Diabetes FAQ » Diabetes Q&A » I am diabetic but I seem to be having so much more problems, I have trouble eating certain foods and I have Crohn’s disease and other digestion problems. Can anybody tell me what this could be?

I am diabetic but I seem to be having so much more problems, I have trouble eating certain foods and I have Crohn’s disease and other digestion problems. Can anybody tell me what this could be?

First of all it is very difficult to answer this and only your diabetes specialist can provide you with proper answers. Explain to him or her all your diabetes symptoms, even symptoms you don’t think are associated. Your doctor is the best person to give you diabetes information. However, there are some things you may ask him about.

For example, there is a condition called Celiac disease, which has been linked with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, which is the most common of all chronic diseases in children, the pancreatic islet beta cells are killed by the child’s own immune system. The body then is incapable of producing the right amount of insulin to keep the body healthy. Unfortunately, life long insulin medications are prescribed as diabetic treatments. Children with juvenile diabetes develop and intolerance to gluten.

Celiac disease is also and autoimmune system disease; and these children are experiencing their own immune system attacking their intestinal mucosa because of the intolerance to gluten. The children grow into adults, but need gluten replacement their entire lives. If a type 1 diabetic is not treated with the proper medication serious complications can develop.

New research have found a gene, which is linked to both type 1 diabetes and celiac disease.

Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease is also called gluten-sensitive enteropathy, notropical sprue and celiac sprue. Celiac disease produces intolerance for gluten, which is a protein, found in foods containing wheat and certain other grains. That means when you eat bread or pasta, or even cookies if you are intolerant to gluten you may have celiac disease. Again only your doctor will be able to tell for sure.

Every time you eat something that contains the gluten protein, it causes a bad reaction in your small intestine. As a result, the nutrients from the food are not being absorbed properly.

The symptoms of Celiac disease can start in either childhood or adulthood. The symptoms may come and go and for that reason it is often hard to diagnose. Though mostly associated with type 1 diabetes where about 20 percent of people with type 1 diabetes also have celiac disease, about one in 250 people who have type 2 diabetes will also have it.

Celiac symptoms

The symptoms of Celiac disease includes:

• Appetite loss
• Weight loss
• Failure to grow (specific to children)
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Anemia
• Skin rashes
• Unexplained hypoglycemia (low blood pressure) in people who have diabetes People with Celiac disease often have bowel issues. Chronic diarrhea such as in irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease is very common though not present in every case

People suffering from Celiac disease can suffer from:

• Lactose intolerance
• Stress
• Parasitic and viral infections
• Gastropareisis, relating to diabetes

Diagnosis of Celiac Disease

Usually blood tests and a small intestine biopsy can detect Celiac Disease

A test you can try on your own if your doctor is not willing to look at the possibility that you may have celiac disease or you cannot find a celiac specialist in your area is to go gluten free to see if the symptoms subside. The trouble is gluten has be completely eliminated not partially eliminated and if take just one cookie you will suffer from the symptoms. You may not even know you are consuming gluten, as you might use a brand of soya sauce that contains it or you might be on a certain medication that contains it.

Also, as a diabetic you have an additional challenge of selecting carbohydrate choices which are gluten free, but might affect your blood sugar level. These are all concerns you must think about, but you can start with your doctor and consult a dietitian who could possibly help you with your choices as well.

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