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:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Gluten Ataxia and Malabsorption


Soleihey

Recommended Posts

Soleihey Rookie

Started having ataxia symptoms (tremor, twitching, leg weakness, slurred speech) approx 1 year ago. I have had extensive neurological testing and negative. However, I had celiac blood and gene testing that were both markedly positive. Have been gluten free for almost 1 year but still having episodes or flairs. Has anyone else experienced this?  I have been pretty strict about my diet and am also dairy free.  How long before it took you to feel like symptoms mostly resolved? 
 

I would like to add I’ve also been pregnant for most of this time, so I’m seeing a lot of my symptoms return postpartum. Now that I’m also having regular bowel movements in comparison to the constipation from pregnancy, I am noticing evidence of malabsorption in my stool. I also lost weight postpartum quickly.

I have an upcoming appointment with a G.I. to hopefully get an endoscopy done. I’m on several supplements and have no known deficiencies on bloodwork. Has anyone found that increasing fiber or starting a digestive enzyme supplement helped? 
 

I am hoping there is still some chance for my body to heal since it has been 11 months on the diet. 


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Scott Adams Grand Master

Have you been taking a good multi-vitamin & mineral formulation? Long term nutrient deficiencies can lead to gluten ataxia. Be sure to discuss this with your doctor.

The most common nutrient deficiencies associated with celiac disease that may lead to testing for the condition include iron, vitamin D, folate (vitamin B9), vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, and magnesium.  Unfortunately many doctors, including my own doctor at the time, don't do extensive follow up testing for a broad range of nutrient deficiencies, nor recommend that those just diagnosed with celiac disease take a broad spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement, which would greatly benefit most, if not all, newly diagnosed celiacs.

Because of this it took me decades to overcome a few long-standing issues I had that were associated with gluten ataxia, for example numbness and tingling in my feet, and muscle knots--especially in my shoulders an neck. Only long term extensive supplementation has helped me to resolve these issues.

 

 

 

Soleihey Rookie

I have been on supplementation for almost 11 months with no deficiencies showing up on blood work. So was just hoping to hear someone else’s story where it took longer to heal. 

Scott Adams Grand Master

It took me 2-3 years to feel like my gut recovered, and then I still had gluten ataxia issues for well over a decade. 

This study indicates that a majority of celiacs don't recover until 5 years after diagnosis and starting a gluten-free diet:

However, it's also possible that what the study really shows is the difficulty in maintaining a 100% gluten-free diet. I suspect that if you looked closely at the diets of those who did not recover within 2 years might be that their diets were not 100% gluten-free. Perhaps they ate out more often, or didn't understand all of the hidden ingredients where gluten can hide. Either way, it shows how difficult recovery from celiac disease can be for most people.

According to this study:

Quote

After an average of 11 months on a gluten-free diet, 81% of patients with celiac disease and positive tissue transglutaminase IgA (tTG-IgA) at baseline will revert to negative tTG-IgA (SOR: C, disease-oriented evidence from retrospective cohort study). The intestinal mucosa of adult patients with celiac disease will return to normal after following a gluten-free diet for 16 to 24 months in only 8% to 18%. However, in children after 2 years, 74% will have a return to normal mucosa (SOR: C, diseaseoriented evidence from longitudinal studies).

This article explores other causes of flattened villi:

 

 

peg Newbie

Hi Scott,

You mentioned in your response that you have been taking supplements long term.  What brand(s) do you take?  I ask because I've had a very difficult time finding truly gluten free supplements that have not made me sick over time from allowable trace amounts of gluten within the FDA's acceptable limits.

Thank you,

Peg

Scott Adams Grand Master

The link is in my signature block, but is:

 

knitty kitty Grand Master

@Soleihey,

Do get checked for thiamine deficiency.  Blood tests for thiamine deficiency are not accurate.  You can have "normal" levels in the blood, but still be deficient because thiamine stores inside cells are depleted. 

Thiamine deficiency can cause ataxia, tremor, muscle twitching, leg weakness, constipation, and slurred speech.  I had these symptoms and more that did not resolve with a one a day type vitamin.  I needed high doses of Thiamine to correct the deficiency.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Pregnancy can deplete thiamine stores.  

Interesting Reading:

Thiamine deficiency disorders: a clinical perspective

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8451766/


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Soleihey Rookie

What supplement do you use and how much?

knitty kitty Grand Master

I take Life Extension brand Mega Benfotiamine, (250 mg with each of two meals) and Maxlife Natural TTFD-B1 Max Thiamine (100 mg).  

I try to take my Benfotiamine and TTFD before four pm, otherwise I have so much energy, it can be hard to fall asleep.  

 

  • 2 weeks later...
Soleihey Rookie

@Scott Adams

Recently got blood work back and TTG antibodies went from 168.8 to 16.7 and deaminated gliadin was 22 (was not measured the first time). Is this a good start for an 11 month time frame? Just having a hard time with why my symptoms seemed to be flaring up again when my blood work has improved. 

Scott Adams Grand Master

Hi @Soleihey, it looks like you are making great progress. 

This study indicates that a majority of celiacs don't recover until 5 years after diagnosis and starting a gluten-free diet:

However, it's also possible that what the study really shows is the difficulty in maintaining a 100% gluten-free diet. I suspect that if you looked closely at the diets of those who did not recover within 2 years might be that their diets were not 100% gluten-free. Perhaps they ate out more often, or didn't understand all of the hidden ingredients where gluten can hide. Either way, it shows how difficult recovery from celiac disease can be for most people.

According to this study:

Quote

After an average of 11 months on a gluten-free diet, 81% of patients with celiac disease and positive tissue transglutaminase IgA (tTG-IgA) at baseline will revert to negative tTG-IgA (SOR: C, disease-oriented evidence from retrospective cohort study). The intestinal mucosa of adult patients with celiac disease will return to normal after following a gluten-free diet for 16 to 24 months in only 8% to 18%. However, in children after 2 years, 74% will have a return to normal mucosa (SOR: C, diseaseoriented evidence from longitudinal studies).

 

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      130,903
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    lwohl19
    Newest Member
    lwohl19
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • RMJ
      Be sure to have her continue eating gluten before the biopsy. Reducing gluten now could lead to healing and false negative results.
    • knitty kitty
      Allegra is an antihistamine.  Histamine is released by the body as part of the autoimmune and immune responses, so an antihistamine would be helpful.  Following the low histamine version of the AIP diet is helpful as well because there's also histamine in foods.  Sometimes our body has trouble getting rid of the histamine it makes and the histamine from our food.  Sometimes the mast cells that make and release histamine get touchy and release histamine at the slightest provocation.  Thiamine helps mast cells not to release histamine so readily.  Look into Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.  SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, can also cause high histamine levels.  Following the low histamine AIP diet will starve out the bad SIBO bacteria that feed on carbohydrates we eat.  We don't want to take antibiotics because they kill off both the good and bad bacteria.  We don't want to take probiotics yet because the SIBO bacteria will outnumber them.   The AIP diet will allow the good bacteria to flourish.   Some have Candida infections as well as SIBO.   Lowering histamine levels is important because high histamine levels for a long time can lead to worsening health problems like Crohn's and colitis and other health problems.
    • Rejoicephd
      Oh I have 2 dogs. And I just looked up the ingredients in their food and it does contain barley as a main ingredient. Maybe some other things too that aren't helpful but barley just caught my eye on a quick look.  And yes I spend lots of time with them, they're always cuddled up on me. I even have wondered before if I was allergic to them and I take Allegra at night out of some thought that maybe I was allergic to them (but I've never confirmed that).  Wow. This is very interesting. I could try putting them out on some grain-free food for a month and see if that helps. Thanks for the tip!
    • Heatherisle
      Hi Thanks for answering so quickly. Not sure about any other blood tests, all I have is a copy of what my daughter sent to me. Hopefully she’ll get the biopsy soon cos she’s really anxious about the whole thing, but she tends to have a lot of anxiety anyway and has done for a long time
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @Heatherisle! Yes, not uncommon for multiple celiac antibody tests to not agree. The Endomysial IGA was the first antibody test developed to detect celiac disease. It is expensive to run and has largely been replaced by the tTG-IGA. But some physicians, particularly those who have been in practice for awhile, still order the EMA. It's a good test. Was there a "total IGA" test run to check for IGA deficiency?  
×
×
  • Create New...