A question on gluten intolerance

[JDTM]

For those of you out there who have IBD and who have determined through trial and error that gluten (breads, pasta, wheat, etc.) is a trigger food, have any of you tested negative for celiac disease? I'm starting to wonder about what may or may not be on my list of trigger foods, and although I doubt that processed flour (white & sourdough breads, pasta, etc.) is a problem for me, I'm starting to have slight suspicions. That said, I was tested by my gastroenterologist early on and told that I did NOT have celiac disease, pre-Crohn's diagnosis.

Hopefully this makes sense!

 

[Grumbletum]

It does, and yes. I was negatively tested for intolerance pre-diagnosis, but even now, in remission, too much gluten and wheat products can upset my stomach.

 

[CLynn]

Jesse, is the test a blood test?

 

[JDTM]

Honestly, I can't remember. It was either a blood test or a biopsy from an upper endoscopy.

It's not like bread is making anything better or worse -- I've been eating toast and other bland foods pretty regularly for a while now, and I seem to be improving overall, but today seems like an "off day..." so naturally, I've started thinking about what may or may not be causing these bumps in the road.

 

[CLynn]

That is one of the things I hate the most, in trying to find foods that bother me. It differs depending on the day it seems sometimes. Or different forms of the same food.

 

[Beach]

I was the same in that all tests taken for celiac came back negative for me - biopsy, blood test, even DNA. The one medical test that did seem to show some problem with wheat was a skin scratch test. A small wheel flare, I believe it was called, showed up.

Overall the best test I found was testing on my own through food removal trial and error. With that I figured out that wheat and was a problematic food for me.

Possibly a reason why wheat can be a problem food outside of gluten is due to the lectins found in it. Recall this article about wheat being unique in causing bacteria overgrowth in the colon.

"The Battle for Control of Your . . . Colon"

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/08/the-battle-for-control-of-your-colon/

snippet:

...Nearly all plants contains lectins, proteins that provide the plant protection from predators like mold, fungus, and insects. And most lectins ingested by humans are harmless or have only minimal effects. Not so wheat lectins.

Wheat lectins are oddly impervious to digestion. What you eat is what you either absorb into the bloodstream or pass out in your stool. It means that, after other proteins, carbohydrates, and fats have been digested, the remnants making their way through your colon become concentrated in wheat lectins. It’s here where the high concentration of wheat lectins do their Weapons of Mass Destruction thing and cause good bacteria to die and encourages bad bacteria, like Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus lactis, to fluorish, a condition called “bacterial overgrowth.”

Wheat lectin-induced bacterial overgrowth causes gas, cramping, malabsorption of nutrients, and can lead to diseases like rheumatoid arthritis when the normal barriers to unwanted proteins are unlocked. The number of evil bacteria can grow a thousand-fold, overwhelming the helpless good bacteria. The evil bacteria winning the battle then invade northward, making their way as high as the duodenum and stomach. That’s when it gets really ugly...

 

[Justme:)]

I am coeliac and I know that blood tests for the disease are not 100% accurate, you need to get a scope done to be sure, so if you have gotten one done, i recommend it, I had a general anaesthetic for mine so did not feel a thing and was in and out of hospital the same day so its nothing to worry about!

 

[Tummyache]

I tested negative 3 month into a gluten free diet for IgA and IgG antibodies, so didn't give the blood test much credit for being right. However, had genetic testing done later and was told I do not have HLA DQ2 or DQ8, so it's very unlikely that I have Celiac. Rats! That would have been a much easier Dx to live with than probable Crohns. I am convinced, however, that wheat/gluten is a trigger along with dairy and sugars causing episodes of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and intestinal inflammation and pain. I was told many years ago that I am fructose intolerant...we are assuming Hereditary Fructose Intolerant - so it could really be the fructans in wheat [one of the wheat starches made up of long chains of fructose with a glucose on the end] that is the culprit. However, adding gluten free to an already dairy free + low sugar diet made all the difference. I haven't had a serious episode in over 6 yrs - like the ER visit with partial small bowel obstruction. I feel like I am controlling my digestive problems pretty well with diet alone - so it must be a milder variety of Crohns.