Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Starting To Wonder If Gluten Is Even My Problem


answerseeker

Recommended Posts

answerseeker Enthusiast

To recap my biopsy and blood tests were negative but because I was hospitalized due to asthma and on a lot of prednisone prior to my endoscopy my GI doctor said its possible I can still have celiac and the prednisone interfered with the results.

Anyway as most of you know I've been gluten free since July 2nd. I felt great my first month but now I'm having a whole new set of symptoms.

For the last week my joints hurt to the point I can't sleep at night. My fingers are tingly and the veins in my arms are like popping out. Don't know how to describe it you can feel them and they hurt to the touch.

What the heck could be causing this?


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



1desperateladysaved Proficient

A bump or twist in your gluten intolerance healing?  Have you been checked for vitamin deficiencies?  I have had many twists and bumps.  I have doubted I have celiac.  However, my caregivers believe I do, and have pointed to my improvements as proof.  The improvements haven't always been study and I have also changed or added to my treatment several times.  keep walking on the road, find out what you can to keep yourself motivated.

 

Did you say how long you have had symptoms of gluten intolerance?

 

Get Well,

 

D

seraphim Contributor

Hang in there. There is definitely a lot of crazy stuff  that can pop up after going gluten free. You could always check into casein, nightshades, amines, salicylates...any number of things that pop up and become unmasked once gluten is taken out of the equation. And, it could be possible it's not gluten I guess but I wouldn't risk re-adding it at this point. Experiment a bit?

kareng Grand Master

Just a thought - maybe it has nothing to do with gluten?  Maybe you should see a doctor?

 

I know this is a radical idea for a Celiac website but - Not everything is about gluten or even a food intolerance.

dilettantesteph Collaborator

I agree that seeing a doctor sounds like a good idea.  Unfortunately you need to see a GOOD doctor.  Many of us have had problems with bad ones.  Good luck with that.  I have had similar questions many times.  There was such a huge change when I first went gluten free that I had enough evidence to continue on with the extreme elimination of gluten contamination that I had to undertake to completely eliminate symptoms for myself and my son.  It defied credibility lots of times, but it is what works.  We also have several doctors working with us and some of them actually know their stuff, and lots of test results, which also helps.

 

I hope that you get things figured out.

nvsmom Community Regular

(hugs)

From my third to sixth month gluten-free, I felt my worst. I would get periodic (autoimmune) arthralic attacks with a lot of fatigue and hair loss in the past to the point that I was looking into lupus. I saw a rheumy at that time and she was positive that it was all caused by lingering celiac/gluten intolerance issues.  I am hoping she is right because I have been almost pain-free for months now.

 

It may need more time. Those symptoms can really hang on a loooooong time. Unfortunately.  :( In the mean time, you might as well look into other causes; as we all know, it's not always a gluten intolerance thing.

 

Best wishes.

Gemini Experienced

Just a thought - maybe it has nothing to do with gluten?  Maybe you should see a doctor?

 

I know this is a radical idea for a Celiac website but - Not everything is about gluten or even a food intolerance.

Yup, Kareng........pretty radical, I agree.   ;)   There may be another AI problem brewing and it may have zero to do with gluten.  Rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disease will give a person painful joints.  These 2 diseases are common with Celiac.  Even without these 2 issues, you need to be gluten-free for a quite a while before symptoms subside.  I did not get rid of my last symptom, bone pain, until 3 years post gluten-free and I was super strict with my diet as I am very, very sensitive.

 

You can see a doctor and be tested for other AI issues but if you are on prednisone, your testing will most likely be negative.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Happyw5 Explorer

I agree about going to a doctor.  Are you on any medications?  Some medicines have side effects and they can start at any time.  I have questioned my gluten issues-but every time I tried to reintroduce it, it ended badly!  For a long time I thought every pain and symptom was because of what I ate..  I was put on an anxiety medication at the time, becuase I was at the dr all the time with "problems."  I took the medicine for about a year and I have to say it really helped.  I don't doubt that all the problems I was having weren't real, I think I was just so obsessed with paying attention to my body that I didn't know what was normal anymore.  I was taken off the medicine about 2 years ago and I am doing great.  I am not on any medicines right now, I am gluten free, and working on healthier eating and less chemicals in general...  Good Luck, just don't refuse to think it could be something else

mommy2krj Explorer

I was going to also say that maybe it isn't the gluten that is causing this issue.

A lot of medications will say in their little fine print warnings that you can have reactions to them up to 12 months later. Maybe this is a reaction to the prednisone? Or it could be a million other things besides Celiac. The joys of this disease, figuring out which reactions are related to what!

 

Hope you can get it all figured out. Stay strong and just keep wading through until you get to the other side, where you feel better and know what all your reactions are.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    2. - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      49

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

    3. - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

    4. - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    5. - cristiana replied to hjayne19's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      21

      Insomnia help

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,355
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Amy Immerman
    Newest Member
    Amy Immerman
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
    • cristiana
      Thank you for your post, @nanny marley It is interesting what you say about 'It's OK not to sleep'. Worrying about sleeping only makes it much harder to sleep.  One of my relatives is an insomniac and I am sure that is part of the problem.  Whereas I once had a neighbour who, if she couldn't sleep, would simply get up again, make a cup of tea, read, do a sudoku or some other small task, and then go back to bed when she felt sleepy again.  I can't think it did her any harm - she lived  well into her nineties. Last week I decided to try a Floradix Magnesium supplement which seems to be helping me to sleep better.  It is a liquid magnesium supplement, so easy to take.  It is gluten free (unlike the Floradix iron supplement).  Might be worth a try.        
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.