Celiac Disease

My doctor's office called this morning telling me that they had my test results back from the blood work I had done a week and a half ago. The nurse was busy when I called back and so I thought I would take the 2nd part of the test back (you do that part at home) and talk to the nurse in person.

The receptionists asked me to wait for the nurse to come out and I didn't really think it was at all unusual that she would want to talk to me in person. It is probably a good thing because I would've been nervous.

When the nurse came out she told me that my blood test had come back positive for Celiac disease. I was shocked. I had given my problems over to lactose intolerance and didn't think too much about it after that. I have given up dairy over the last week and a half and I have felt alright, but not totally back to "normal."

I was extremely fortunate because the nurse I was talking to is going through exactly the same thing right now. She was just diagnosed with Celiac so she was able to answer a lot of my questions.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy on up. It is one of those things that you COULD get if you are "genetically predisposed", but even then it isn't a guarantee.

Celiac disease is caused by a reaction to gliadin, which is a gluten protein found in wheat. When the small intestine is exposed to gliadin, the enzyme tissue transglutaminase modifies the protein, and the immune system cross-reacts with the small-bowel tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. Basically, the immune system attacks it when it shouldn't. This leads to the villi lining of the small intestine to start breaking apart and being damaged. The intestinal villi are responsible for absorbing nutrients into our systems - so having celiac disease means that there is a malabsorption of essential nutrients. The only known effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. Even though this disease is a reaction to wheat proteins, it is not the same as an allergy to wheat.

There are so many symptoms, side effects, and possible repercussions of Celiac disease that everyone who is diagnosed is a practically different case. Many of the possible symptoms match exactly with the problems I have been having.

In a bit of weird good news - in reading about Celiac I discovered that as the bowel becomes more damaged through continual exposure to gliadin, a degree of lactose intolerance may develop. This would explain why my lactose reactions kept getting more and more severe over time. If a strict gluten-free diet is followed the small intestine will heal... meaning there may come a time that I will be able to eat dairy again!

The next step is to have a biopsy of my stomach done. This is a fairly simple procedure in which they put me under and stick a tube down my throat into my stomach. The scope has a camera on it as well as a small mechanical arm that will pinch off a small sample of my intestinal tissue. It is a double whammy because they get to check for ulcers and other problems while they are down there anyways!

Although this news was surprising and hard to receive, I feel very blessed to be on the road to answers for good health again. We have not reached our destination quite yet, and I would kindly request prayers (and good karma) in my behalf. I have a fear of needles and being put under and the idea of the biopsy scares me quite a bit, but I am very confident that it is important to pursue possible answers.

Thanks to everyone for your continual love and support on my behalf and on behalf of my family. We count ourselves very fortunate to be surrounded by so much love and kindness!

Love Shayla and the Bentley Family