Jump to content
  • 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:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Tingling, itching, fatigue, tummy trouble & much more!


Elle1

Recommended Posts

Elle1 Newbie

I've been having strange health issues for about 8 months, and only after seeing a holistic nutrition expert have I begun to wonder if I have a problem with gluten. Reading studies, articles, and personal accounts has made so many light bulbs go off in my head. I would like to share my situation in the hopes that someone out there can tell me what path I should take for the fastest resolution to this problem.
Background: Lifelong digestive issues, off-and-on, incl. diarrhea and constipation but more often painful gas/bloating. Diagnosed with GERD at 29, been on PPIs for 10 years (way too long, I know).
Nine months ago, began to experience a strange sensation in my left shin/calf. Sort of like the skin was mildly tingly and more sensitive than normal, like how sheets feel on your legs when you've just shaved them. Accompanied by fatigue, mild digestive distress, brain fog, tiny twitching of muscles here and there, mostly at night and mostly in my legs. Diagnosed with low B12, put on supplements. Should have stayed on them but got off track with them. Symptoms did mostly go away.
Within last month, leg sensations back, along with fatigue, brain fog, and minor twitching. Some days I have little itches randomly all over my body. I'll scratch one and it disappears, then one pops up somewhere else, and so on. I  have had a lot of other symptoms that I read about in celiac articles at times in the past -- headaches, insomnia, depression, abdominal pains, benign breast lumps, breast tenderness, etc.
I think I'm on the right track with this holistic person, who is helping me to wean off the PPIs. I have read there may be a correlation between PPIs/GERD and celiac. She did the zinc deficiency taste test and it was positive. Just started me on some supplements and said we'd work up to other supplements when my tummy is healed from the PPIs. She is the one who mentioned a gluten problem, told me about the possible link with PPIs and that since I'm very fair, blue-eyed, redhead, that may make it more likely that I don't tolerate gluten.
I have always thought celiac disease was only manifested in severe digestive problems, and since I have only had moderate digestive problems -- albeit off and on for a very long time -- I never considered the possibility of celiac disease. My mom has bad IBS, but to my knowledge was never tested for celiac.
This has been long-winded and I apologize, but since I don't think the holistic person can do a celiac test or order one, where would you all go from here? I don't want to waste a ton of time if this is damaging my body. My GP mentioned MS and wanted to send me to a neurologist, but I feel like it's smarter to explore the diet issue at this stage than wasting a lot of time and money, and scaring myself to death, by going to a neurologist. Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



cyclinglady Grand Master

Do not go gluten free just yet.  Now is the time to ask your doctor for a celiac blood test:

Open Original Shared Link

The catch is that you must be consuming gluten daily in order for the tests to detect any antibodies.  celiac disease a can manfest in so many ways and because this it is often not caught by doctors.  There are over 300 symptoms!

i recommend that you continue to research and advocate for yourself!  Get tested.  If all else fails, then consider a gluten-free diet, but only as a last resort.  Why?  The diet is hard to maintain and more so if you have doubts.  Also celiac disease is genetic.  Your mom very well may have had celiac disease instead of "I be stumped."  You might end up helping yourself and current and future family members.  

I wish you well!  

Elle1 Newbie

Thank you, cyclinglady. I really appreciate your response. I will try to find a doctor who will do a celiac test on me. I have high health anxiety and find myself spiraling into fear that I have something really bad. Not that celiac is not bad, but I would like to get some kind of answer and start working on a solution. Thanks again.

Archived

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

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

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





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - par18 replied to SilkieFairy's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      IBS-D vs Celiac

    2. - trents replied to SilkieFairy's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      IBS-D vs Celiac

    3. - SilkieFairy replied to SilkieFairy's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      IBS-D vs Celiac

    4. - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,338
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Erica Johnson
    Newest Member
    Erica Johnson
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • par18
      Been off this forum for years. Is it that important that you get an official diagnosis of something? It appears like you had a trigger (wheat, gluten, whatever) and removing it has resolved your symptom. I can't speak for you, but I had known what my trigger was (gluten) years before my diagnosis I would just stay gluten-free and get on with my symptom free condition. I was diagnosed over 20 years ago and have been symptom free only excluding wheat, rye and barley. I tolerate all naturally gluten free whole foods including things like beans which actually helps to form the stools. 
    • trents
      No coincidence. Recent revisions to gluten challenge guidelines call for the daily consumption of at least 10g of gluten (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for a minimum of 3 weeks. If possible, I would extend that two weeks to ensure valid testing.
    • SilkieFairy
      Thank you both for the replies. I decided to bring back gluten so I can do the blood test. Today is Day #2 of the Challenge. Yesterday I had about 3 slices of whole wheat bread and I woke up with urgent diarrhea this morning. It was orange, sandy and had the distinctive smell that I did not have when I was briefly gluten free. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the brain fog is back and I feel very tired.   
    • knitty kitty
      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.