1. Not Soaking Up the Fat
People with celiac disease experience an adverse reaction to eating food with gluten. Consuming gluten causes the immune system to overreact and damage the villi of the small intestine. This damage impedes the small intestine's ability to absorb nutrients, especially fats. The failure of the intestines to absorb fats, results in various symptoms, such as foul smelling flatulence or gas, bloating and diarrhea. A person with celiac disease often has large stools that are foul smelling, greasy, and tan or grey in color. Stools may float in the toilet bowl instead of sinking.
2. Lactose Got you Down
Sometimes the intestines of a person with celiac disease have trouble absorbing carbohydrates. This presents specific problems with the carbohydrate known as lactose, which is the sugar present in milk. When lactose isn't absorbed, it causes extreme flatulence, diarrhea, loose stool, abdominal pain and abdominal bloating or distension. This condition is also known as lactose intolerance.
3. Malnourished and Fatigued
Since nutrients aren't adequately absorbed in a person with celiac disease, malnutrition can result. Malnourishment signs include weight loss, osteoporosis, anemia, easily bruised, fatigue, weakness and muscle pain. Another common side effect of malnutrition is neuropathy, which is numbness or tingling in the legs or feet. As malnutrition persists, sufferers may experience increased fluid retention, resulting from the malabsorption of protein. Finally, malnourishment may lead to amenorrhea or lack of menstruation, which increases the chances of experiencing infertility.
4. Age Affects Symptoms
Celiac disease is often diagnosed in childhood; however, symptoms may not manifest until adulthood or the senior years. Children with celiac disease have many of the same symptoms as adults as well as other telltale symptoms, such as failure to thrive in babies and stunted growth as babies and children. Persistent irritability and fatigue also present. Notably, celiac disease may disappear as children enter puberty, only to reappear later in life. While diarrhea and fatty stool can occur in adults with celiac disease, it's more common in children with celiac disease.
5. Severe Consequences of Celiac
Unfortunately, people who fail to maintain a proper diet for celiac disease are at greater risk for developing lymphoma and cancer of the bowel. Serious neurological complications include seizures and nerve damage. Sometimes celiac disease develops into a more serious complication known as ulcerative jejunoileitis, which is a condition that leads to ulcers of the intestine. People with this condition are at greater risk for developing lymphoma. The most serious complication of celiac disease is a condition known as collagenous celiac disease, which doesn't have a good prognosis.
