Fibromyalgia Or Celiac?

[KathyMarander]

Hi,

For the past year I've been struggling to understand what disease afflicts me. My symptoms range for joint pain, fatigue, migraines, skin rash, bloating, diarrhea...  To make a long story short, my doctor has come to the conclusion that I suffer for Fibromyalgia. I've researched this and have found many articles citing that Fibromyalgia is actually a symptom of Celiac disease, ex:

Open Original Shared Link or Open Original Shared Link.

I've talk to my doctor about this and he says there is no link. I'm pretty discouraged at this point and willing to try anything.

Anyone else have thoughts on this, could there be a link between the two?

 

Thanks

 

Kathy

[kareng]

Some info from the Celiac Center at the University of Chicago to show your doctor.

 

 

Is there an association between celiac disease and fibromyalgia?

There is no known link, but the two conditions present with similar symptoms. We recommend that those who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia also be screened for celiac disease.

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

How does celiac disease neuropathy present?

The most common manifestation of celiac disease neuropathy is pain, tingling and numbness in the feet. Some patients present with asymmetrical sensory symptoms, or even pain in the face. Muscle weakness and autonomic symptoms are less common in celiac disease neuropathy. It is important to objectively prove the presence of neuropathy in patients with neuropathy symptoms, as these symptoms can be caused by diseases other than neuropathy. These include diseases of the central nervous system, primary pain syndromes like fibromyalgia, and psychogenic diseases.

[LauraTX]

You definitely should be screened for Celiac disease. Make an appointment with a GI doctor to get a proper screening done.  Don't stop eating gluten until you get your testing done, since you need to be consuming it for them to be accurate.  

[sunny2012]

I was incorrectly diagnosed with Fibromyalgia for 10 years. Worst thing that ever happened to me because it signals to doctors that one is really just whining, a drug seeker, or mental. When I was so close to death that liver, kidneys, worked only nominally and I needed ambulance transport to hospital, they actually LOOKED at me. That's when they found I had the worst case of flattened villi anyone had seen to that point. 

Celiac can mimic so many other diseases that it is called the great imitator.  

 

A good doctor looks at the entire human being to find the single process that explains an all over the body problem! Then diagnoses more specific issues. Your symptoms certainly mimic mine.

 

Anyway, get yourself to a GI, get the blood tests and biopsy done. If that's not possible, try cutting out gluten for a couple months. If gluten is the issue, you should start noticing a difference very soon. Be aware thou that once you are off gluten the tests will come back false negative.