Ask Nadia: Celiac Disease Test

“I was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and was wondering if I should be tested for celiac disease?

Dave
Madison Wisconsin

Hello Dave,

It estimated that 1% of the population has celiac disease. If you have Type 1 diabetes, you have an 8% chance of having celiac disease. It is an autoimmune disorder that may or may not have visible symptoms

Some physicians recommend that the newly diagnosed type 1 person also be tested for celiac disease.

People with type 1 diabetes are also at risk for getting a false positive result from their test. If this happens, there is anther test that is given for the false positive to more accurately determine your diagnosis.

One concern with celiac disease is that it can damage your small intestine, which will affect your ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients. Such as getting an iron deficiency because the intestine is unable to absorb the nutrients.

The Celiac Disease Foundation states “Having one autoimmune disease puts you at greater risk for developing another”.

The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center has an extensive list of symptoms. At the same time, they say” there are over 300 symptoms that may seem unrelated and yet are considered a complication of the autoimmune disease”.

Common symptoms of celiac disease may include one or more of the following:
▪ Frequent abdominal bloating and pain
▪ Chronic diarrhea or constipation
▪ Vomiting
▪ Weight loss
▪ Pale, foul-smelling stool
▪ Iron-deficiency anemia that does not respond to iron therapy
▪ Fatigue
▪ Failure to thrive or short stature
▪ Delayed puberty
▪ Pain in the joints
▪ Tingling numbness in the legs
▪ Pale sores inside the mouth
▪ A skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis
▪ Tooth discoloration or loss of enamel
▪ Unexplained infertility or recurrent miscarriage
▪ Osteopenia (mild) or osteoporosis (more serious bone density problem)
▪ Peripheral neuropathy
▪ Psychiatric disorders such as anxiety or depression

Ask Nadia and you will receive her unique perspective on your questions! Beginning in mid March 2015 Nadia’s new column will appear regularly in Diabetes Health magazine, newsletters, and on our website DiabetesHealth.com.

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