Celiac Disease Support Group

After hearing positive things about L-Glutamine, I started taking it once I was diagnosed. Soon, I started getting more and more ill, and suddenly my liver enzymes shot through the roof and so many other symptoms hit me. It got to the point where my enzymes were elevated over 800 (they should be below 40) for too long; I had lost tonnes of weight, and frankly, was near death.

My internist and GP could not figure it out - we were all really scared, and finally my internist asked me what supplements I was taking. I told him, and he said, stop the L-Glutamine ASAP.

Within a week, my enzymes were in the hundreds, and after a couple months, back to normal.

I cannot say it was the L-Glutamine for sure, but according to the internist, my GP, and my experience, I would say it was.

Just my experience, but be careful - we often take things we definitely don't need.

If a supplement is not absolutely necessary, I would not take a chance by taking it! You do not need supplements such as L-Glutamine. The only way to really heal yourself is by a strict gluten-free diet. Although difficult to follow, there are more foods you can eat than you can't.

Also of note, the only way to be 100% sure you have Celiac Disease is by an endoscopy with a biopsy of your small intestine. You must be eating gluten at the time to get an accurate result. I don't know if a lab can give a diagnosis just by a stool sample. I would check with your family doctor and/or gastroenterologist to be safe. You certainly don't want to be gluten-free the rest of your life if it is not necessary!

Thank you so much for your reply. I researched L-Glutamine a little bit on the Internet, and read about the same sort of problems that you had from others. My homeopathic caregiver was very adamant that I take it, but I think I'll lay off of it until I see my medical Dr. again. Maybe my energy level will improve. I've been feeling really tired again.

Now I'm wishing I had had the biopsy rather than the stool test. I do feel better when I don't eat wheat (maybe gluten in general). Eating wheat gives me stomach pains, bloating, gas, and constipation. I've been essentially gluten free for 6 months, so getting a biopsy now wouldn't do much good.
The Gluten sensitivity Stool Panel Complete test that I had measures Fecal Antigliadin IgA, Fecal Antitissue Transglutaminase IgA, and Quantitative Microscopic Fecal Fat Score. All of my results were higher than what's considered normal. I'll ask my doctor about all this stuff the next time I see him. The thing that concerns me is that no medical doctor has ever even told me about the possibility of being gluten sensitive or having celiac. I think many people have celiac and don't realize it. Since gluten intolerance/celiac can cause so many problems, you'd think more doctors would check for that first.

I went gluten free 3 yrs ago on the advice of a nutritionist after dealing with the miserable effects of endometriosis for 20+ yrs & my resulting infertility. I never actually got tested for celiac before doing this (I was a bit impulsive) but ridding wheat & gluten completely from my body/diet cured almost all my monthly cramps & heavy periods....When I learned I would have to go back to eating gluten to get tested, I decided it just was not worth it.

When you are not feeling well, your body is trying to tell you something...it is worth it to try different things to help yourself. Within 6 mos, you will know if a gluten free diet makes you "feel" better. And if it does, does it matter that you have not tested for it?

My doctor pooh-poohed my "organic wheat-free dieting" but the the improvement in my general health from this diet speaks for itself. I only wish I had started listening to my body & not my doctors many years before it affected my fertility! I also remember my gyno telling me years ago cramps were just a fact of life & to learn to live with them (no matter how bad they were)!

It is not an easy diet but after awhile you learn to live around gluten & be OK with abstaining. Just like giving up smoking, drinking, etc., you realize it is for the greater good.