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!

Nickel Allergy And Celiac Disease


MollyBeth

Recommended Posts

MollyBeth Contributor

Hello All!

It's been a while since I've been on here. Life has been going well and two years in I'm finally feeling like this gluten free stuff is getting almost easy!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I've been struggling with allergic reactions lately and testing confirms that I am allergic to nickel which is found in a surprising amount of foods. The foods that I've used to replace the glutenous foods I used to love. Potatoes, beans, chocolate... these are just a few of the items on the list. I'm also supposed to avoid hot water from the tap? I don't know if that means I need to start taking cold showers or what? So anyway, I'm just two days into this and am obviously still doing research but I thought I'd drop by here and see if anyone else has this strange combination of Celiac disease and a nickel allergy. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I hope this message finds all of you in high spirits and good health!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



missy'smom Collaborator

Sorry you have this additional challenge.:( Those of us with gluten issues seem to have sensitive immune systems! Don't know about nickel but I have a recent latex allergy dx and in latex allergy forum some have nickel allergy as well. Not familiar with the nature of the connection. I recently had a dx of chocolate allergy too and it's one of the very few indulgences I had left, the only "sweet". In our family, we tend to become allergic to the things that we eat often. Sigh...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
snifter Apprentice

Yes I Do!! My sister gave me a watch and it had nickle on the backplate. It made me break out in a rash, I had to stop wearing it :(

Hope this helps, I've just been diagnosed with celiac and still have a lot to learn

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sa1937 Community Regular

Yes I Do!! My sister gave me a watch and it had nickle on the backplate. It made me break out in a rash, I had to stop wearing it sad.gif

Hope this helps, I've just been diagnosed with celiac and still have a lot to learn

I have the same nickel allergy problem and have never been able to wear inexpensive dept. store jewelry, especially earrings. In fact, I've had this for my entire life. And I was just diagnosed with celiac in April with positive blood tests as well as endoscopy/biopsy.

There is a company who makes inexpensive nickel-free jewelry and I'm able to wear it without a problem although it's been years since I ordered. Open Original Shared Link

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

I get a rash from nickel containing jewelry. I can wear only gold, and not even white gold, which contains nickel. I have a titanium watch. The gold ones I could afford kept breaking. I take hot showers, but I do heat up water for coffee, tea etc. and don't use hot water from the tap, but cold to start. I eat potatoes without problems, but I haven't found a chocolate which doesn't gluten me as I am super sensitive. Beans I can manage too if I sort and wash. Could there be some connection between nickel allergy and celiac disease?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sa1937 Community Regular

I get a rash from nickel containing jewelry. I can wear only gold, and not even white gold, which contains nickel. I have a titanium watch. The gold ones I could afford kept breaking. I take hot showers, but I do heat up water for coffee, tea etc. and don't use hot water from the tap, but cold to start. I eat potatoes without problems, but I haven't found a chocolate which doesn't gluten me as I am super sensitive. Beans I can manage too if I sort and wash. Could there be some connection between nickel allergy and celiac disease?

I'm a yellow gold person as I never liked white gold but wasn't aware that it contained nickel.

My daughter is also gluten free (had a very positive DGP test in late Aug. but skipped the endoscopy/biopsy) and is able to wear inexpensive costume jewelry without a problem. However her daughter (my granddaughter) has a nickel allergy. She's going to be 13 in Dec. and my daughter plans to have her tested when she has her annual check-up even though she has exhibited no celiac symptoms that we're aware of. Interesting thread and I never thought of the possible connection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MollyBeth Contributor

It's always something. Just found out today I'm also allergic to something in rubber. My B12 and Iron are also too low again. Started dailyB12 shots today and am going in for IV iron next week. It will all be ok but this is all just frustrating.

Thanks for the jewelry site. I will look into it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



tea-and-crumpets Explorer

I have a nickel allergy and I can't wear cheap jewelry at all. I once had a belt buckle give me a rash on my bellybutton -- it was awful.

As for white gold, not all of it is made with nickel. My wedding band has never given me a problem. I'm not sure how one would find out what the alloy metal is in a particular piece of jewelry, though.

I wear stainless steel (in my piercings) and sterling silver, mostly.

I wonder if it's related to celiac somehow, or if we are just more prone to these sorts of things?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Looking for answers Contributor

Nickel allergy is usually caused by getting your ears pieced with nickel-containing earrings. They've banned nickel in jewelry in European countries because of the likelihood of developing the allergy, but I believe it is still legal here. I also am alleric, as many people are...this is quite common.

I've never heard of the need to cut out nickel-containing foods. In fact, it seems very difficult, as it's a trace mineral and naturally occurs in all soil, etc. Is this something your doctor recommended? Did he/she say why? Just curious for my own knowledge...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MollyBeth Contributor

Yeah he told me to try a low nickel diet but that it would be hard because I'm gluten free. He didn't say I needed to completely eliminate it though like we do with gluten. He said chocolate and tree nuts were big ones. I'm still doing research. I'm going back in on Monday so I plan to talk to him more about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dilettantesteph Collaborator

I had a nickel allergy before I had my ears pierced. I also eat a lot of nuts without any issues. Go figure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WW340 Rookie

I have had a nickel allergy for as long as I can remember. I can only wear yellow gold. I had to have all the amalgum taken out of my teeth and root canals, because I had such a terrible bone and tissue reaction to it.

Here is some information on nickel.

Open Original Shared Link

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shopgirl Contributor

Nickel allergy is usually caused by getting your ears pieced with nickel-containing earrings. They've banned nickel in jewelry in European countries because of the likelihood of developing the allergy, but I believe it is still legal here. I also am alleric, as many people are...this is quite common.

I never knew that. I can't handle nickel in jewelry

Link to comment
Share on other sites
missy'smom Collaborator

Do be sure to look into that rubber issue. If it's natural latex rubber allergy, nrla, then there are a number of everday things that need to be looked into and it's especially important to know about and notify others of in a medical setting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mbrookes Community Regular

I'm surprised so many of you can wear sterling silver with nickle allergies. Most US made sterling is hardened with nickle. I can't wear most sterling.

Birch Hills is another company that makes nickle free jewelry. I buy it at Stein Mart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shopgirl Contributor

I'm surprised so many of you can wear sterling silver with nickle allergies. Most US made sterling is hardened with nickle. I can't wear most sterling.

Birch Hills is another company that makes nickle free jewelry. I buy it at Stein Mart.

I wear a ring twenty-four hours a day that was guaranteed by the company to be pure sterling silver. It's the only jewelry I wear and have never had a problem with it. I'm not picking up cheap "sterling silver" from a department store. :)

If it itches, I take it off. But I wouldn't trust anything in my ears ever, even if it was guaranteed. A ring or a necklace is very different to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cyberprof Enthusiast

Yeah he told me to try a low nickel diet but that it would be hard because I'm gluten free. He didn't say I needed to completely eliminate it though like we do with gluten. He said chocolate and tree nuts were big ones. I'm still doing research. I'm going back in on Monday so I plan to talk to him more about it.

I too have a nickel allergy. It could be related to celiac or to having my ears pierced with nickel/white gold posts: They both happened around the same time.

See this other thread:

MollyBeth, you might want to avoid mineral make-up, which has metals in it. (BareMinerals is the most common but some mainstream makeup has minerals too.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cyberprof Enthusiast

I wear a ring twenty-four hours a day that was guaranteed by the company to be pure sterling silver. It's the only jewelry I wear and have never had a problem with it. I'm not picking up cheap "sterling silver" from a department store. :)

If it itches, I take it off. But I wouldn't trust anything in my ears ever, even if it was guaranteed. A ring or a necklace is very different to me.

I can wear good quality sterling in my ears - have had some bad pieces. I can even wear white gold rings. Watches, necklaces though give me a problem almost 100% of the time...I can't wear sterling or nickel or white gold - only stainless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MollyBeth Contributor

My allergy testing is 100% complete now. My reaction to rubber is mild, as is the nickel. I had a plus four reaction to thiomersal though. That is found in vaccines, soap free cleansers, cosmetics, and some first aid products.

Thank you all so much for the information! I've continued to eat many foods for the last week that have nickel in them and I haven't had any problems. I'm going to continue to monitor myself and see what happens!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 years later...
powerofpositivethinking Community Regular

*I posted this info in another thread, but also thought I'd add it here.

 

"came across this article.   p. 10 and 11 beginning in section 5 especially table 5 shows that patients with allergic reactions to nickel just happen to have an increase of carrying the DQ2 and DQ8 genes   :o

 

Open Original Shared Link"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mamat78 Apprentice

I am not diagnosed...yet, but I have had a nickel rash from my belt consistently for about 8 years. It is there most of the time but with regular cortisone cream, it stays under control. awful, awful place for a rash! I also get severe DH (if thats what it turns out to be!). I go to doc on Tuesday to review my results. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LauraB0927 Apprentice

I also have a nickel allergy and used to get a terrible itching, oozing rash on my stomach where my belt came in contact with my skin - I went to an allergist several months back and he explained to me that many people have a topical nickel allergy and cant wear items (jewelry, belts, etc) that contain nickel, however out of those people, there is a very small percentage of people that cannot ingest nickel in foods or water.  So based on the way he explained it (and he was VERY thorough), just because someone reacts to nickel on the skin, it does not necessarily mean that they have to avoid nickel-containing foods.     MollyBeth - if you're not reacting to nickel foods, you may be in the topical group.  Hope this helps!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 10 months later...
Amelia1878 Newbie

Hi there, I suffer from diatary nickle allergy and anything with nickle in it, and I have Celiac Disease. For the past 15 years I have been stuggling with sores on my arms face and neck. Had a Chemical test done on my back that took a week to do and found out the reason for all the sores was a Nickle allergy. I am stumped because all the comfort foods that I enjoy to eat I can not eat anymore.

 

Does anyone have a list of Nickle free foods that are ok to eat? Not alloud to use silverware or use stainless steal pots and pans.

 

What is really sad on my part is I had a stroke 5 years ago I can no longer work, So I recieve SSDI and help from the state. which includeds Foodstamps and Medcaid I get medicare. But they just reduced my foodstamps to 60.00 a month Right now I just buy Chicken Boneless skinless Chicken, I drink Coffee with non dairy creamer and sugar. I should weight my goal weight but I am over that by 46 pounds.

 

They say I have High Cholestrol and I do not know why I do not eat anything but chicken.

 

I can not have onions, Chocolate, No Seeds, Nuts, Garlic, Potato's, Spinach,No canned goods, No Soy, No seafood, No beans, No peas, No Dairy, I have filters on all of my water faucts Tub shower and kitchen, Because my water has a high count of Nickle in it. I know there is more to my list but what I am seeking is a list of GOOD FOOD that contains NO Gluten or NICKLE  can you help me????

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GottaSki Mentor

Hi there, I suffer from diatary nickle allergy and anything with nickle in it, and I have Celiac Disease. For the past 15 years I have been stuggling with sores on my arms face and neck. Had a Chemical test done on my back that took a week to do and found out the reason for all the sores was a Nickle allergy. I am stumped because all the comfort foods that I enjoy to eat I can not eat anymore.

 

Welcome Amelia!

 

Just to let you know, most of the folks on this thread have not been on in a while.  Hopefully someone will be along that can help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kareng Grand Master

Hi there, I suffer from diatary nickle allergy and anything with nickle in it, and I have Celiac Disease. For the past 15 years I have been stuggling with sores on my arms face and neck. Had a Chemical test done on my back that took a week to do and found out the reason for all the sores was a Nickle allergy. I am stumped because all the comfort foods that I enjoy to eat I can not eat anymore.

 

Does anyone have a list of Nickle free foods that are ok to eat? Not alloud to use silverware or use stainless steal pots and pans.

 

What is really sad on my part is I had a stroke 5 years ago I can no longer work, So I recieve SSDI and help from the state. which includeds Foodstamps and Medcaid I get medicare. But they just reduced my foodstamps to 60.00 a month Right now I just buy Chicken Boneless skinless Chicken, I drink Coffee with non dairy creamer and sugar. I should weight my goal weight but I am over that by 46 pounds.

 

They say I have High Cholestrol and I do not know why I do not eat anything but chicken.

 

I can not have onions, Chocolate, No Seeds, Nuts, Garlic, Potato's, Spinach,No canned goods, No Soy, No seafood, No beans, No peas, No Dairy, I have filters on all of my water faucts Tub shower and kitchen, Because my water has a high count of Nickle in it. I know there is more to my list but what I am seeking is a list of GOOD FOOD that contains NO Gluten or NICKLE  can you help me????

This looks like a good explanation. There are some foods to avoid on about page 5.

Open Original Shared Link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,505
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Afton Horvath
    Newest Member
    Afton Horvath
    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

    • powerofpositivethinking
      I haven't been on this forum for a long time, but it was absolutely wonderful during the diagnostic process!  My path for celiac disease diagnosis was the following: -Had normal IgA level, and my only serology positive test was the DGP IgG -Deficiencies in both Vitamins D and K that did not increase at first despite massive supplementation -Diagnosis of fat malabsorption both total and neutral -Diagnosis of severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) -Testing was completed to rule out causes of EPI, and the only one not ruled out was celiac. -Both traditional endoscopy and pill capsule endoscopy yielded negative results for biopsy confirmation, but my GI doctor said that both procedures simply could have missed the damaged spots. -EPI and fat malabsorption resolved after taking Creon for 6 months since my EPI was caused by celiac -23 and Me said I don't have either of the two prominent genes for celiac disease   Remember that you might not have 'textbook' symptoms, but you still may have celiac disease.   Also, I am SO incredibly grateful for this site for all the learning it has allowed me to do. I have a senior dog, and these last few weeks with her were very scary! After two hospital stays, she finally received an IBD diagnosis after having gastroenteritis and pancreatitis. I know that celiac disease is not IBD, however, through reading this site, I learned more about it. I was relieved when I found out she had IBD and not cancer this past Wednesday. I know IBD can be managed thanks to what I've learned here!  So celiac.com, not only did you help me, but you helped my pup too! Thank you ❤️  
    • SuzanneL
      It was tTG IGG that was flagged high. I'm not sure about the other stuff. I'm still eating my normal stuff. 
    • 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.
×
×
  • Create New...