Coeliac disease and gluten intolerance: a guide

Coeliac Disease is a common chronic autoimmune condition that affects around one in every 100 people. The condition is a reaction of the immune system to gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.  You are more likely to develop Coeliac Disease if you have a first degree relative (e.g. mother, father, brother or sister) with the illness.

Symptoms of Coeliac Disease

Symptoms of the condition can vary depending on how severe it is, but sufferers may experience:

  • Bloating
  • Diarrhoea
  • Nausea and/ or vomiting
  • Excessive wind
  • Fatigue
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Anaemia
  • Unexpected and sudden weight loss
  • Hair loss
  • Liver abnormalities
  • Repeated miscarriages
  • Some people can also suffer from a skin complaint called dermatitis herpetiformis, which causes itchy red raised blisters. The rash is usually found on the elbow, knees and buttocks. Neurological problems can also occur with Coeliac Disease such as Ataxia (poor balance and coordination), and Peripheral Neuropathy (nerve damage to your extremities – tingling and numbness in the hands and feet).

Why might a person with Coeliac Disease suffer with bowel issues?

It’s quite common for people with Coeliac Disease to be misdiagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome as some of the symptoms can be quite similar. People with Coeliac Disease can suffer with diarrhoea and urgency, bloating and abdominal pains. Coeliac patients commonly suffer from abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea after eating foods containing wheat gluten: A protein commonly found in wheat products. Some patients have an intolerance whereby they can eat small limited quantities, or go for period without symptoms. Other patients develop an acute allergy and have severe allergic symptoms after even small quantities of gluten.

Diet in Coeliac Disease

Patients with Coeliac disease have to be fairly strict in avpiding food which contain gluten. This may include beers, ice cream and other foods not usually thought of as containing gluten.

Gluten Intolerance

Gluten intolerance is the name given to a condition where people react to gluten or wheat containing products in a mild way. They are sensitive to gluten but not allergic to it. The blood tests for the disease may be negative, partially or mildly positive for coeliac disease. It is highly likely that gluten sensitivity or intolerance it is greatly over diagnosed. This is of little consequence because if wheat products are avoided one advantage is that it may be possible to loose weight. Many supermarkets now stock a full range of gluten free products. The disadvantage is that gluten free products are more expensive to buy.

Being a doctor myself, I am very sceptical of the over-diagnosis of gluten sensitivity. However in my case I definitely reacted badly to having food with a high wheat or gluten content. After a pizza or bread my stomach would swell up and become bloated. This would be followed by abdominal pains and constipation. Changing to a gluten free diet helped to some degree for a few months. Some: perhaps 2 of the five blood tests for coeliac disease were mildly positive when they were tested on several occasions.

However once my bowel obstruction was relieved by the colonic stent, then I was able to freely eat as much gluten foods as I liked without any symptoms whatsoever. What appears to have been happening was that the bowel obstruction was backing up in my system and delaying my stomach emptying. The bread and gluten products in my stomach would absorb water and swell up, whilst sitting there waiting to be emptied into the intestines. This resulted in the loss of appetite, abdominal distension and abdominal pains following gluten foods. As it turned out this was not coeliac disease or even a real gluten sensitivity but a feature of my bowel obstruction and diverticulosis.

Disclaimer: This information is only provided for general and background reading. The information should not be relied upon for treatment. The views provided are not necessarily those of the author or of the website. You should always take advice from your own general practitioner or treating specialist before a treatment is commenced or altered. In individual circumstances liability is not accepted for any reason by my-ileostomy.co.uk