What's the difference between coeliac disease and gluten insensitivity

I seem to get conflicting advice from the internet as to the difference between coeliac disease and gluten insensitivity - gluten insensitivity seems to be taken less seriously. I know I have a problem (big in my mind) with gluten foods.

Do I need a doctor to diagnose the difference?

[FionaGFG Administrator]

This can be confusing for many people.

So we've broken down your question into the broad differences and why you need to keep eating gluten and see your GP. From all that we have read on the net and learnt from being Coeliacs ourselves there are two key differences.

1. Coeliac Disease is an autoimmune disease.

It is not an allergy or an intolerance. However, it's often mis-represented in the press and by Coeliacs as those terms are often easier for the public to understand. Coeliac Disease means the immune system views gluten, (the protein in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, oats and any of their derivatives) as a poison and causes the body to attack it. Which can cause a variety of symptoms including tiredness, stomach problems, psoriasis. See Coeliac UK for more details.

2. Gluten or Wheat sensitively (or insensitivity as you put it) is not an auto-immune disease. However, people who are sensitive to gluten will get similar reactions to digesting gluten eg tiredness and stomach pains. Yet these often will not cause other diseases, which Coeliac Disease can.

Do see a doctor to diagnose you. We would recommend that you keep eating gluten and start a food diary for a few weeks. Jot down your reactions to what foods you eat. It's often handy to do this on your phone calendar. Then book an appointment to see your GP and discuss your concerns and run through any obvious symptoms from your food diary. This should make it a lot easier to see what is causing your problem. If you have any family history of Coeliac Disease of other auto-immune diseases tell your doctor.

It's important that you do get tested by your doctor rather than self diagnose. Coeliac Disease can cause long term health problems including infertility, osteoporosis and stomach cancer. It has also been linked to other auto-immune diseases. So run through your concerns with your doctor so that you can exclude Coeliac Disease. A simple blood test to check for endomysial antibodies (EMA) and tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) can assess if your body is reacting to gluten and if you need further tests. You need to keep eating gluten for the blood tests to show if you have any problems. We hope this helps.

[VickiK in reply to FionaGFG]

Another important factor in diagnosis is the genetic link. It's very unlikely other family members will consider CD as a real issue if a formal diagnosis is not made.

CD is a multi system disease and often doesn't present in the expected way ie tummy issues.

In saying that, diagnosis isn't easy to achieve for a lot of people!

[FionaGFG Administrator in reply to FionaGFG]

That's so true.