Why is Your Celiac Disease Missed?

If you have celiac disease, you may go through your entire life and never know it. Why? We live within a medical structure that enjoys placing people in distinct boxes requiring distinct drugs.

“Mrs. Jones, you have diabetes – here is your drug prescription.” “Mr. Smith, you have high cholesterol – here is your medication.” Now maybe Mr. Smith also has diabetes and then he finds himself on more than one drug.

Many adult Americans take more than 3 to 5 different prescription medications each and every day.

Celiac Disease is Given No Respect

And where does that leave celiac disease? Out in the cold because it doesn’t fit into a tidy little box. Why? There’s no drug to treat it.

Pharmaceutical companies aren’t interested in doctors of this country getting better informed about celiac disease. That diagnosis does nothing to help their bottom line. They’d rather the doctor diagnose the condition caused by celiac disease: things such as diabetes, liver disease, thyroid disease, heart disease, hormonal imbalance such as depression, etc. The list is long and touches almost every system in the human body.

Gluten Intolerance Can Shorten Your Life

Recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association (October 2011), Dr. Leffler from the Harvard Medical School stepped out and tried to let his fellow doctors know the problems associated with ignoring gluten: “Although celiac disease is often considered a mild disorder treatable with simple dietary changes, in reality, celiac disease imparts considerable risks, including reduced bone mineral density, impaired quality of life, and increased overall mortality.”

It is sad but true that clinicians in this country continue to consider celiac disease a ‘mild disorder’ because its treatment is a dietary change. If it had an expensive drug protocol associated with it, believe me, doctors would take heed much faster. [Note: I must admit to having a bit of trouble with my own tone in this post. I am not a naturally cynical person. But sometimes I do get frustrated with the ‘short shrift’ that celiac disease and gluten sensitivity receive.]

In this particular research article, a patient who presented with anemia was, many years later, found to have celiac disease. Anemia is a common secondary effect of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity both. For those of us who spend a great deal of time in the field, anemia is a ‘red flag’ of potential gluten intolerance. But this middle-aged woman suffered for a long period of time before her celiac disease was discovered.

What ensues when the true root cause is missed is that the patient receives ‘treatment’ for a condition that is being fueled by something else, in this case, gluten.

Therefore the treatment isn’t successful because the actual root cause is missed. Many gluten intolerant women are chronically anemic. They are told to take iron that constipates them. They do this for a while and then decide that constipation isn’t worth it so they stop. Once (if) their gluten intolerance is identified, their anemia resolves. Why? Because the actual root cause has been identified.

Gluten Can Create over 300 Diseases & Conditions

Dr. Leffler notes that despite being one of the most prevalent autoimmune gastrointestinal disorders, diagnosis of celiac disease is often delayed or missed altogether despite blood tests being commonly available.

He states that: “the signs and symptoms of celiac disease are nonspecific and highly heterogeneous, making diagnosis difficult.” This is very true. The list of symptoms and conditions associated with gluten intolerance is over 300 in length.

Upon hearing this you may begin to develop some affinity for the concept of screening. One wonders how many individuals with symptoms associated with gluten intolerance (inclusive of both celiac disease and gluten sensitivity) would benefit from an improved health status if they were screened. Food for thought…

The Secondary Effects of Gluten Must be Addressed

Dr. Leffler concludes with this statement: “care of individuals with the celiac disease requires prompt diagnosis and ongoing multidisciplinary management.” I agree wholeheartedly.

Due to gluten’s ability to affect most systems of the body, after a diagnosis occurs, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to properly treat those afflicted. The secondary effects of gluten, too, cannot be ignored. It would be lovely if removing gluten from one’s diet was truly the only treatment necessary. Unfortunately, it’s just the beginning.

The treatment of secondary effects doesn’t involve drugs or surgery and it doesn’t need to take a long time, but it must be done. Healing the gut, eradicating any ‘hidden infections’, balancing out the good probiotics, normalizing hormonal balance, etc all must be done to regain optimal health.

My Team and I are Here to Help You

If you’d like some help in this area please feel free to contact me. I created a multidisciplinary destination clinic that sees patients from across the country and around the world for just this purpose. We currently misdiagnosing 95% of those who suffer from celiac disease and likely 98% of those suffering from gluten sensitivity. This weakness of our healthcare system is endangering lives. This is no overstatement.

As Dr. Leffler stated in his paper, undiagnosed gluten intolerance “increases overall mortality”. Gluten kills you, plain and simple. Call me if you’d like some help. That’s why I’m here and I’m happy to offer you a complimentary health analysis.