Celiac & Low Energy Young Female

rab

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Hi all -- I've been using Peat-inspired nutrition tips for a year or two to success; I feel better in the gym and have great energy levels.

My younger sister is celiac w/ all the typical symptoms: fatigue, self-reported depressive moods, varying levels of anxiety, and annoyance at difficulty getting gluten-free options on her campus. I've been doing preliminary reading before suggesting supplements / diet changes to her -- what I've been seeing a lot is that riboflavin / B2 could help with strengthening lining of digestive tracts.

I haven't seen Ray comment specifically on celiac too much (other than suggesting it's probably wise to avoid gluten altogether, which is difficult for her right now), but is there any harm in seeing if B2 (thinking of either Thorne Prenatal Complex or Thorne Basic B Complex) helps, or are there better things to start out with (progesterone possibly)? And any suggestions going forward if B2 supplementation doesn't work well? Thanks in advance :):
 

Blossom

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Welcome to the forum. I’m celiac too. I basically need all the b’s so a good b-complex might be helpful while she’s healing her gut. Ray has said all grains can be an issue for people with celiac but I’ve eaten rice off and on without any of the issues I get with wheat. She really should be diligent about staying gluten free though. I got lax when I discovered peat and ate sourdough wheat bread and payed a heavy price with my health. Gluten free is hard at first but really, really worth it!
 

Dolomite

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Eating gluten if she is celiac will further destroy her intestinal lining. B vitamins will be great but they won't stop the destruction. If she is college age she is old enough to understand her disease and what it means to eat any amount of gluten.
 

eimearrose

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Welcome to the forum. I’m celiac too. I basically need all the b’s so a good b-complex might be helpful while she’s healing her gut. Ray has said all grains can be an issue for people with celiac but I’ve eaten rice off and on without any of the issues I get with wheat. She really should be diligent about staying gluten free though. I got lax when I discovered peat and ate sourdough wheat bread and payed a heavy price with my health. Gluten free is hard at first but really, really worth it!
Hi @Blossom
I have a similar issue. My celiac disease has never been confirmed by serology or biopsy, but I have the genes (HLA DQ1B) and I have pancreatic insufficiency (known to be associated with celiac) with no other identified cause (ie my pancreas is structurally sound). I reintroduced gluten to try the serology test again as I was not eating much gluten when I had it done. The symptoms have been pretty grim, weirdly mostly neurological this time rather than more digestion dominant that I had in the past- although I do have dreadful gas. I'm about to get the test, but after it's done, was there anything you did when you went back to gluten free that you felt helped you heal? Thank you in advance :)
 

Blossom

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Hi @Blossom
I have a similar issue. My celiac disease has never been confirmed by serology or biopsy, but I have the genes (HLA DQ1B) and I have pancreatic insufficiency (known to be associated with celiac) with no other identified cause (ie my pancreas is structurally sound). I reintroduced gluten to try the serology test again as I was not eating much gluten when I had it done. The symptoms have been pretty grim, weirdly mostly neurological this time rather than more digestion dominant that I had in the past- although I do have dreadful gas. I'm about to get the test, but after it's done, was there anything you did when you went back to gluten free that you felt helped you heal? Thank you in advance :)
I’m really sorry you’re going through this and hope you feel better soon. The neurological symptoms were actually worse than the gut and skin symptoms for me. It was almost like my gut was numb or perhaps I was just disconnected from it after so many years of having problems.

Initially I didn’t do anything other than replace gluten containing foods with gluten free substitutes. I wish I had cut back on all grains and starches including gluten free ones sooner. Peat had mentioned starch being problematic for people with poor digestion (paraphrasing) and I didn’t fully appreciate that warning. I really didn’t realize how negatively they were effecting me until I stopped eating them altogether which I really didn’t want to do! It seems hard early on to give up anything other than gluten but once you have started healing and regain some strength and stability I’d consider a trial period of no grains or starch to see if it helps. I’d also pay attention to how your body responds to dairy. When the gut is damaged from gluten our ability to breakdown lactose can be an issue. For a while I had to stick with only cheese, yogurt or kefir from from goats milk.
I probably should have been tested for nutrient deficiencies because in hindsight I feel I probably had numerous deficiencies that lingered for too long and slowed my recovery. I do feel like our medical system here in the US is pretty pitiful in managing celiac and the body wide impact it can have. If you have that option I think it’s worthwhile to check. Best wishes
 

eimearrose

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I’m really sorry you’re going through this and hope you feel better soon. The neurological symptoms were actually worse than the gut and skin symptoms for me. It was almost like my gut was numb or perhaps I was just disconnected from it after so many years of having problems.

Initially I didn’t do anything other than replace gluten containing foods with gluten free substitutes. I wish I had cut back on all grains and starches including gluten free ones sooner. Peat had mentioned starch being problematic for people with poor digestion (paraphrasing) and I didn’t fully appreciate that warning. I really didn’t realize how negatively they were effecting me until I stopped eating them altogether which I really didn’t want to do! It seems hard early on to give up anything other than gluten but once you have started healing and regain some strength and stability I’d consider a trial period of no grains or starch to see if it helps. I’d also pay attention to how your body responds to dairy. When the gut is damaged from gluten our ability to breakdown lactose can be an issue. For a while I had to stick with only cheese, yogurt or kefir from from goats milk.
I probably should have been tested for nutrient deficiencies because in hindsight I feel I probably had numerous deficiencies that lingered for too long and slowed my recovery. I do feel like our medical system here in the US is pretty pitiful in managing celiac and the body wide impact it can have. If you have that option I think it’s worthwhile to check. Best wishes
Thanks @Blossom. I was actually thinking of trying starch free because this recent gluten exposure has made my gut really gassy, so I'm guessing I have some kind of overgrowth or dysbiosis.
Thankfully because of my pre existing pancreatic insufficiency, I get regularly tested for fat soluble vitamins ADEK as well as the usual blood associated vitamins (b12, folate and of course the doctors are obsessed with my iron levels). I already supplement D and K2 because I also have osteoporosis, and I recently started a b complex.
I had been doing OK gluten free from this time last year until middle of this year, but I stupidly took up pretty full on running training and got really tired plus other typical hypothyroid symptoms. I tried to fix it with rest but I think I need to supplement now. Since I was feeling crap anyway I decided to retest gluten to see if I could get the antibody test to come up positive just to confirm the diagnosis. But once I'm done with that it's back to gluten free. I didn't find it too hard but I do suspect grain free would be better because I've been sick with this for a very long time (almost 20 years) so my gut is probably in dire need of some tlc!
I appreciate the insight from your own experience. I know from what I've read on the forum that you have really turned your health around so it gives me hope!
 

Blossom

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Thankfully because of my pre existing pancreatic insufficiency, I get regularly tested for fat soluble vitamins ADEK as well as the usual blood associated vitamins (b12, folate and of course the doctors are obsessed with my iron levels). I already supplement D and K2 because I also have osteoporosis, and I recently started a b complex.
I’m really glad to hear that you get tested. That should make the recovery process better. Just take good care of yourself and don’t push too hard. I went about 2 years without exercising from 2014-2016. In hindsight I don’t think I needed to go that long and probably should have at least started walking much sooner but I definitely don’t think strenuous exercise is helpful while trying to heal. Best wishes, keep us posted please!
 

eimearrose

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I’m really glad to hear that you get tested. That should make the recovery process better. Just take good care of yourself and don’t push too hard. I went about 2 years without exercising from 2014-2016. In hindsight I don’t think I needed to go that long and probably should have at least started walking much sooner but I definitely don’t think strenuous exercise is helpful while trying to heal. Best wishes, keep us posted please!
Yes I definitely agree that exercise is only a hindrance early on in healing. I took 6 months off after the pancreatic insufficiency diagnosis but I should have taken longer and dug a bit deeper on the gluten connection. Hey, we live and learn!
 

Blossom

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Yes I definitely agree that exercise is only a hindrance early on in healing. I took 6 months off after the pancreatic insufficiency diagnosis but I should have taken longer and dug a bit deeper on the gluten connection. Hey, we live and learn!
So true!
 

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