Other Auto Immune Disorders?

[jen2be2]

Ok. I read somewhere that if you have one autoimmune disorder that there is a higher chance that you could get/have another one as well.

Does anyone here have multiple autoimmune disorders?

Should I have my kids tested for others as well? If so, which ones?

Trust me, I do not want to find anything else wrong with my kiddos, I just want to make sure that I am not missing something. I feel bad enough about unintentionally poisoning 2 of my children for years, I do not want to miss anything else.

TIA~

[darlindeb25]

Tia--we can't blame ourselves like that. My youngest child is 24 now and she was born with no hip socket on the left side, to this day I feel so bad when I watch her walk. I think my celiacs is why she was born with a birth defect, yet I didnt know and the doctors didnt know.

From what I understand--often we develope other illnesses or diseases when we are celiac for years and are not gluten free. MAny times tyhroid problems go hand in hand with celiacs, as does neuropathy, sometimes diabetes, and others. Your children may not develope any of these now that you have them gluten-free. My sister doesnt have neuropathy like me and she was sick nearly as long as I was--I am 3 yrs older than her. Just watch them, if they are healthy and growing as they should--smile and be thankful you know what you know.

[happygirl]

Jen,

Yes, it is true that there is a higher incidence of people with Celiac having another autoimmune disorder, but it doesn't mean that everyone will have problems. I would say the most common and identified problems are thyoid and diabetes. However, there are many more that can be related....there is a section on www.celiac.com about "related disorders."

In general, if your child is doing well on a strict gluten free diet, and is under the care of a competent doctor who is aware of Celiac, unless you see specific symptoms, I wouldn't worry too much.

The book listed in my signature has a GREAT section on Celiac and related disorders, among other topics. I use it as a reference often.

Laura

[2kids4me]

Our family - as you can see by the signature has multiple immune disorders. There is a genetic link is the sense that there is "defect" (for lack of better word) that can be triggered by a number of factors - virla, bacterial, environmental - that turns the immune sytstem against its "host" (the body).

Endrodrine galnds are similar in structure and apperance to a "T cell", [one of the white blood cells responsible for creating antibodies).

ditto to what darlindeb25 said as well.

In our case I belivee that environmental mold triggered the onslaught in my genetically suspeptcible children. Although I dont have celiac based on blood work... I do feel much better on gluten-free diet.

[we have since moved out of old house, even after renos and removing drywall, I wanted out!]

Sandy

[taweavmo3]

Like everyone else has said....as long as your kids are thriving and healthy, I really wouldn't worry. Easier said than done, I know.

That being said, my dd is still having some ongoing issues. I know she's 100% gluten free, so that part is taken care of. She's been on the diet for two years, but is still barely on the growth charts, gets fatigued easily, is irritable, and is behind for her age. So our new ped said that at her 5 year check, he'll do some bloodwork just to check hormone levels and to rule out other disorders (what exactly, I have no clue). Of course, she also has a double ureter and mild urinary reflux, so that may be what's behind all the ongoing issues.

Anyway, in our case, I figured something else was going on after we'd been gluten-free for over a year, and she still wasn't really thriving. If your kids are on target developmentally, and are happy, growing and gaining well, I wouldn't be too concerned about other disorders. Hope that helps!

[Momof3boys]

An interesting thing has occured in the NM group. My son was born with a club foot and my friend's son with Celiac's disease was born with a cleft lip. Are there any other people out there with kids with Celiac's disease and a birth defect as well?

[penguin]

Yes - untreated autoimmune disorders can lead to others. For example, I have gluten intolerance and Crohn's Disease.

[Generic]

I have celiac disease, fibromyalgia, hypoglycemia and something else they haven't decide on yet. It is either MS, rheumatoid arthritis or miosytis. I have been gluten free since I was 13 and I am now 32. I believe I developed the other auto immune disorders due to accidental glutenings through the years. It is a good chance your kids will be fine, especially with the wealth of knowledge now available about celiac.

When I was diagnosed my mom litterally spent hours on her days off at the library pouring over micro-fish film looking for info. Plus the countless trips to different health food stores to get what few products were available, (that wasn't that good, too boot). Companies back then really hid gluten within the ingredients. Calling the companies was of no use most of the time too. We had to rely on the GIG of North America's news letter to find out what was gluten-free. Times have sure changed!

-Laurie

[Sillyyakdidi]

Ok. I read somewhere that if you have one autoimmune disorder that there is a higher chance that you could get/have another one as well.

Does anyone here have multiple autoimmune disorders?

Should I have my kids tested for others as well? If so, which ones?

Trust me, I do not want to find anything else wrong with my kiddos, I just want to make sure that I am not missing something. I feel bad enough about unintentionally poisoning 2 of my children for years, I do not want to miss anything else.

TIA~

yes, i believe it is, i have crohn's disease which was originally thought to be only celiac, but after being gluten-free i was still way sick. . . it sucks! so it turns out i have both....and, to the birth defect thing, i actually have three bones missing in my left hand, but i think that has nada to do with anything

[tiffjake]

I have Celiac Disease.

I have Pernicious Anemia (Chronic low B12 for life).

I have thyroid issues (the beginning of Hashimotos, doc says my thyroid is "circling the drain").

I didn't find any of this out for 20 years. I wouldn't worry about your kids. They have to show symptoms before you can get them checked. There are hundreds of problems out there. You can't just have them checked for everything! (And perhaps, catching the Celiac this early will prevent the other problems?? Maybe.)

[Namma]

I have to ask..............Cardiac kid and 2 celiac children and asthma?

We found out in July of 2004 our 1 year old grandaughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Yes we have learned a lot over the past 2 years. My question for you is your child with "cardiac" What is that all about. Our other granddaughter and in the same family (6) also was dignosed at the same time with a heart condition and she now has a pacemaker. Did your Dr. tell you the cardiac issue and the celiac issue are related?

[tiffjake]

I have to ask..............Cardiac kid and 2 celiac children and asthma?

We found out in July of 2004 our 1 year old grandaughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Yes we have learned a lot over the past 2 years. My question for you is your child with "cardiac" What is that all about. Our other granddaughter and in the same family (6) also was dignosed at the same time with a heart condition and she now has a pacemaker. Did your Dr. tell you the cardiac issue and the celiac issue are related?

Hm, I have mitral-valve prolapse. It is not auto-immune though. Maybe there is a connection. I don't know, and I have never read that anywhere.

[nikki-uk]

Hm, I have mitral-valve prolapse. It is not auto-immune though. Maybe there is a connection. I don't know, and I have never read that anywhere.

This come up recently on a UK celiac disease forum I use.

This was posted:

Is Mitral Valve Prolapse an Autoimmune Disease?

The cause of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is not known, but evidence is accumulating that it may involve an autoimmune process. Well-recognized autoimmune diseases include systemic lupus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome (SS), juvenile diabetes, Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (autoimmune thyroiditis). The latter is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in adults, and Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in adults. Like MVP, autoimmune disorders are more prevalent in women, and have a genetic link.

The immune system is the body's major defense against foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. Any material the body recognizes as foreign is called an antigen. Antigens provoke the formation of antibodies whose purpose is to neutralize and kill antigens. In autoimmune disorders, however, the immune system produces antibodies that attack the body's own tissues as if they themselves were foreign. These antibodies are known as autoantibodies, and can be detected in the blood of patients with autoimmune diseases. For instance, anithyroid antibodies are found in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and rheumatoid factor found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Multiple antibodies such as antinuclear antibody (ANA) are found in patients with systemic lupus.

Several studies have shown that MVP is more common in patients with Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, SLE and juvenile diabetes. We have also observed an increased frequency of thyroid diseases and Sjogren's syndrome in our patients with MVP. In addition, Birmingham rheumatologist Dr. David McLain, who treats a large population of patients with Sjogren's syndrome, says he has observed that most of them also have MVP. Not only do these studies suggest an association of MVP with autoimmune diseases, in addition, a recent report published in Thyroid (Volume 9: Number 10) provides more impressive evidence that patients with both MVP and autoimmune thyroiditis may be at a greater risk of developing other autoimmune diseases such as SLE and rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers found that patients with both MVP and autoimmune thyroid disorders had a statistically higher incidence of autoantibodies, including ANA, rheumatoid factor and anticardiolipin.

This raises the question of whether patients with autoimmune disorders should be screened for MVP and, conversely, whether patients with MVP should be monitored for the development of classic autoimmune disorders. Certainly long-term follow-up would appear to be indicated in patients with coexisting MVP and autoimmune thyroid dysfunction. It would be interesting to study a group of patients with known MVP, but no history of autoimmune thyroid problems, for the prevalence of autoantibodies such as ANA and rheumatoid factor as these researchers did not examine this subset of patients.

[Ann1231]

that's interesting. I also have mitral valve prolapse, so did my Dad. In addition, I have rheumatoid arthritis, hypoglycemia, hypothyroid, fibromyalgia. My dr. told me all these conditions often go together. what fun!

[Rachel--24]

Our family - as you can see by the signature has multiple immune disorders. There is a genetic link is the sense that there is "defect" (for lack of better word) that can be triggered by a number of factors - virla, bacterial, environmental - that turns the immune sytstem against its "host" (the body).

Endrodrine galnds are similar in structure and apperance to a "T cell", [one of the white blood cells responsible for creating antibodies).

In our case I believe that environmental mold triggered the onslaught in my genetically suspeptcible children.

Sandy,

I agree with you that its bacteria, yeasts, parasites, virus or envirnomental factors which trigger the immune system to not distinguish between "self" and "non-self".

Many researchers and scientists believe these pathogens/toxins are the the underlying cause of autoimmune disease.

I'm not so sure that one autoimmune disease leads to another....I think its likely that if the trigger for autoimmune response is not identified.....more autoimmune conditions will follow.

I have no doubts that environmental mold would indeed trigger Celiac (if genetically susceptible) or any other autoimmune condition. These types of things suppress the immune system and alter the natural balance needed for good health.

I'm really glad you moved away from the mold situation. A very wise decision in my opinion.

I recently found this information about candida albicans being a possible trigger for Celiac. The research found that the amino acid sequence in gliadin which triggers the autoimmune response in Celiac....is also found to be identical to that found in the cell wall of candida.

https://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=859

Heres what it could mean...

If Candida can trigger the same chemical and immunological reactions as wheat gluten do we can imagine a number of interesting implications.

First, in people with celiac disease, symptoms usually get better rapidly when they eliminate gluten from their diet. This isn't always the case. Even without gluten some people continue to have symptoms. They may have intestinal Candidiasis. The Candida in their gut may be acting like gluten and continues triggering symptoms.

Second, an acute Candida infection may trigger the onset of celiac disease. Even if the Candida is treated and eliminated, the person could be left with a permanent sensitivity to wheat gluten. Candida infections occur frequently with antibiotic usage. In people genetically susceptible to celiac, extra caution should be exercised when using antibiotics to prevent Candida overgrowth.

Third, if wheat can cause neurological damage as in gluten ataxia, it is reasonable to assume that Candida could also do so by the same process. Reports of Candida infections causing neurological symptoms are not uncommon; now we have a possible explanation.

Fourth, if only a small portion of the people with gluten ataxia have gastrointestinal symptoms despite their severe damage elsewhere in their bodies, it is reasonable to assume that Candida could stimulate significant problems while producing slight or no digestive symptoms.

So this would be one example of how a pathogenic yeast could cause an autoimmune response in the body. I believe it could also cause an autoimmune response to gluten even in those who do not carry a Celiac gene. The autoimmune response would differ from that seen in Celiac....but still just as harmful to the body.

I have Graves Disease and gluten intolerance (non-celiac).

[jen2be2]

Hi All.

Thanks for replying. Sorry that it took me so long to get back here. We were on Vacation in WDW! :

Yes, My oldest was born with an undigosed narrow arota(sp? it is late). We did not find out about it until she was 5 weeks old and her heart was the size of her chest. Her heart was functioning at 18%. She had surgery to correct the problem. She continued to suffer from heart failure for 7 months. She was on Digoxin and Lasik( sp?) during that time.

She still gets heart evaulations every other year now and at her 5 year appt( a year ago) we found out that she has high cholesterol( was 200) so we have been working on getting that down too. She also has a spastic bladder that has been linked to her having been on the Lasik. so she is currently on a 3 month round of meds to help solve this problem.

At this point, she has tested - for Celiac and we are waiting on her genetic testing results.

Our son got RSV 2x in his first year of life. They think that his asthma was caused by this. Last year he was very sick and had a very diffacult time. This past year, we got his adnoids removed and switched him to herbal treatements instead of the protocol meds and he is doing WONDERFUL!

And the other 2 were the ones that were just dignosed with Celiac.