A question for those with celiacs (or coeliac) disease.

[Pearly~91]

Hello all, I have a question for those with celiacs, coeliac, or celiac sprue. I think that's all the different spellings. Anyways.

If this has been answered elsewhere or if there are other general celiac info threads, please point me towards them. I did a couple searches, but didn't find too much.

So, the question: Do those of you with celiac find that after you accidentally consume gluten you shed more than normal? If so, how long does it take to go back to normal? :confused:

I had the worst reaction that I've had since being diagnosed and starting on the gluten-free diet about 2 weeks ago and along with the other (not so) lovely symptoms that go along with it (fatigue, digestive issues, pain) I noticed I was shedding more than normal. Like 4 times more. That is not an exact comparison; I don't count shed hairs or anything, but there is kind of a pattern to the shedding and it's been disturbed. I'm beginning to feel better stomach & pain wise, so I was just wondering if anyone might have anything to say about the shedding.

Thanks in advance!! :D

[cadencesday]

My 12 year old son has Celiac's but I never noticed any abnormal hair lose but everyone can be different. My twin sister has it too. She isn't has sensitive as my son but her hair has changed so much I never once thought it could be related to her sensitivity.

[Pearly~91]

Thanks for the reply cadencesday! One thing about celiacs is that there is such a variety of symptoms and everyone does react differently. I was diagnosed more than a year ago and I am still learning. I was just curious if anyone else had noticed something like this.

[Jeno86]

I noticed that once I stopped eating gluten, my hair grew quicker, was a lot healthier, and my shedding decreased. Though I can't say it increases if I accidentally consume something containing gluten. My eczema shows back up with a vengeance, but no change in hair. But as was stated, everyone is different and will react differently.

[cadencesday]

I met an RN at work the other day and she said she has severe arthritis due to being misdiagnosed for years and was bedridden for year until she went gluten free. Now she's a new person. Glad you were correctly diagnosed early in life.

[Ingrid]

Gluten breaks down the gut lining which means that vitamin and mineral absorption is impaired, so it totally makes sense that once you stop eating gluten your hair would grow a lot nicer :)

[diddiedaisy]

Hi, I don't have celiac but I am intolerant to gluten. If I eat too much, I get bloating and pains. If I eat too much over a period of time I start losing weight and stop digesting certain foods including protein.

The last time I had an episode it lasted about a year and I suffered exessive shedding. I lost about 30% of my hair.

So I would say that yes it can lead to more shedding. If your not digesting nutrients, your body doesn't waste what it does get on your hair. You'll know if it is that as your nails will be get brittle as well.

Good luck :)

[AdaClare]

That's interesting - I didn't realize gluten and shedding could be related! I also don't have celiac, but do have a gluten intolerance: if I eat a lot of it on a regular basis, it's bad news for my stomach (tmi(?): vomiting). I've been noticing I've been shedding a lot lately, and wonder if that's related to the small amounts of gluten containing foods I've eaten lately?

[diddiedaisy]

That's interesting - I didn't realize gluten and shedding could be related! I also don't have celiac, but do have a gluten intolerance: if I eat a lot of it on a regular basis, it's bad news for my stomach (tmi(?): vomiting). I've been noticing I've been shedding a lot lately, and wonder if that's related to the small amounts of gluten containing foods I've eaten lately?
It's worth cutting it out for a trial period and see what happens.

[vendethiel]

I have celiacs disease and I never tied gluten consumption to shedding, but I just found out that a protein powder I had been taking had gluten in it and I've noticed that my hair is shedding more... So, maybe it is linked, at least for some people.

[Christine_O]

OMGosh! Thank you so much for this thread! I had a mysterious shed several years ago. There was no attempt at a diagnosis at that time, but my hair became terribly thin, with the appearance of balding all over. The other symptoms that I later identified as celiacs cropped up at the same time, but no attention was paid to that either. I have never been positively diagnosed with celiacs, but put myself on a gluten free diet about 3 years ago. Lately I have noticed that my hair has gotten thicker, and the hair at my brow line has little baby hairs growing out.
Have faith, and stay GF.

[lapushka]

It is seasonal shedding time, to all who may be thinking it's something else!

[Pearly~91]

Hey everyone, thanks for the replies!

I've been thinking that the shedding isn't a standard celiac symptom as much as perhaps just a reaction to the sudden stress to my body? I know I'm prone to increased shedding when under stress. As the auto-immune response eases off maybe the shedding will ease as well. I don't think I consumed enough gluten to do too much long lasting damage, and it was a one time thing. I'm pretty sensitive, so I'm really careful with being completely gluten free generally.

cadencesday, yeah, it was good that I was diagnosed. Some of the long term effects are terrible. I was luckily tested because my Mom was diagnosed.

diddiedaisy that sounds like a nasty intolerance to have, glad you know how to deal with it. I've heard that the intolerances not related to auto-immune disease can be difficult to diagnose.

vendethiel Don't you hate it when you realize you've been eating something with gluten? You can be so careful and still wind up getting it accidentally and feeling ill. It's maddening! :mad: Good thing you discovered it, though.

[Pearly~91]

Also, what lapushka said! I hope no one saw this and started thinking they were sick because of shedding. I would say it's certainly sound advice to not worry too much about shedding unless you're loosing ponytail circumference or it goes on for a longer period of time! I just thought it might be something that other members had noticed who have been diagnosed.