Hi. I am taking Caltrate 600+D Plus Minerals in tablet form (purple label). I called the customer service and asked if this supplement is gluten free.

I was informed they are not using any ingredients with gluten, however they cannot vouch the safety of the raw materials they ordered from different sources due to possible contamination. So, they cannot 100% claim that this product is gluten-free.

Is/are there anybody in the forum who is/are using Caltrate 600+D Plus Minerals who have had a reaction?

Will appreciate input.
Thank you.

Mary

Hi Mrs.D,

The gastro might request for an endoscopy due to some acid/burning problems...is endoscopy the same procedure used to biopsy the villi? Either gluten intolerant or celiac, will this be detected in the biopsy?

If its the same procedure, I was hoping to request from the gastro a biopsy to rule out or rule in gluten or celiac. There are just so many things happening in my body now that I would want to narrow down causes.

Thank you for your reply

I believe the sampling is from the villi in the intestine.

From reading the gluten posts for years, I think even some
biopsies can be negative and people still report the GF diet helps anyway. This is because the intestine is not all inflamed equally and patches may be missed.

You'll have to ask the doctor, if he plans on going past the stomach into the small intestine. The scope will show if
the stomach has inflammation or ulcers, etc.

Glenn knows more about the testing than I do.

Thank you Mrs.D. I hope Glenn will provide me with his knowledge.

If the intestine is not equally inflamed, do you think it will be advantageous to do the biopsy?

Usually they only do a biopsy if some of the blood work is iffy, or not strong.

Did you have all the blood tests already?

Gluten intolerance is less likely to be positive for GI biopsy.
Celiac is more severe, and there is usually a positive biopsy with them, but not 100% of the time as I have read.

I had tests for Gliadin IgG/IgA and IgA/IgG Tranglutaminase and all negative. I dont know if my results maybe considered as iffy. The only questionable about my result is the laboratory used the "deamidated gliadin". The Gluten File says:

A newer test, anti-deamidated gliadin, has been developed over the last several years and some labs are beginning to automatically substitute it instead of the original antigliadin antibody tests. The newer test is more specific to "celiac disease / villous atrophy", which is not helpful when looking for gluten sensitivity manifesting in non-gut ways (like neurological disease or other autoimmune disease), or when there are gut symptoms that have not yet caused villous atrophy. BE SURE your doctor orders the original antigliadin tests. DOUBLE CHECK that the right tests are ordered, and DOUBLE CHECK that the right tests were run. You want anti-gliadin IgA and anti-gliadin IgG, over anti-deamidated gliadin.... or all of them!

The reason why I had to ask about it again is because I read that Celiac/Gluten Intolerance may cause Sjorgren's. With all the new symptoms I am experiencing: dry eyes, mouth, throat and nostrils and more specially the fibronodules in my lungs - I was hoping to rule this condition out of my way...

Thank you

Keep in mind that an endoscopy is an invasive procedure.

If you don't have a strong indication for it, I'd just do the GF diet and see what happens over the next few months.

It is your choice after all.. but if you search endoscopy risks, you'll see what I mean.

Thank you MrsD. I don't want invasive procedures. Its just I am becoming too desperate.

--should be able at least not only to look at what is going on in the stomach, but in the duodenum, which does contain villi and from which samples can be taken.

Sometimes, evidence of frank celiac may be found there. But, as noted, the damage to villi may be patchy, and may occur farther down the small intestine. And a standard endoscopy may not get that far down--for one thing, a different, smaller scope may need to be used.

There were a spate of recent articles referencing a study concluding underdiagnosis of celiac due to lack of sufficient villous samples taken on "standard" small intestine biopsies--here's one link to it (and it gives the original study reference):

http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.co...nored/updates/

As for colonoscopy...is there any way the scope can be um, DISINFECTED? Can traces of someone else's bacteria - even some harmful? - be deposited?

My dd-adult (now 27) was shown to have intolerance to gluten after blood work only-about four years ago. Doc left it up to her if she wanted further testing. She opted for a change in diet and has NOT looked back. She went YEARS on Synthroid (T4) replacement ONLY - with NO testing of diet. How long she had this "intolerance or sensitivity" is anyone's guess. Her weight ballooned from 160 to 210 in a matter of weeks, along with increase of BP and extreme fatigue. Nothing was done until she finished school and returned home, for I demanded the gluten blood work.

We also suspected Sjogren's, which I have read that treatment focuses on relieving symptoms, which often subside with time. (mayo clinic dot com site) Which do we focus on? Her Hashimoto's? Hypothyroidsim? PCOS? The extreme fatigue *EBV+? The newer complaints of achy swollen joints? The extreme and often debilitating constipation issue that is NEVER addressed by the endos/docs? Possible affects from the first trial/inject of GARDASIL her primary care physician demanded? (She became so ill after Round 1. Being newly separated from dh, her doc said it was imperative she get that vaccine. Then the spiral down with her health. I am suspecting EXTREME CANDIDA in gut, now) Diet has helped TREMENDOUSLY.

We don't miss gluten. Or corn. Or soy. She has reintroduced some items found upsetting, and she is doing much better while taking probiotics, fermented foods, beta glucans...in fact, I feel better too! Embarking on liposomal vit c to see if there is any difference.

There are alternatives to moldy fungi filled grains. I like throwing already made pasta in the water - since she cannot have CORN (and rice which is in most gf pastas I wonder if it can become problematic for those on gf diet) - there is Andrean Dream pastas that have NO CORN, NO RICE and is wonderful. Quinoa. Kaniwa. Tapioca. All very good!!!!

We won't even go NEAR peanuts! No intolerance per se, just they are found to be so moldy and those molds are carcinogenic. Why chance it? So many OTHER choices. ;0

Proper diet can help in so many ways. If gluten is being eliminated in diet take a look at supplements and personal care products as well. Get familiar with the terms, you will find these items everywhere *flour is used as an agent to help liquids flow!

We don't miss corn. Won't TOUCH canola - whatever THAT is No soy here unless fermented. Raw dairy in limited amounts. NO SUGAR. NO PROCESSED. NO RESTAURANTS unless the kitchen is dedicated to gf. No chemicals used on yard, in home - NO CANDLES OR AIR "fragrences." Clean filtered - NO MERCURY, CHLORINE, FLUORIDE - water only. She does supplement Iodine, selenium, a little zinc, magnesium citrate, to name a couple. We try to get mins/vitamins from our foods as much as possible.

Good health wished to you Idiopathic PN