For those of you who are reading this blog, wondering “what on earth is Coeliac disease!?”, then I hope this will help explain things a little bit.
In short, a coeliac (pronounced see-lee-ac) is a person who cannot eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, malt, barley, rye and rusk. Some Coeliacs are also affected by oats.
This is not just a case of fussy eating!
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease, not a simple food allergy. When a coeliac eats gluten, this causes an autoimmune reaction – in other words, the body attacks its own tissues.
Symptoms of Coeliac Disease
Different people can experience different symptoms, and the intensity of the symptoms can also vary. Coeliac UK lists the following as possible symptoms of coeliac disease:
- bloating, pains in the stomach, nausea, diarrhoea, excessive wind, heartburn, indigestion, and/or constipation
- any combination of iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency
- tiredness and/or headaches
- weight loss (but not in all cases)
- mouth ulcers
- hair loss (alopecia)
- skin rash (dermatitis herpetiformis (DH))
- tooth enamel problems
- osteoporosis
- depression
- infertility
- repeated miscarriages
- joint and/or bone pain
- neurological (nerve) problems such as ataxia (poor muscle co-ordination) and neuropathy (numbness and tingling in the hands and feet).
It is important that if you think you may have Coeliac disease that you see your doctor. As a personal rule, I don’t believe in self diagnosis, but I’m no medical expert!
For more information on the diagnosis of Coeliac disease, click here.
Treatment
Currently, the only treatment for coeliac disease is to follow a strict gluten free diet. Although this can be difficult to cope with and manage at first, I have always found that my doctors and dieticians are very supportive. Keeping a food diary can help you to focus on your diet, and many gluten free food companies do special “starter packs” for those who are newly diagnosed.
Definately agree that seeing a doctor is the best way to proceed. I was referred to a gastroenterologist because of weight loss. I would never have dreamed that I had coeliac disease. I did not have any of the common symptoms, although looking back now it could explain the mouth ulcers. Since the diagnosis, I have also found out that I’m anaemic and have osteoporosis….
Here in the United States we spell it celiac disease. Utah has one of the highest number of celiac patients in the world. They are currently developing a research center in Salt Lake City because of the high number of people that have celicac disease.
Good post! This is informative and helpful.
I have graves disease & symptoms of coe;iac disease mostly terrible loose bowels up to 9 times a day, ive had the blood test & my GP said oh it was fine you don’t have it but didn’t let me see the results, should I ask for further tests or just do a month gluten free & see if it improves???
Debs
Hmm that is frustrating, perhaps see if you can see a different doctor? Or explain to your GP again that you are not happy and you want to be referred to a specialist or receive further testing? Unfortunately you have to push so many doctors so much and it shouldn’t be that way. I’m sorry you are in such discomfort, I really would advise you put a lot of pressure on your doctor to make sure everything is ok. If you are worried about coeliac disease you will need to be eating gluten for the tests to show it. I hope this helps? Sarah x