My Symptoms Rant.

[xOuchie911x]

I have not been tested for Celiac disease yet. But I decided to start a new topic about some of the symptoms I have so that I can learn.

 

Not sure if this is a symptom of Celiac or not but it's something that is an annoyance to me. Tinging. I get tingling in my left upper thigh mostly. It happened while I was sitting down eating my pasta and it happens a lot when I lay down. I also get tingling in my hands, but not as frequent as the thigh tingling has been.

[greenbeanie]

Another poster here gave me a great tip a few months ago - hopefully she'll be along to say more about it herself. The tip was that tingling can be caused by magnesium deficiency. I had awful tingling in one leg and sometimes in my arms for years and years, and I'd been to several specialists about it but they couldn't find the cause. It kept me awake at night and was constantly distracting. Well, by my third day on magnesium supplements the tingling was hugely improved! It was mostly gone after about a month on 600mg of magnesium per day. I went back and looked at some of my old blood tests from a few years ago, and lo and behold I did have low magnesium (plus low potassium and calcium) then, but my doctor at the time had said not to worry about it and never mentioned that it could cause the tingling. I was just retested and my magnesium is now in the normal range. 

 

I'm sure there are other causes of tingling too, but magnesium deficiency is one possible cause. I've since learned that anyone who's had diarrhea for years (whether from celiac or anything else) is quite likely to be low in magnesium, so it's definitely worth investigating. I never would have thought of it if someone hadn't mentioned it here. 

[xOuchie911x]

Another poster here gave me a great tip a few months ago - hopefully she'll be along to say more about it herself. The tip was that tingling can be caused by magnesium deficiency. I had awful tingling in one leg and sometimes in my arms for years and years, and I'd been to several specialists about it but they couldn't find the cause. It kept me awake at night and was constantly distracting. Well, by my third day on magnesium supplements the tingling was hugely improved! It was mostly gone after about a month on 600mg of magnesium per day. I went back and looked at some of my old blood tests from a few years ago, and lo and behold I did have low magnesium (plus low potassium and calcium) then, but my doctor at the time had said not to worry about it and never mentioned that it could cause the tingling. I was just retested and my magnesium is now in the normal range. 

 

I'm sure there are other causes of tingling too, but magnesium deficiency is one possible cause. I've since learned that anyone who's had diarrhea for years (whether from celiac or anything else) is quite likely to be low in magnesium, so it's definitely worth investigating. I never would have thought of it if someone hadn't mentioned it here. 

Thanks Green. I actually didn't know that. Are there any food that can help increase my magnesium levels?

And also wanted to ask, I once had a thyroid test done but it was in the ER years ago and I am sure that they did it the quickest way possible. I wanted to know what tests I should be asking my dr for in order to get an accurate result whether negative or positive?

[greenbeanie]

Thanks Green. I actually didn't know that. Are there any food that can help increase my magnesium levels?

And also wanted to ask, I once had a thyroid test done but it was in the ER years ago and I am sure that they did it the quickest way possible. I wanted to know what tests I should be asking my dr for in order to get an accurate result whether negative or positive?

 

Dark leafy greens, nuts, and seeds tend to be high in magnesium (I'm sure there must be a more specific list online somewhere). I was already eating lots of those things but apparently wasn't absorbing them well, though. 

 

I'm not sure about thyroid tests. My doctor wouldn't order more than a basic TSH for me. But I've seen a lot of discussion on here about thyroid issues, so you may be able to find more info by using the "Search forum via Google" box at the top.

[0range]

Here's a list of foods that are high in magnesium: Open Original Shared Link

 

 

I'm not sure about thyroid tests. My doctor wouldn't order more than a basic TSH for me. But I've seen a lot of discussion on here about thyroid issues, so you may be able to find more info by using the "Search forum via Google" box at the top.

 

Here is a comprehensive list of thyroid blood tests you can request: Open Original Shared Link

 

Please take this with a grain of salt as I'm not a medical professional, but I would recommend requesting these 4 if you're unable to get all of the above tests done and strongly suspect a thyroid issue: 

TSH, free T3, free T4 and antibodies test (anti-TPO/TgAb, TSI/TRAb)

 

With the exception of congenital hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer or a pituitary gland problem - most of us have a family history of thyroid disease and it is usually autoimmune in nature (Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Graves disease). Like Celiac disease, it can be notoriously hard to diagnose especially if you are not a clear-cut case. For e.g. many people will have "normal" TSH results but textbook thyroid disease symptoms - remaining undiagnosed for years since it does not show up on labwork, while accumulating non-specific symptoms such as weight gain and depression. Usually, in this case, their antibodies are high (i.e. so the body is actively attacking the thyroid) but have not completely deteriorated the thyroid gland, so the other tests look ok. Many doctors do not treat thyroid disease based on antibodies alone, and wait until the diseases results in full-blown hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. It's also important to remember that the TSH is not a thyroid hormone, but is in fact, a pituitary gland hormone that works to tell the thyroid gland how much to produce - to know how much thyroid hormones is actually being produced, doing the T4/T3 test is important.The scale for TSH (0.3 - 3.00), as well as T4/T3 is also very subjective. My friend feels great at a TSH of 1, whereas I start having hyperthyroidism symptoms (heart palpitations, blurry vision, etc.) at that number. You can also have hypothyroid symptoms even when your results are in 'range', especially if they are in the mid to lower-end of that range. 

[xOuchie911x]

Thank you for such detailed answers Green and 0range. I will look into foods with magnesium and also ask my dr about a possible thyroid issue.

 

Another question I had was, do any of you have an issue with bladder infections? I get many of them for some reason. Also, I have had on and off kidney pain (not now thank goodness) but have had a history of calcium buildup on my kidney which was painful. The CT scan didn't show stones...just a buildup of calcium. Is that normal?

[0range]

No problem! Regarding the UTI's: I know this is anecdotal evidence, but many women with Hashi's report having recurrent UTI's before their diagnosis. I have had 2 (once before my dx and one after) and hopefully never again! I'm really sorry to hear that you are getting them often. Could your recurrent ones be related to any of these factors?: Open Original Shared Link

 

Did the doctor ever explain why there was a build-up of calcium in your kidneys? if it is a chronic problem, high levels of calcium deposits or levels in your blood can be indicative of hyperparathyroidism. Not to scare you! But something to look into. Best of luck and keep us posted =)