the cholesterol lowering drugs are antifungals (Nystatin etc). ================== Have a thyroid blood panel done by a competent endocrinologist, including Free T4, T3, TSH, and thyroid antibodies. You most likely have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (hypothyroidism) or Grave's Disease (hyperthyroidism), one of the autoimmune diseases of the thyroid, which will cause high cholesterol and is very common with people who have CD. ================== Most definitely. My cholesterol has been high for years and did not go down after going GF. Mine problem is that the liver is making too much cholesterol, not that I am absorbing it from food, because I have cut out almost all sources of cholesterol in my diet. When I took one of these pills to wash away fat in the diet, I GAINED weight, and the doctor thought that I would lose weight. I don't think there was any cholesterol to wash away, since I was not eating foods with cholesterol except for an occasional piece of lean beef. There are no limits to the variety of symptoms that a person can have with this disease. Now I, for instance, have great bone density, even after being diagnosed whit so many deficiencies of other kinds. It makes not sense, but that's the way it is. No one person is the same as another in the way the disease hits them, and as you probably know, some people have no symptoms. ================== My cholesterol level was always high prior to my CD diagnosis in January. I had been put on a low cholesterol diet on two occasions. I could never figure out why it was high. I thought it may be genetic. I have had my level tested after the diagnosis, and it is normal. I can not say if it was directly related to the CD or not, but it did seem kind of unusual. Good luck =============== Hi! I had high cholesterol before diagnosis because my thyroid was very low. So when they corrected my thyroid, my cholesterol when low. I would ask to make sure you thyrois is okay! ================ I had low cholestrol (137) before my celiac disease was discovered. After being diagnosed with celiac disease my cholestrol is (170). I do not know if this is normal, but I do know that celiacs have a problem absorbing fat. ================ I'm no doctor but I wouldn't think it was related. I have high cholesterol and so does most of my family who have CD. ================ I have always had hight cholesterol and still do. Vegetarian, etc. Hereditary my doctor says - not related to diet or exercise. So I guess some of us are "blessed" with both high cholesterol and CD. ================ Yup!! I have to be on medication to lower it!! If your CD comes back negative, contact Better Health USA. They do testing for food allergies via the mail, and I had most of your symptoms, plus many others, and they were all food allergy related!! They have a money back guarantee if you don't get better in 3 months!! If you are interested, call Lisa Durow at 1-800-684-2231 ext. 6251, and she will send you free info. ================= I had 'strange' cholesterol. I suspect it was related to gluten but i'm still in the process of going gluten free, so won't know for a while. I had a problem where i was considered 'at risk' for a heart attack (at 29) because my HDL/LDL ratio was really really really off. I can't see how it CAN'T be related to the Celiac's (mine was undiagnosed/treated for over 10 years) ================== I was diagnosed with Celiac and High Cholesterol at the same time. Yes, it is possible. I don't know what my cholesterol is now, I've been avoiding that issue until I deal with the celiac issue. ================== I was diagnosed with Celiac and High Cholesterol at the same time. Yes, it is possible. I don't know what my cholesterol is now, I've been avoiding that issue until I deal with the celiac issue.