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Joint Pain


jaimi alderson

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jaimi alderson Enthusiast

Hi! I am just trying to figure out my joint pain. I had NO JOINT PAIN whatsoever until two weeks AFTER I was diagnosed (which means the pain started two weeks AFTER going gluten-free.) I had my osteoporosis test today & get results tomorrow. Does anyone have any insight as to why I developed joint pain after starting gluten-free diet? My biopsy showed chronic inflammation which means the damage had been going on for awhile. So if I had active celiac disease for awhile (years?) why did I have NO joint pain until now? Especially now that I am gluten-free? I understand that I really just have to wait & see how I am 3-6 months after being gluten-free but this just seems so strange. It is my back & my hips. Does anyone have osteoporosis due to celiac disease?

thank you!

  • 2 weeks later...

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DEE BAERTSCH Newbie
Hi! I am just trying to figure out my joint pain. I had NO JOINT PAIN whatsoever until two weeks AFTER I was diagnosed (which means the pain started two weeks AFTER going gluten-free.) I had my osteoporosis test today & get results tomorrow. Does anyone have any insight as to why I developed joint pain after starting gluten-free diet? My biopsy showed chronic inflammation which means the damage had been going on for awhile. So if I had active celiac disease for awhile (years?) why did I have NO joint pain until now? Especially now that I am gluten-free? I understand that I really just have to wait & see how I am 3-6 months after being gluten-free but this just seems so strange. It is my back & my hips. Does anyone have osteoporosis due to celiac disease?

thank you!

Hi Jaimi; I have osteoporosis from celiac. I was also vitamin D deficient, which most celiacs and people with osteoporosis are. The vitamin D deficiency was what caused my joint pain. After supplementing with vitamin D, my joint pain is now gone. My Dr. said you need to have the hydroxy 25 vitamin D test to determine if you're deficient; a simple vitamin D blood test will not tell you what you need to know. One other thing that caused inflammation in my joints was taking an iron supplement since I was anemic; once you have celiac you are more susceptible to hemochromotosis (iron overload); that will cause joint inflammation. Rather tricky; you need iron, but not too much.

The thing is that once you develop celiac your body needs some fine tuning. You're likely to be malnourished; your body wasn't able to absorb the vitamins & minerals it needed from your food so you are going to need a liquid multi vitamin that's gluten free.

It's hard to know about the timing of your back pain. My iron overload problem came after I had been gluten free for a year & a half, but it was because I started a new multivitamin that had iron. It is so easy to get gluttened unintentionally; plus there are so many other things that factor in once your body gets screwed up. The damage to your intestines is rather significant, so other things being out of balance just make sense. This web site and the advice from other people who have gone thru what you are is invaluable; it has helped me immeasurably! Good Luck!

Dee

judy05 Apprentice
Hi Jaimi; I have osteoporosis from celiac. I was also vitamin D deficient, which most celiacs and people with osteoporosis are. The vitamin D deficiency was what caused my joint pain. After supplementing with vitamin D, my joint pain is now gone. My Dr. said you need to have the hydroxy 25 vitamin D test to determine if you're deficient; a simple vitamin D blood test will not tell you what you need to know. One other thing that caused inflammation in my joints was taking an iron supplement since I was anemic; once you have celiac you are more susceptible to hemochromotosis (iron overload); that will cause joint inflammation. Rather tricky; you need iron, but not too much.

The thing is that once you develop celiac your body needs some fine tuning. You're likely to be malnourished; your body wasn't able to absorb the vitamins & minerals it needed from your food so you are going to need a liquid multi vitamin that's gluten free.

It's hard to know about the timing of your back pain. My iron overload problem came after I had been gluten free for a year & a half, but it was because I started a new multivitamin that had iron. It is so easy to get gluttened unintentionally; plus there are so many other things that factor in once your body gets screwed up. The damage to your intestines is rather significant, so other things being out of balance just make sense. This web site and the advice from other people who have gone thru what you are is invaluable; it has helped me immeasurably! Good Luck!

Dee

Hi,

I have been gluten free for 3 years. 2 weeks ago I developed hip and leg pains, went to Dr who had no idea, said maybe I was developing arthritis. I can't take any NSAIDs so I posted a message on here and got what I think is the answer to my problem. We are remodeling a house using drywall and paint. To help move things along I was sweeping up the dust every night. Another board member pointed out that there is gluten in the drywall mud and I was covering myself with it everyday. i don't know why it settled in my legs and hips instead of the digestive tract, but I was glutening myself. I don't have true Celiac (I don't carry the gene) but i have serious food intolerances and have had a long list of problems and 2 serious autoimmune probems. My answer to you is look over anything new you are being exposed to, I have even been glutened in the dentist chair. Perhaps you need to eliminate Dairy, I had to to get better. the only dairy I can tolerate is Cheddar Cheese. I also drink rice milk. Please let us know what you find out, we have all been through it, that's why this board is so helpful. Good luck

jaimi alderson Enthusiast

My problem with all of this is that my hip/back/leg pain did not start until 2 weeks after being gluten-free. I had no pain while having undiagnosed celiac disease. Also though I had no celiac symptoms at all though EXCEPT that my whole family got rhotavirus & mine would not go away after 2 weeks. This pain feels sooooo hormonal-exactly like it did when I was pregnant both times (I have had a negative pregnancy blood test in the last month so that is not it.) Anyway my body is not liking something. I do not have osteoporosis or vit d deficiency although I should have the more comprehensive test for the Vit d. I just don't feel I am being glutened as when I was not gluten-free I did not have this pain! I just don't understand why it didn't appear until AFTER I went gluten-free!! Thanks for all your input!!!!!!! My kids do not give me much to reply!!!!!!!!!!

lonewolf Collaborator

Just a thought - Did you add anything to your diet when you went gluten-free? Like using more corn, soy, eggs or dairy? Maybe you have been eating more of something you're sensitive to that has intensified.

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