coeliac disease and diabetes

Hello Anna

Usually coeliac disease is diagnosed by endoscopy. My partner is coeliac but it took nearly 1 year for it all to come to a head. He used to be a blood doner and twice it got refused because his iron levels were a bit low. We couldn't quite make head or tail of it at the time as he felt ok in himself but took a multi vitamin and eat a bit more liver and onions :lol:

Eventually though he started to have bowel problems - greasy stools, flatulence etc so I got him to see his doctor and then after taking iron tabs for 6 months went back because he started to look ill - very pale. He was extremely anaemic and often came home from work exhausted.

Once he started to eat gluten free food, very slowly started to feel better again but still took a small dose of iron tabs every day to build up his iron store. He now does a lot of competitive cycling.

Dont worry, there is a lot of lovely gluten free bread, rolls, biscuits etc all available on prescription. Lots of food in supermarkets has labelling on it that will tell you whether it contains wheat, gluten, barley, rye etc. All you've got to do is look at the carb value.

I am not coeliac but I am wheat intolerant, so I have some leeway that a coeliac doesn't, but I find that avioding wheat products, fits quite well with my reduced carb diet.

I just doen't have the 'bread' I will eat cheese on corn crackers or on Quorn slices (I am a vegatarian it may be esier for carnivores).

I make wraps for the family and just eat the filling, I am not eating cakes etc anyway but when I am desperate for a treat I have a meringue with cream and berries.

I do not eat any of teh subsititute bread and biscuits etc as I find they have a huge effec ton my BG, the same as eating a bar of chocolate. (I had a wheat free savoury pancake and hit 13.8 :shock and quite honestly if I am having that effect I'd rather jsut eat the bar of chocolate :mrgreen:

I'm wheat intollerant too and do the same as Annie, although I'm not a vegetarian. I don't bother with substitute breads, they are rather expensive and don't taste that great, although I do buy them when they are reduced to clear to make a special treat like eggy bread (which disguises the taste).

anna29 said:

Hi, How do persons with coeliac disease and diabetes cope? What can you do to control it? What can - cant you eat or tollerate? Am gobsmacked :shock: as with already been diagnosed with diverticulitis 5-6yrs ago thought had it all covered and sorted... Consultant thinks am strong candidate for it given my symptoms food intolerances excessive bloating after eating tiny morsels of food plus agonising stomach cramps immediately after eating tiny amounts also am so exhausted too. So had the test on yesterday for it. As already mentioned am totally gobsmacked :shock: as I dont know ANYTHING about this condition at all. Any angle or thoughts on this will be appreciated. Thanks, Anna.x

Click to expand...

Hi anna29

My Son is a coeliac as well and has been now for the last 6 years since the age of 8 and diabetic since he was 3. To confirm if you are coeliac you would need to carry on eating gluten so that you can then have an endoscopy to confirm it. It could well be that you are just wheat intolerant which is a different thing from having to go on a gluten free diet, and like iHs said you will get an allowance of gluten free products on prescription as well as supermarkets doing a gluten free range, which can be expensive though. Hope all goes well for you

Hi Anna

Eggy bread is what some people call french toast. It is an egg whisked up with a splosh of milk and then the bread is dipped in and fried.

I have been coeliac for over 30 years, possibly all my life, but only diagnosed about 25 years ago. I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic last October. There is definitely a link, it's the "leaky gut" syndrome, mentioned some months ago in Scientific American. Other posts have said that you cannot have a gluten-free diet before the biopsies. True of course, but after a couple of weeks of sheer relief on gluten-free, going back to gluten is just unacceptable. Also, don't believe those who suggest that you can be "a bit naughty" with the gluten. If I accidentally ingest some gluten, through eating out, I have violent diarrhoea within 2 hours, followed by up to 6 months of bowel pains and unpredictable bowel habits, often actually very constipated. I put a post on earlier this afternoon, before I saw this one, so more details there.