New Here With Questions About Symptoms

[firemutt45]

Hello,

 

I am a 44 year old male in NJ.  I have been reading some other posts and they have been helpful.  I wanted to post what I am going through to see if it can all be associated with Celiac Disease.

 

Last August I started having hear palpitations, chest pain, left arm pain, some stomach discomfort, felt like I was going to pass out.  This all occurred while driving home from a night shift at work.  I pulled over and called an ambulance.  Test at the hospital revealed no cardiac issues.  Followed up with the cardiologist and had all the associated heart tests.  Except for being overweight (250lbs) I was deemed fine by the cardiologist.  

 

Family physician diagnosed me with acid reflux and put me on Prilosec which helped some.  I have had numerous blood test and tried several meds but still was not feeling well.  Dr sent me to a GI and I had an endoscopy.  The test revealed Barrets Esophagus and Celiac Disease.  So for about 1-1/2 months now I have been eating gluten free.  I still have the palpitations, some chest pain, arm pain, head aches, ringing in ears, pain in lower right abdomen, and head feel like it's in a fog.  

 

I was just curious if anyone else had similar problems and if it is just related to Celiac Disease how long until you started feeling better when you went gluten free?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Scott

[GottaSki]

Hello,

 

I am a 44 year old male in NJ.  I have been reading some other posts and they have been helpful.  I wanted to post what I am going through to see if it can all be associated with Celiac Disease.

 

Last August I started having hear palpitations, chest pain, left arm pain, some stomach discomfort, felt like I was going to pass out.  This all occurred while driving home from a night shift at work.  I pulled over and called an ambulance.  Test at the hospital revealed no cardiac issues.  Followed up with the cardiologist and had all the associated heart tests.  Except for being overweight (250lbs) I was deemed fine by the cardiologist.  

 

Family physician diagnosed me with acid reflux and put me on Prilosec which helped some.  I have had numerous blood test and tried several meds but still was not feeling well.  Dr sent me to a GI and I had an endoscopy.  The test revealed Barrets Esophagus and Celiac Disease.  So for about 1-1/2 months now I have been eating gluten free.  I still have the palpitations, some chest pain, arm pain, head aches, ringing in ears, pain in lower right abdomen, and head feel like it's in a fog.  

 

I was just curious if anyone else had similar problems and if it is just related to Celiac Disease how long until you started feeling better when you went gluten free?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Scott

 

Welcome Scott!

 

Everyone is different, but it is not uncommon to feel worse for a while after removing gluten.  I had improvement with digestive symptoms at first but my joint/muscle pain and brain fog got worse.

 

It is difficult to predict how long it will take...are you being careful to avoid all sources of gluten -- cross contamination in your home or when dining out.  As our time gluten-free increases, many of us become much more sensitive to minute amounts of gluten.  Perhaps read through this thread if you have not:

 

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/

 

If you are certain you are as gluten-free as possible and your symptoms don't improve within the coming weeks, you may want to look to other possible intolerances -- honestly you should wait because six weeks may still just be your body adjusting to the removal of gluten and you don't want to limit your diet if not necessary.  Oh...I should mention that eating mostly whole foods and limiting all processed gluten-free foods is the best way to promote healing.

 

Give it time, review your diet, supplements, medications for possible gluten and most importantly -- keep looking for answers if you do not improve.

 

Hang in there

 

edited to correct link to newbie thread

[notme]

hey, scott

did any of your other symptoms clear up?  (ugh chest pain would make me so nervous!)  it takes awhile to get 'normal' - depending on how long you have gone undiagnosed/how much damage you have to your intestines.  your body will start to heal and then absorb nutrients to make your body run smoother.

 

the 'background' headache i had finally went away probably (i want to say) 3 or 4 months in.   (it's hard to remember, it's been a minute)  good luck & welcome to the forum

[NoGlutenCooties]

Hi and Welcome!

 

Just wanted to add that the importance of being 100% gluten-free cannot be under-stated.  Also, probiotics and digestive enzymes can really speed up the healing process.

 

Where in NJ are you?  I live in Bergen County.  There is a certified gluten-free Italian restaurant in Clifton that is excellent!  (they serve regular stuff too - but the chef's daughter has Celiac and they know how to do gluten-free right and keep you safe - separate cooking area, separate dishes, etc.)

[firemutt45]

Thanks all for the responses.  I know it will take some time to clear up the damage that was done.  My Dr. has been trying to make sure we aren't missing something else.  The chest pain and heart palpitations is what worries me the most, even though I have been to 2 cardiologists and they have found nothing.  

 

I am trying very hard to eat gluten free and am actually eating better then I used to.  I have lost about 10 lbs and hope to lose more as I start feeling better, exercise should get easier.  Any suggestions on probiotics, supplements, etc are appreciated.  I have been doing a lot of research and finding what works can be difficult.

 

NoGlutenCooties, I live in Hunterdon County but work in Newark.  I found out there is a gluten free store in Readington NJ and plan on checking it out next week.

 

Scott

[NoGlutenCooties]

As far as probiotics, digestive enzymes, and supplements there are several different varieties on the market.  The most important thing is to make sure they are gluten-free.  These are the ones I use:

 

Probiotics: Open Original Shared Link

Digestive Enzymes: Open Original Shared Link

 

As far as supplements, it depends on your blood work and what nutrients you're low in.  A general multi-vitamin may be beneficial for you.  (Be careful about taking one with iron in it though, unless you're actually anemic... I think men can more easily get too much iron... which isn't good either.)

 

Also, be careful about getting into too many processed foods - especially while you're healing.  Just because they are "gluten free" does not mean they're healthy.  Many of the processed foods have extra gums and other crap in them to get them to hold together and not taste like cardboard (and some of them still do).  You're better off with natural, whole foods.

[mopsiecat]

Hello,

 

I am a 44 year old male in NJ.  I have been reading some other posts and they have been helpful.  I wanted to post what I am going through to see if it can all be associated with Celiac Disease.

 

Last August I started having hear palpitations, chest pain, left arm pain, some stomach discomfort, felt like I was going to pass out.  This all occurred while driving home from a night shift at work.  I pulled over and called an ambulance.  Test at the hospital revealed no cardiac issues.  Followed up with the cardiologist and had all the associated heart tests.  Except for being overweight (250lbs) I was deemed fine by the cardiologist.  

 

Family physician diagnosed me with acid reflux and put me on Prilosec which helped some.  I have had numerous blood test and tried several meds but still was not feeling well.  Dr sent me to a GI and I had an endoscopy.  The test revealed Barrets Esophagus and Celiac Disease.  So for about 1-1/2 months now I have been eating gluten free.  I still have the palpitations, some chest pain, arm pain, head aches, ringing in ears, pain in lower right abdomen, and head feel like it's in a fog.  

 

I was just curious if anyone else had similar problems and if it is just related to Celiac Disease how long until you started feeling better when you went gluten free?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Scott

 

I just saw your post - it is a bit dated now, I hope you are feeling better.  But I just wanted to say that acid reflex can cause the chest and arm pain.  A couple of years back I tried eating gluten free oats.  I didn't know I couldn't tolerate it, and didn't get my usual celiac symptoms. After a while I did get constant palpitations, and when the chest pain started I went to the hospital.  All the heart tests were good, they did discover some gastritis - apparently that can cause heart palpitations.  After eliminating the oats I've never had those symptoms again.  I do have acid reflux and a spasm of the esophagus will also cause chest and upper back pain that can go into the jaw and arm, so similar to heart attack symptoms.

When I get gluten it can take several weeks to feel better and the dermatitis takes much longer to clear up.