Our oldest didn’t have any symptoms at the time of testing for Celiac disease.  It was a complete surprise that he tested positive for gluten antibodies.

Symptoms He No Longer Has

• Weak Fingernails
• Yellowing teeth

Symptoms He Has Less Often (usually only when he gets gluten)

• Headaches
• Tiredness
• Stomach Pains
• Diarrhea
• Migraines

For him, his symptoms were more apparent after we took him off gluten.  The two main issues he had were cavities and weak fingernails!  I lost track of how many cavities he’s had.  Looking back, it makes more sense now since both are a sign of malnutrition, which is a major side effect of Celiac Disease.  We just thought he had weak teeth in general and that his weak, pealing nails were just normal for him.

About 3 months after he was gluten free, he was trying to cut his fingernails and had to ask for help.  It was only then that I realized how strong they now were and that eating gluten had effected them so much!  Previously he was able to cut them with baby fingernail clippers.  Now he can’t!  They don’t bend, they don’t peal.  It’s amazing and exciting to see this outward and visible sign of his healing!

I also had worried previously about how yellow his adult teeth were.  Now that he’s off gluten they are whitening up!  I knew adult teeth were not as bright white as baby teeth, but his looked more yellow than they should.  This was another exciting revolution.

Now also when he eats gluten, he gets stomach pains and has what we call ‘bad poops.’  It also seems to trigger headaches as well.  He gets migraines too like me sometimes unfortunately.  I’m hoping the longer he’s off gluten the less frequent they become like they did with me.

Related Reading:

Why make your home Gluten Free?

The Book That Changed My Life – How I discovered I had Celiac Disease

My Celiac symptoms that I didn’t know I had