Celiac Disease and low blood sugars

[carebear44]

My daughter was dx'd with Juvenile Diabetes 6 years ago, and Celiac 3 years ago. My question is to those of you that live with both diagnosis, do you find that when your Celiac disease is "flaring up", do you see a drastic drop in your blood sugars? I have posed this question to both her Endocrinologist and GI specialist, without much confirmation of how the Celiac Disease affects blood sugar control. When she was first diagnosed with Celiac, her sugar was chronically low, especially through the night. Once we adhered to the diet, withing a few months her sugars spiked up and then regulated with insulin changes. Just wondering if others have seen the correlation. Thank you.

[jkk3682]

I have been type 1 diabetic for 27 years and was diagnosed with celiac about 6 years go.  Once I started a gluten-free diet, my blood sugars certainly became much more stable, but I haven't noticed a drop in blood sugar when gluten is present (I also avoid nearly all processed foods--hard to do with kids!).  The presence of gluten prevents the body from properly absorbing nutrients, so it would make sense that maybe carbohydrates aren't used effectively during "flare ups".

[alimom11]

Hi, We have and 11yr old who has been type 1 8yrs, celiac 3yrs(probably longer, but could not get a diagnosis).  I have never thought about the connection between low blood sugars and celiac flare ups, I will pay more attention in the future. What I worry about is the amount of insulin she takes. Her endo says it is ok, but her lantus and humalog needs have increased.  Have you noticed this happening with your child?

I am glad to find someone else who is dealing with both diabetes and celiac!

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

I don't happen to have both Celiac and diabetes, but I think I will throw out some ideas. I wonder if her body is reacting when the Celiac acts up in such a way that affects her ability to produce cortisol. My twin (a type 1, like me) has a damaged adrenal system, and her blood sugar levels drop drastically when she overdoes her work and taxes her adrenal system. Her other symptoms are fatigue, a shakiness that is similar to that which you feel when hypoglycemic, and sometimes a racing feeling when her body is trying to produce cortisol. She also will show real blood sugar ups and downs when allergies hit -- sharp spikes followed by lows. This again is thought to be because the adrenal system kicks into action when allergins are present. So I wonder if her adrenal system is jump-started when the Celiac flares up? Might be worth considering.

Another suggestion: you might want to go to www.celiac.org/ to see if there is any info there that might help. Or perhaps there is someone you can contact through this website.

Any other Celiacs out there? Please give carebear44 some info on how this works with you.