celiac

[columbo]

Hi Shelley,

I think i asked you this once before but i need some clarification. the issue of celiac disease vs candida. i went to a stomach doc a while back who wanted me to begin eating gluten again for a month to diagnose if i am a celiac. i decided not to. my symptoms are vast and seem to indicate candida much more than just celiac, but at some point in the future, ide like to resume a more normal diet if my symptoms ever allow and i would have to be sure if i am a celiac or not. like i said, my symptoms are vast, psoriasis, itchy backside, acne as a kid, skin issues in general, horible headaches, brain fog, word loss, and i did a check on the symptoms for celiac and alot of it is stomach related, which i never had really bad issues with, and delayed growth as a kid, which i cant really say, pretty much normal, although who knows (my mom is 4'9" so i was never gonna be 7feet). i guess im just asking for your direction with how I should proceed in firming up a diagnosis while not exposing myself to too much damage from eating gluten, and if my doc tells me to that i have to eat gluten foods for a month, should i do it and if so, how much will it set me back with my candida and is there anything i can do to minimize the effect? thanks.

[columbo]

one bit of info that may or not be telling is that i have been on the candida diet for over a year now, which has also excluded gluten, and the nuero symptoms (headaches, fog, etc) have not gone away, and although some skin issues have gotten much better, from what i read on the net of people who were diagnosed as being celiacs who have eliminated gluten, their symptoms receded within weeks of following a gluten free diet. does this suggest that my problems are not infact gluten, because they would have receded by now by eliminating it over a year ago?

[shelley]

There's really no good way to know for sure outside of eating gluten and seeing what happens, but it's strange that he said to eat it for an entire month, as just a couple servings might tell you and then you'd just be compounding the problem.

Most candida people are at least temporarily gluten-sensitive, then when the tissues are stronger and the allergic reactions abate thanks to abstinence, they can add it back into their diet. The safest way to check is to have sourdough toast as it's easier to digest then other gluten breads, or cream of wheat.

[columbo]

im not happy about it but i guess i have no choice but to see my stomach doc and ultimately eat the gluten...as little as possible. there is no other way to determine it. i do have one more question. the test for celiac is to first eat gluten, take a blood test for antibodies and then a biopsy to see if the villi are damaged. could candida cause this same problem....show gluten antibodies and damage to the villi? i dont want a diagnosis of celiac to be mistaken for what is actually candida, especially with the life long torturous diet it requires. thats important because these docs do not acknowledge candida as a health concern.

[shelley]

Yes, candida and leaky gut can masquerade as celiac disease, which is why I never bothered with any of those tests. I just did what was best for my body. A high-fiber, reduced sugar, non-gluten, hypoallergenic diet will cure just about any intestinal disorder in time.

[columbo]

so that kind of sets me back. then there is no point in me having the test done, if its going to show the same reaction even if i dont have celiac. im at a loss. whats your recommendation to me? should i just continue on this anticandida protocol of no sugar, no carb, no gluten until all symptoms recede and then tamper with things like trying a gluten stress test? my reasoning being that if symptoms abate, then the candida and leaky gut will be assumingly gone or at normal levels (if that makes sence) and then a gluten stress test will be more accurate of celiac and not candida? i just wanna make sure i do this right and follow a logical path.

[shelley]

I'd wait on the test. You know you have symptoms now, right? and you know how you need to eat, right? so just do that! then if after 6 months you still need answers take the test then.