Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • 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:
    Where Your Contribution Counts!
    eNewsletter
    Support Us!

Can Symptoms Of Egg Intolerance Mimic Those Of Being Glutened?


Mum in Norway

Recommended Posts

Mum in Norway Contributor

I realised a few weeks ago that I have become intolerant to eggs. I avoided it compleatly for two weeks, then last weekend i had just a little egg in some muffins, to see if that might work out. At first it seemd to, but later that day my stomace started acting up, joints started hurting, appetite gone, next morning I felt dizzy, depressed and really fatuiged and all the other gluten-symptoms I get. I desided I had eather been glutend or eggs gave me the same reaction. By friday I was pretty much fine again. Yesterday I desided to try with a little bit of egg whites in some food, and same thing happens again, I feel totaly glutend. Thing is, on the weekends we all have a big brakefast together, and the kids are really sloppy with their crumbs, so there is a good chance i HAVE been glutend, any way to know without trying it out any more? I'm so sick of feeling sick, but at the same time I'm having a really hard time figuring out the egg-free cooking...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



IrishHeart Veteran

Well, I was all set to say "yes, absolutely!" to your question, because other food intolerances can cause these symptoms

 

but  then, you said this:

 

 

on the weekends we all have a big brakefast together, and the kids are really sloppy with their crumbs, so there is a good chance i HAVE been glutend,

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mum in Norway Contributor

Yup.

But, it is posible it's the eggs? I'm leaning more towars that now, as I am already starting to feel better now, and i only ha a little egg whites, and last weekend I had quite a bit more egg, and was knoked out for almost the whole week....

I have never had a problem with eggs before, and after going glutenfree I ate ALOT of eggs and was doing so good for weeks, and now this...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WinterSong Community Regular

I can't have eggs (only okay in baked goods - no scrambled eggs or omelettes). When I do I get awful acid reflux that lasts for days. Also a symptom that I associate with gluten. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
IrishHeart Veteran

I cannot eat eggs plain ( like fried or scrambled, etc) but I can tolerate them in baked goods.

 

Never could get a straight answer from the allergist about why, but I suspect it's the manner of cooking at high heat that affects the chemistry

of the protein. (This topic was written about recently in Living Without magazine, so I am not just making that up :D .)

 

It's maddening, because eggs are a great source of protein and I'd love to able to eat them more often.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

I have a funny response to eggs.  I can eat eggs in the summer when the suppliers chickens are out in pasture.  Then in winter when they take them in and give them feed, the eggs make me sick.  Now I have learned to freeze them in the summer so that I can have eggs year around.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Juliebove Rising Star

Eggs leave me doubled over in pain, then the big D comes.  Terrible!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



BelleVie Enthusiast

Eggs can definitely give gluten-like symptoms. They make me drowsy and give me tremendously painful headaches, both also gluten symptoms for me. Some people seem to be able to tolerate real farm fresh eggs, as in eggs from your neighbor, but can't handle commercial eggs. I look forward to having my own chickens someday. I hope I'll be able to tolerate those eggs at least! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mum in Norway Contributor

BelleVie, thats nice to know! I'll try that, as I don't live that far from an organic farm that i do belive has eggs. I'll look into it today :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nutritionguy Rookie

I have a funny response to eggs.  I can eat eggs in the summer when the suppliers chickens are out in pasture.  Then in winter when they take them in and give them feed, the eggs make me sick.  Now I have learned to freeze them in the summer so that I can have eggs year around.  

Wow.  This is quite stunning.  I have suspected for quite a while that something like this was possible in people with celiac disease, but you are the first individual I am aware of who has expressed these clear cut side effects from eggs.  Eggs from grain fed chickens are very high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, with an omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio of about 20-30 to 1.  Eggs from 100% grass fed chickens are low in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, with an omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio of about 1 to 1.  The first time I learned about this was reading the book "Anticancer:  A New Way of Life" by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., PhD.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

Wow.  This is quite stunning.  I have suspected for quite a while that something like this was possible in people with celiac disease, but you are the first individual I am aware of who has expressed these clear cut side effects from eggs.  Eggs from grain fed chickens are very high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, with an omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio of about 20-30 to 1.  Eggs from 100% grass fed chickens are low in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, with an omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio of about 1 to 1.  The first time I learned about this was reading the book "Anticancer:  A New Way of Life" by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., PhD.  

 

How interesting.  It would be nice to have another explanation for my symptoms besides reactions to extremely low levels of gluten.  I decided to look into this further.  

 

My source on eggs gave an omega 6 to 3 ratio of 15 to 1 with 1616 mg omega 6 in a cup.  Open Original Shared Link

 

I eat a lot of olive oil which has a ratio of 13 to 1 with 21088 mg omega 6 in a cup.  Open Original Shared Link

 

In a meal I would probably eat a half cup of eggs cooked with vegetables in 2 tablespoons of oil.  That would make 808 mg omega 6 from the eggs and 2636 mg omega 6 from the olive oil.  Open Original Shared Link

 

It would seem to me that the omegas in the olive oil would swamp out the omegas in the eggs.

 

Additionally, I can sit down and eat a ton of squash seeds.  They are also high in omega 6 oils with a ratio of 103 omega 6 to omega 3 with 5605 mg per cup.  Open Original Shared Link

 

Wow, with that high omega 6 ratio, I am surprised that I can eat squash seeds at all without a big inflammatory response if they would provoke that.

 

I don't think that the omega ratio explains my issues based on those facts.  With your more comprehensive knowledge, can you explain more?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nutritionguy Rookie

How interesting.  It would be nice to have another explanation for my symptoms besides reactions to extremely low levels of gluten.  I decided to look into this further.  

 

My source on eggs gave an omega 6 to 3 ratio of 15 to 1 with 1616 mg omega 6 in a cup.  Open Original Shared Link

 

I eat a lot of olive oil which has a ratio of 13 to 1 with 21088 mg omega 6 in a cup.  Open Original Shared Link

 

In a meal I would probably eat a half cup of eggs cooked with vegetables in 2 tablespoons of oil.  That would make 808 mg omega 6 from the eggs and 2636 mg omega 6 from the olive oil.  Open Original Shared Link

 

It would seem to me that the omegas in the olive oil would swamp out the omegas in the eggs.

 

Additionally, I can sit down and eat a ton of squash seeds.  They are also high in omega 6 oils with a ratio of 103 omega 6 to omega 3 with 5605 mg per cup.  Open Original Shared Link

 

Wow, with that high omega 6 ratio, I am surprised that I can eat squash seeds at all without a big inflammatory response if they would provoke that.

 

I don't think that the omega ratio explains my issues based on those facts.  With your more comprehensive knowledge, can you explain more?

 

The egg data you cite for the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 15 to 1 comes from the USDA and is based on grain fed chickens here in the United States.  The ratio of 1 to 1 which I cited comes from grass fed chickens in Greece and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine about 24 years ago:

 

n-3 fatty acids in eggs from range-fed Greek chickens.

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

You have some excellent questions.   The fact of the matter is that olive oil is different than egg fat because it contains anti-inflammatory phenols like “hydroxytyrosol” and antibacterial phenols like “oleuropein”, as well as antioxidants which protect against damage from free radicals.  Egg fats do not contain any of these protective molecules.  I should add that these phenols and antioxidants are thought to play a major role in the widely touted beneficial aspects of the “Mediterranean Diet”.  Now just to draw an analogy illustrating the importance of consuming protective molecules with inflammatory molecules, think of what happens when you drop a lit match on a pile of dry wood, and compare that to what happens when you simultaneously pour water with a lit match.  I believe the same thing is happening in the gastrointestinal tract with these different sources of fat, both of which contain significant amounts of omega-6 fatty acids.  I suspect the problem with your "simultaneous" consumption of olive oil and high omega 6 eggs in the same meal is that the physical distance between protective molecules in the olive oil and inflammatory omega 6's in the eggs is way too great on a molecular level to protect the gastrointestinal tract:  the olive oil adherent to the vegetables and the egg particles are not liquid and do not mix instantaneously, something that would be required to prevent damage from being done to the gastrointestinal surface cells.  Also, I should add that the inflammatory effects of omega 6's in the eggs and olive oil are additive--omega 6's in the olive oil do not swamp out omega 6's in the eggs.  Finally, one has to consider the effect of relative concentrations of protective molecules versus inflammatory omega 6's:  there are sufficient amounts of protective molecules in the olive oil to counteract inflammatory omega 6's in the olive oil, but not enough to also counteract omega 6's in the eggs.  It is like having a football team with 11 players trying to neutralize a football team with 16 players--the 11 player team will generally be outplayed...

 

To illustrate what omega-6 fatty acids can do when they are administered in the lab without sufficient quantities of protective molecules, just take a look at the following recent publication from UCLA:

 

Opposing effects of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on pancreatic cancer growth.

 

Open Original Shared Link.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

I understand that my source was referring to grain fed chickens.  I was comparing it to your grain fed chicken number "Eggs from grain fed chickens are very high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, with an omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio of about 20-30 to 1. " which was quite different compared with the 15 to 1 of my source.

 

It seems like there are a number of factors here, and they don't seem to be well enough understood to easily incorporate these ideas into a diet.  A large variety of whole foods along with not eating what seems to make you sick, seems like a good approach for now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nutritionguy Rookie

I understand that my source was referring to grain fed chickens.  I was comparing it to your grain fed chicken number "Eggs from grain fed chickens are very high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids, with an omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acid ratio of about 20-30 to 1. " which was quite different compared with the 15 to 1 of my source.

 

It seems like there are a number of factors here, and they don't seem to be well enough understood to easily incorporate these ideas into a diet.  A large variety of whole foods along with not eating what seems to make you sick, seems like a good approach for now.

I just expanded my post above with more detail, hopefully helping you to understand better what I think is going on here.  As far as the different numbers, 20-30 to 1 vs. 15 to 1, different studies can come up with different results.  The Greek egg study was about 1 to 1, and there is a big difference between 15 to 1 and 1 to 1.  Omega 3's do have protective effects against omega 6's, so eggs with a 1 to 1 ratio are effectively much more balanced.  Eggs with 15 to 1 ratios, on the other hand, are way out of balance.  Please let me know what you think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

Food is digested into small particles in the digestive tract.  I don't think that your "physical difference on a molecular level" argument is valid.   Have you studied any biochemistry?  That would be helpful to your understanding here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nutritionguy Rookie

Food is digested into small particles in the digestive tract.  I don't think that your "physical difference on a molecular level" argument is valid.   Have you studied any biochemistry?  That would be helpful to your understanding here.

Yes, I have--I have studied biochemistry, and I have a BS with Honor from the California Institute of Technology.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

That's where I did my post doc.  Is your degree in biochemistry?  Are you telling me that the protective molecules are chemically bonded to the omega 6 fatty acids such that they are still in physical proximity after the digestion that takes place in the stomach?  What are these protective molecules called?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nutritionguy Rookie

That's where I did my post doc.  Is your degree in biochemistry?  Are you telling me that the protective molecules are chemically bonded to the omega 6 fatty acids such that they are still in physical proximity after the digestion that takes place in the stomach?  What are these protective molecules called?

My undergraduate degree is in biology.   As for protective molecules and physical proximity, I am basically referring to molecules and chemical reactions that most readily occur in a liquified medium.  Solid food (such as vegetables cooked in olive oil) needs to be digested, broken down, and liqufied in the stomach before it absorbed.  In my mind's eye, I visualize egg fats (omega 6's and omega 3's) being digested and coming in contact with (likely inflammed or previously damaged) mucusal epithelium or submucosa temporally close together.  Because of the temporal closeness, chemical reactions (inflammatory and anti-inflammatory) can be affected by the relative concentrations of the omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids (ie: a 15 to 1 ratio fosters the reactions promoted by the omega 6's).  For olives, the omega 6's and the protective molecules (phenols like hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein, as well as other molecules that have antioxidant activity) are also temporally digested at the same time because they are present in the same whole food.  For vegetables cooked in olive oil, the olive oil gets absorbed into and onto the vegetables, and the two are digested together.  For high omega 6 eggs and vegetables cooked in olive oil, the two foods (which together are effectively not one whole food) are not digested and absorbed simultaneously (ie: the omega 6's from the eggs and the protective molecules from the olive oil saturated vegetables) hit the mucosa and submucosa at different times and in different locations).  In addition, I would like to point out that because digested food is a mixture of solubilized molecules and undigestable fiber, I seriously doubt that all of the molecules in this mixture are evenly dispersed as one would expect if all constituents (including fiber) were solubilized and broken down into small molecules (ie: like sodium chloride in water).  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

Let me make sure that I understand.  If I cook eggs and vegetables in olive oil, the vegetables will absorb the oil and the two are digested together.  The eggs, also cooked in olive oil, do not absorb the oil and so do not digest together with the other parts.  I'm afraid that doesn't make any sense to me.  Why would eggs absorb oil less than vegetables?  Do you have some study which shows that?

 

The food goes into the stomach at the same time.  The stomach is an acidic environment filled with digestive enzymes and the food is broken up and churned around.  I can't see how it wouldn't be mixed together.

 

Did you do further formal study after your biology degree?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nutritionguy Rookie

Let me make sure that I understand.  If I cook eggs and vegetables in olive oil, the vegetables will absorb the oil and the two are digested together.  The eggs, also cooked in olive oil, do not absorb the oil and so do not digest together with the other parts.  I'm afraid that doesn't make any sense to me.  Why would eggs absorb oil less than vegetables?  Do you have some study which shows that?

 

The food goes into the stomach at the same time.  The stomach is an acidic environment filled with digestive enzymes and the food is broken up and churned around.  I can't see how it wouldn't be mixed together.

 

Did you do further formal study after your biology degree?

This is my hypothesis:  The protective molecules in the olive oil protect against the omega-6's in the olive oil; the vegetables have nothing that needs protecting against.  The omega 3's in eggs from grass fed chickens protect against omega 6's in these same eggs on a one to one basis.  The omega 3's in the eggs from grain fed chickens are markedly outnumbered by the omega 6's in these same eggs (15 to 1 according to the USDA study you brought to my attention).  The protective molecules in the olive oil do not protect against additional omega 6's in the eggs from grain fed chickens.

 

Regarding further formal study I have done, I would prefer for personal reasons not to go into that at the present time.  But I can assure you that my education and training beyond my undergraduate degree are quite solid.  On the other hand, if the citation of additional formal study might influence you to more seriously consider what I am proposing, I would strongly urge you to get the following book:  "Anti-Cancer:  A New Way of Life" by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., PhD.  The physician who wrote this book developed a relatively aggressive type of brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme) during his psychiatric residency, and went through surgery and chemotherapy only to have his tumor come back a few years later.  Faced with a poor prognosis, he then decided to use all the latest knowledge in nutritional research to devise a diet that could slow the growth of his tumor.  And he successfully went on for the next 10 years, living an active and productive life.  Quite remarkable in my book.  Reading his book was the first time I was exposed to the latest experimental research on omega-6 fatty acids.  And the interesting thing is that I have seen individuals with cancer or autoimmune diseases benefit from his recommendations.  On the other hand, I will be the first to admit that there is much that I still have to learn.  That being said, I suspect that with your scientific background, you know as well as I do that observation is frequently the first step in the process of making new discoveries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GF Lover Rising Star

This is all very interesting.  Also interesting that the man died of Brain Cancer !!  Just to be up-front, I am a skeptic of miracle cancer treatments.

 

Colleen

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

Nutrition is not my area of expertise.  I was wondering if it was yours.  Generally, I don't believe one person's ideas whether or not they are dealing with a very difficult disease.  I like to read the original research papers and see if it looks like the study was well done.  I like to look at the consensus of the experts in the field.  This idea of things not mixing in the stomach is one that I don't believe is widespread.  Why otherwise would we be advised to add flax seed and other supplements to our diets?  

 

It looks like Servan-Schreiber lead an exemplary life.  I hope that your interest in this man doesn't come from a cancer diagnosis.  I wish you the best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

This is all very interesting.  Also interesting that the man died of Brain Cancer !!  Just to be up-front, I am a skeptic of miracle cancer treatments.

 

Colleen

 

You and me both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gemini Experienced

I heard an interview on the radio a few years back that this man did and he detailed his journey after diagnosis. He originally was from France, if I remember correctly. After receiving treatment for his cancer, he was visiting family back home in France, and one friend of his asked what he was doing to keep the cancer from coming back.  He told them of all the fancy treatments he was receiving back in the States but again, his friend asked what he was doing that would really help.  I guess this guy worked all the time and admitted his diet was not good. In other words, he was burning the candle at both ends, as far as his health was concerned.  This started his journey of learning about nutrition and learning better habits to help him in his fight against the cancer he had.

 

He mentioned nothing about eggs but just went on to say he started eating a much healthier diet, got more sleep and all those things you do when you are sick and trying to get well.  I did not know he had passed away but the cancer he had was pretty aggressive and I don't think better nutrition, more sleep and obsessing about fats in eggs would have helped him much. This type of cancer is usually fatal for the vast majority of people who have it, unfortunately.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nutritionguy Rookie

Nutrition is not my area of expertise.  I was wondering if it was yours.  Generally, I don't believe one person's ideas whether or not they are dealing with a very difficult disease.  I like to read the original research papers and see if it looks like the study was well done.  I like to look at the consensus of the experts in the field.  This idea of things not mixing in the stomach is one that I don't believe is widespread.  Why otherwise would we be advised to add flax seed and other supplements to our diets?  

 

It looks like Servan-Schreiber lead an exemplary life.  I hope that your interest in this man doesn't come from a cancer diagnosis.  I wish you the best.

 

The research paper below from UCLA was one of the publications I referred to earlier.  If you have an open mind, I would be interested in hearing from you whether or not you think this study was well done:

 

 

Opposing effects of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on pancreatic cancer growth.

 

Open Original Shared Link.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

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

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate

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





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - cristiana replied to Larzipan's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      16

      Has anyone had terrible TMJ/ Jaw Pain from undiagnosed Celiac?

    2. - Julie Riordan replied to Julie Riordan's topic in Traveling with Celiac Disease
      3

      Any ideas for travelling

    3. - Nedast replied to Larzipan's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      16

      Has anyone had terrible TMJ/ Jaw Pain from undiagnosed Celiac?

    4. - trents replied to SuzanneL's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Weak Positive Test

    5. - SuzanneL posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Weak Positive Test


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,496
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    JamesDavid
    Newest Member
    JamesDavid
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cristiana
      Thank you for your post, @Nedast, and welcome to the forum. It is interesting to read of your experiences. Although I've not had TMJ, from time to time I have had a bit of mild pain in my jaw, sharp stabbing pains and tingling in my face which appears to have been caused by issues with my trigeminal nerve.  I read that sometimes a damaged trigeminal nerve in coeliacs can heal after adopting a gluten free diet.  I try to keep out of cold winds or wear a scarf over my face when it is cold and windy, those conditions tend to be my 'trigger' but I do think that staying clear of gluten has helped.  Also, sleeping with a rolled up towel under my neck is a tip I picked up online, again, that seems to bring benefits. Thank you again for your input - living with this sort of pain can be very hard, so it is good to be able to share advice.
    • Julie Riordan
      I am going to France in two weeks and then to Portugal in May   Thanks for your reply 
    • Nedast
      I made an account just to reply to this topic. My story resembles yours in so many ways that it is truly amazing. I also suddenly became lactose intolerant, went a little under 10 years attributing all my symtoms to different body parts, never thinking it was something systemic until much later. I had the same mental problems - anxiety, depression, fatigue, etc. In fact, the only real difference in our story is that I was never formally diagnosed. When I discovered that my myriad symtoms, that had been continuous and worsening for years, all rapidly subsided upon cessation of consuming gluten, I immediately took it upon myself to cut gluten out of my diet completely. I live in America, and had lost my health insurance within the year prior to my discovery, so I could not get tested, and I will never willingly or knowingly consume gluten again, which I would have to do in order to get tested now that I have insurance again. But that is not the point of this reply. I also had extreme TMJ pain that began within months of getting my wisdom teeth out at - you guessed it - 17 years old. I was in and out of doctors for my various symptoms for about 5 years before I gave up, but during that time I had also kept getting reffered to different kinds of doctors that had their own, different solutions to my TMJ issue, an issue which I only recently discovered was related to my other symptoms. I began with physical therapy, and the physical therapist eventually broke down at me after many months, raising her voice at me and saying that there was nothing she could do for me. After that saga, I saw a plastic surgeon at the request of my GP, who he knew personally. This palstic surgeon began using botox injections to stop my spasming jaw muscles, and he managed to get it covered by my insurace in 2011, which was harder to do back then. This helped the pain tremendously, but did not solve the underlying problem, and I had to get repeat injections every three months. After a couple of years, this began to lose effectiveness, and I needed treatments more often than my insurance would cover. The surgeon did a scan on the joint and saw slight damage to the tissues. He then got approved by insurance to do a small surgery on the massseter (jaw) muscle - making an incision, and then splicing tissue into the muscle to stop the spasming. It worked amazingly, but about three months later it had stopped working. I was on the verge of seeing the top oral surgeon in our city, but instead of operating on me, he referred me to a unique group of dentists who focus on the TMJ and its biomechanical relationship to teeth occlusion (i.e. how the teeth fit together). This is what your dentist did, and what he did to you was boderline if not outright malpractice. There is a dental field that specializes in doing this kind of dental work, and it takes many years of extra schooling (and a lot of money invested into education) to be able to modify teeth occusion in this manner. Just based on the way you describe your dentist doing this, I can tell he was not qualified to do this to you. Dentists who are qualified and engage in this practice take many measurments of your head, mouth, teeth, etc., they take laboratory molds of your teeth, and they then make a complete, life-size model of your skull and teeth to help them guide their work on you. They then have a lab construct, and give you what is called a "bite splint." It looks and feels like a retainer, but its function is entirely different. This is essentially a literal splint for the TMJ that situates on the teeth. The splint is progressively modified once or twice per week, over several months, in order to slowly move the joint to its correct position. The muscles spasm less, stress is taken off the joint, as the joint slowly moves back into its proper position. The pain reduces each month, each week, sometimes even each day you go in for a visit. The joint has to be moved in this manner with the splint BEFORE the modification to the teeth begins. They then add to your tooth structure with small bits of composite, to keep the joint in its proper place after it has been sucessfully repositioned. Subtracting from your teeth, by grinding down bits of your natural tooth structure, is done very conservatively, if they have to do it at all. This process worked for me - after six months, my face, jaw, neck all felt normal, and I had no more pain - a feeling I had not had in a long time. It also made my face look better. I had not realized the true extent that the spasming muscles and the joint derangement had effected the shape of my face. The pain began to return after a few months, but nowhere near where it had been before. This immense reduction in pain lasted for a little over two years. The treatment still ultimately failed, but it is not their fault, and it is still the treatment that has given me the most relief to this day. Later on, I even went about three years with very, very good pain reduction, before the joint severely destabilized again. This field of dentistry is the last line treatment for TMJ issues before oral surgery on the TMJ. There aren't as many denists around who practice this anymore, and the practice is currently shrinking due to dentists opting for less espensive, additional educations in things like professional whitening, which have a broader marketability. Getting this treatment is also very expensive if not covered by insurance (in America at least). My first time was covered by insurance, second time was not, though the dentist took pity on me due to the nature of my case and charged like a quarter of usual pricing. Most cases seen by these dentists are complete successes, and the patient never has to come back again. But occasionally they get a case that is not a success, and I was one of those cases. A little over a year ago, I began seeing the second dentist who keeps my TMJ stable in this manner. The first dentist retired, and then died sadly. A shame too, because he was a truly amazing, knowledgable guy who really wanted to help people. The new dentist began to get suspicious when my joint failed to stay stable after I was finished with the bite splint and his modifications, so he did another scan on me. This is ten years after the first scan (remember, I said the surgeon saw "slight" damage to the tissue on the first scan). This new scan revealed that I now no longer have cartilage in the joint, on both sides - complete degeneration of the soft tissues and some damage to the bone. The dentist sat me down and had a talk with me after these results came in, and said that when he sees damage like this in cases like mine, that the damage to the joint is most likely autoimmune, and that, in his experinece, it is usually autoimmune. He has sent patients with cases like mine to Mayo Clinic. He said he will continue to see me as long as the treatment continues to offer me relief, but also said that I will probably have to see a dentist for this type of treatment for the rest of my life. He is not currently recommending surgery due to my young age and the fact that the treatment he provides manages my symptoms pretty well. I still see this dentist today, and probably will see this kind of dental specialist for the rest of my life, since they have helped with this issue the most. I did not inform him that I am 100% sure that I have celiac disease (due to my complete symptom remission upon gluten cessation). I didn't inform him because I thought it would be inappropriate due to not having a formal diagnosis. I was disappointed, because I had believed I had caught it BEFORE it had done permanent damage to my body. I had never suspected that my TMJ issues may be related to my other symptoms, and that the damage would end up complete and permanent. Luckily, I caught it about 6 months after my other joints started hurting, and they stopped hurting right after I went gluten free, and haven't hurt since. I of course did the necessary research after the results of the second scan, and found out that the TMJ is the most commonly involved joint in autoimmune disease of the intestines, and if mutliple joints are effected, it is usually the first one effected. This makes complete sense, since the TMJ is the most closely related joint to the intestines, and literally controls the opening that allows food passage into your intestines. I am here to tell you, that if anyone says there is no potential relationship between TMJ issues and celiac disease, they are absolutely wrong. Just google TMJ and Celiac disease, and read the scientific articles you find. Research on issues regarding the TMJ is relatively sparse, but you will find the association you're looking for validated.
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @SuzanneL! Which tTG was that? tTG-IGA? tTG-IGG? Were there other celiac antibody tests run from that blood draw? Was total IGA measured? By some chance were you already cutting back on gluten by the time the blood draw was taken or just not eating much? For the celiac antibody tests to be accurate a person needs to be eating about 10g of gluten daily which is about 4-6 pieces of bread.
    • SuzanneL
      I've recently received a weak positive tTG, 6. For about six years, I've been sick almost everyday. I was told it was just my IBS. I have constant nausea. Sometimes after I eat, I have sharp, upper pain in my abdomen. I sometimes feel or vomit (bile) after eating. The doctor wanted me to try a stronger anti acid before doing an endoscopy. I'm just curious if these symptoms are pointing towards Celiac Disease? 
×
×
  • Create New...