There was an article written on USAtoday.com yesterday that talks about lactose intolerance and celiac disease possibly being confused. The article talks about the prevalence of lactose intolerance being difficult to estimate because of the differences in interpretation of the condition.
In order to digest lactose, lactase (an enzyme) is necessary. According to an article found here, 60% of adults can't digest lactose. Apparently, in normal humans, lactase stops being produced between the ages of 2 and 5 years years. In the minority of people able to digest lactose, lactase persistence, is suspected.
The most common symptoms of lactose intolerance (diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain & gas) are oddly similar to some of the most common symptoms of celiac disease. This could make the diagnosis of celiac disease more complicated.
Bottom line is this - if you are experiencing any symptoms that don't seem to go away, you should make an appointment to see your doctor. Get to the bottom of your symptoms. If you are not satisfied with the diagnosis you are given, or there doesn't seem to be one and you are still not feeling better, get a second opinion.
For more info: Please visit Gluten-free is Life or National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.
Comments
Kim, thanks for pointing out this interesting article and yet another difficulty for diagnosing celiac disease. In several meetings of local celiac support groups I have repeatedly heard members say that they were lactose intolerant as long as they were undiagnosed celiacs (villi in small intestine being flattened, and lactase supposedly "sitting" at the tip of those villi).
As soon as they knew they had celiac disease and went on a gluten-free diet, their villi recovered and the lactose intolerance went away. I am curious if you heard this story before or if this is really how it works from a medical perspective?
Hajo,
I have heard of this before. I know that I have also heard of some people being able to tolerate lactose again after starting on the gluten-free diet & once their villi heal. How ever, I wonder if these are those same people the article mentions as having "lactase persistance"? Would be very interesting to delve much deeper into this, huh?
Kim
I thought I had Celiac before the Crohn's diagnosis. There are a lot of digestive issues that can be confused! It's so important to see a doc and get to the bottom (heh) of your symptoms. ;-)
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