celiac disease Vs Ms (kinda Long)

[nama shivaya]

Hi Everyone:

I've got a physical problem that has just recently (I suppose) manifested. Beginning at mid-December 2006 I decided that I should quit eating wheat, dairy, soy, and other foods. I just felt bloated/full all the time and generally felt unwell. I had started working out again, and just didn't feel I was getting stronger, that sort of thing. Thought that maybe I had food allergies. I have had intermittent fatty/floaty stools over the past few years as well as grease on top of the water. I had a gall bladder removal in 2000, and lost about 120 lbs after that (on purpose.)

Anyway, Dec. 29, 2006 I had a colossal migraine, that lasted 3 days and was not relieved by migraine meds nor NSAIDS. After that, my legs felt weak and my right hand (a few days after that) became weak so that I had trouble writing. That hand problem has passed, but I still daily have tingly hands, legs, feet, a numb area on my wrist. Neuro said possible MS. OK, I can accept that if it's the case. But what if it's B-12 or other nutrient malabsorption caused by celiac disease?

The problem I have is that my neuro exam was normal, brain MRI normal, but have not had blood test for celiac disease (or anything else, actually.) I went on a fear diet; that is, I became afraid to eat anything! At first I ate a couple of pieces of toast a day, with eggs, meat and veggies. Then I decided to cut out anything with gluten. For the past 2 weeks, I've eaten mostly eggs, meat, and vegatables. I notice that when I eat bread or icecream, my insides will "quiver" after a few hours, and I will pass gas. I also suspected before and recently noticed that my migraines seem to be triggered by certain foods.

My questions for you fine folks are:

1. Has anyone experienced the abdominal "quivering" or "trembling" in relation to celiac disease?

2. Do my symptoms seem at all similar to anyone else's with a celiac disease dx?

3. Do the symptoms seem suggestive of malabsorption?

I have already requested a celiac disease test. The docs are just slow-moving to get it done. I'll be more proactive, tho. My PCP actually suggested about 10 days ago that I go on a gluten-free diet to see if anything changes. After reading your posts, seems like this is a mistake!

Anyway, thanks so much in advance for any input!!

Hugs,

Nama

[CarlaB]

I think the gluten-free diet is good for everyone! If you feel better on it, stay on it.

I would suspect Lyme Disease more than MS. First of all, MS is a very common misdiagnosis for Lyme. Secondly, Lyme is more common than MS and the weakness/tingling can be caused by Lyme. Open Original Shared Link is the lab that does accurate testing -- I'd order the test kit and ask your doc to do it ... don't rely on him to use that particular lab on his own.

The thing is, Lyme and Celiac have very similar symptoms. In fact, so similar that my Lyme doc tests everyone for Celiac before he diagnoses Lyme. If I were you, I'd get tested for celiac, if it comes back negative, get tested for Lyme.

Your symptoms could be either or both. I eat gluten-free and have Lyme. A little gluten makes me ill.

You could be sensitive to dairy, as well. Also very common for celiacs. You might want to cut it out for a while, too, to see if it helps.

[ravenwoodglass]

Nerve damage from celiac is often misdiagnosed as MS. I was thought for quite some time to have MS. I had the same sort of symptoms, nerve wise that you do and it continued to progess to the point where I could barely walk and could only cross my legs by using my arms to lift them. I had lost all reflexes in my legs and electromylograms showed that my right leg was not getting any nerve signals. It did turn out to be related solely to my, at that time, undiagnosed celiac.

After I was at last properly diagnosed I started using sublingual B12 and became of course gluten-free. The progress nerve wise was very slow and I will most likely never completely recover but I can move unaided by canes, I can lift my legs, I can walk across a parking lot or the center of a room and all the tingles are gone. It did take a long time to heal but gluten can definately cause the type of problems you are experiencing. Since your doctor reccommended you try the gluten free diet I would do so if I were you, and you will need to be strict with it and also check toiletries etc. Give it at least a couple of months, nerves repair slowly but as your nerves seem to be recently effected, not years of it like I had, you may be able to recover completely if you act soon.

Please remember that often the tests for celiac are a false negative, especially for those of us with nerve damage, give the diet a good 6 months before you decide that gluten isn't a problem.

[nama shivaya]

Thanks for the fine input!

I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of this situation and hopefully make the best of it. One thing I've learned in my life of trials is that ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. The main thing is that I want to prevent any more damage than has possibly accumulated.

[CarlaB]

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.

This is true, never forget it. Keep looking until you've come to the bottom of your health issues. I hope for you that it's gluten intolerance/celiac ... then you will have your answer and the cure is relatively easy compared to other chronic illnesses. I've found that eating gluten-free has become second nature.

[Laurad-]

My questions for you fine folks are:

1. Has anyone experienced the abdominal "quivering" or "trembling" in relation to celiac disease?

My stomach "quivers" so much sometimes that if I were to lift up my shirt, you could totally see it moving. ...and it seems like a lot of us have some degree of tingling/numbess. A gluten-free diet certainly can't hurt!

[Guest laydirain]

That quivering you guys are talking about seems like it is peristalsis - the movement of food/bolus through the intestines...Some people or sometimes the peristalsis will be too quick...and you can actually see it. I take medicine for that....