Celiac Disease Or Crohns Disease? Were You Misdiagnosed?
by Inna Lukyanovsky

I was just watching "The View" and got so excited. The host of the show, Elizabeth was talking about her Celiac disease and how she is doing so much better with gluten free diet. She said that at some point she was misdiagnosed with Crohn's disease. Her doctor tested and diagnosed her correctly with Celiac disease eventually and she is very thankful.

Celiac disease (just like Crohn's disease) is an autoimmune disorder. The autoimmune disease means that the immune system starts attacking its own cells thinking that they are "foreign substances". The body is often tired and the patient gets fatigued from all that "fighting".

In a confirmed case of Celiac disease the treatment plan is simple. The treatment is the DIET. 100% Gluten Free diet! And your life gets back on track instantly. In the confirmed Crohn's disease case it is not as simple as just a diet change. Although plenty of Crohn's sufferers improve a great deal on the gluten free diet, there is much more involved in Crohn's.

It is very important to get a true and "confirmed" diagnosis but it's not always easy to diagnose patients with bowel diseases. Crohns disease gets misdiagnosed with Ulcerative colitis, IBS and Celiac disease. Celiac disease is very often misdiagnosed as well. About 85 percent of patients that have Celiac disease don't know that they have this disorder as Elizabeth mentioned.

During your next visit, you can mention to your doctor about gluten sensitivity testing if he/she has not done it yet. If the patient has increased gluten sensitivity, it is very possible that they have Celiac disease. But do you need to run and get tested, just in case? Well, do you have terrible cramps and diarrhea after eating wheat, barley, oats (still questionable) or rye products? Patients with Celiac disease will most likely run to the bathroom with diarrhea about 15 minutes after having that food. Patients with Celiac disease also have other health concerns, like Elizabeth mentioned that she could not get pregnant until her diet was changed.

Gluten sensitivity doesn't always mean that you have Celiac disease nor Crohn's disease. But patients with true, 100% gluten allergy will most likely have Celiac disease. I have Crohn's disease and show some gluten sensitivity. I do much better on the gluten free diet.

I have been trying to make a point about gluten sensitivity for years, but now since it was brought up by a famous show host maybe some patients will benefit from this information. Maybe we will even be able to have gluten free options on the menus in all the restaurants. But for now, if there is absolutely no way to find gluten free product, I try to find sprouted whole wheat bread. Whole wheat has much less gluten in it. This is not an option for Celiac disease patients, though. They need 100% gluten free products.

The foods which don't have gluten are: veggies, fruits, meats and dairy (but be careful with this one, too, because a lot of people have an allergy to milk). The grains that don't have gluten are buckwheat, brown rice, quinoa and buckwheat. They are good and delicious, you just have to get used to them. Cook it for about 15 minutes so most of the nutrients and fiber are still not destroyed by heat.

I am so thrilled this issue was brought up, because all the members of my family have a big problem with gluten sensitivity. We often have problems going out to restaurants to eat. I hope more and more people become more aware on what they eat and how they react to different foods. I want to thank Elizabeth Hasselbeck and wish you all well!