Are you gluten sensitive or do you have Celiac Disease? Is there a difference? With either of these diagnoses, eating gluten can trigger symptoms of fatigue, various digestive symptoms and can affect your immune system. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, celiac disease can cause damage to your small intestine along with other serious health problems and is autoimmune disease that can be hereditary.
Before I became Diabetic, I dealt with extreme fatigue, heartburn and other stomach/digestive issues, but I was unaware of being allergic to gluten. I was never tested for this until I found out I had Type 1 Diabetes. One of my doctors recommended a specialized allergy test and when the results came back it showed I was highly sensitive to gluten. In sharing my results since that time, some of my doctors have also suggested that this could’ve triggered my Diabetes. On the other hand, I don’t have celiac disease because my small intestine is not damaged. This was confirmed by additional tests that I had done as suggested by my doctors. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, approximately 8-10 % of the people who have Type 1 Diabetes have Celiac Disease. Studies show that there is an even higher percentage of Type 1 Diabetics are gluten sensitive.
Historically, many Type 1 diabetics weren’t aware of this dual diagnosis, and when I first found out that as a Diabetic I was also gluten sensitive; I felt all alone. However, in recent years this is more common and discussed in the medical community and diabetic networks.
For more information see website: https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/screening-and-diagnosis/screening/ (Celiac Disease Foundation)