Breathing Problems

[dianegf]

This is my first time here. I discovered I was gluten intolerant, about 5 years ago, by conducting the elimination diet. I've been having some breathing problems lately and wondered if this was common with celiac disease or GI. Also, I'm curious as to where the line is drawn between GI and celiac disease. Take care. Diane

[darlindeb25]

hi diane-----the line is very slim--gluten intolerant means you cant have gluten--celaic disease simply means the gluten has damaged your intestines severely--you can be intolerant and not have severe damage as of yet, but if you dont go gluten-free then the damage is imminent-----as for your breathing, maybe you should check to be sure it isnt asthma---now with me--the longer i am gluten free the more allergies seem to pop up--i am soy limited and corn limited too--i just spent 6 days ingesting soy unknowingly and have had the worst headache with ringing ears, sleepless nights, joint pain-----i aslo will have breathing problems with many scents---orange cleaners make me gasp for air and there are many scents that make me react--different bath and body works scents are terrible for me-----so, it could be gluten intoerant related------deb

[dianegf]

Deb,

Thanks so much for your reply. Even though I have been gluten-free for years there is still so much I don't know. I figured out my gluten intolerance through an elimination diet and trial and error. I'm thinking that I should pursue some more extensive testing. Even though I'm feeling much better I still have issues that are unexplainable. Take care. And thanks again. Diane

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Some people do have breathing problems but you don't find them as much. It could be related or maybe like Deb said you could be having reactions to something that never bothered you.

Good luck!

[Rikki Tikki]

Diane:

I don't know, the same thing has been happening to me since December. I have been poked and prodded so much I feel like a human pin cushion.

So far, the doctor hasn't been able to find out what is wrong. The pressure in my chest is awful and my pulse rate is about 114 continually.

It feels like all the years the doctors and finally even myself thought I was crazy only to find out it was celiac.

I hope you find out what is wrong. However, I wouldn't go back on gluten to see if it is related, that's not worth it.

Sally

[dianegf]

Sally,

You are right, and I would never go back to gluten. I tried that once and felt worse than the worse hangover you could imagine. I'm thinking it is time to try the elimination diet all over again to see what other allergies I may have. Ahhhh! But it is well worth it if I can feel better yet. The pressure in my chest is very disturbing, expecially when I lay down at night. I've had treadmill tests and don't seem to have any heart issues. Back to the drawing board I guess. Thanks for your reply. Take care.

[Rikki Tikki]

Diane:

That is so odd, the same thing is going on with me. My doctor thinks I am nuts. I have a hard time believing it is related to the celiac though. Mine is pressure in my chest, it never goes away. My heart beats so fast and I am so tired.

Mine seems to be related to eating and drinking? It's so bad that I have been eating just one meal a day and don't want to lose weight. I also have pressure in my right ear, my upper back hurts to breathe. My doctor diagnosed pnuemonia back in December but I have never really felt better since then. It started off not to bad, pressure under my left breast that eventually moved to under my right breast, and now this. Somehow it's related and I am at the point that I can't handle it anymore. I did have the endscopy again and it showed the villi that was damaged is now healed so I am not ingesting gluten.

Please let me know if you find out what is wrong.

Sally

[cdford]

Some of us out here have asthma and other breathing problems that are directly associated with the celiac problem. I never had asthma or other breathing problems until the celiac had done its damage. Over time being gluten-free, the worst of it has settled down. It did this for all the gluten-free folks in my home. It doesn't take much gluten to trigger it again, though.

Is it possible that you are still dealing with the longer term effects of the pneumonia or one of the medications you were given? Some of the breathing treatments can cause fast heart rates and some of the other symptoms you mentioned. Also, if they gave you medications without carefully checking to ensure that they were gluten-free, it could have caused a set back in the celiac.

Pneumonia is a tough one to get over under the best of conditions. The last time I had it was terrible to get past and took an extended period of time even once the primary problem was cured.

[dianegf]

Sally,

How are you doing with your breathing problems? I'm doing better but still have problems getting a deep breath. I've gone back to the basics, reading every label very carefully and researching all the foods that don't say gluten-free. Looking on the bright side, my diet is a much healthier now then it was before I discovered my gluten intolerance. I'm currently not eating any corn, dairy, chocolate, eggs and seafood. I'll slowly try them again, one at a time of course, and see if anything else, besides gluten, is giving me problems. I am sick and tired of feeling sick and living in a fog half the time. I can barely remember writing last week because I was feeling so crappy. At least I know it is gluten and not Alzheimers. That's what I thought I had for a long time.

For those of you out there that are seeing a traditional doctor, and that doctor doesn't acknowledge food allergies as a possible explanation, change to a Naturepath. I spent years being miserable because the lack of knowledge of traditional docs. My naturepath knew my problem after the few minutes it took me to explain my symptoms. The elimination diet proved her right.

(Note: Sally, I'm just getting the hang of this forum. I accidentally e-mail you when I meant to send this to the forum. Sorry for the duplicate)

[pturse]

I seem to have breathing problems while sleeping. I never had them before going gluten free but now, my husband cannot sleep because I am gasping for air or am breathing out quite heavily in my sleep. Sometimes if I have just fallen asleep I even wake myself up but mostly because he is a light sleep he feels the ill effects. It is bad enough I have to get up 3 times a night to use the bathroom but to wake up because of breathing issues makes getting a full nights sleep tough. I have been gluten free since May of 03.

[mommida]

I can't breathe today either! So nice I'm not alone.

This may be off the wall, but I react to Alpacha. I think it's some kind of Llama fur. The reason I'm telling you this, if there is a sweater with about 3% off the soft fluffy stuff in the same house with me that is enough for me to not be able to breathe. (My sister ordered a sweater/ skirt set, and had it sent to my house. It was in a plastic bag in a box.) It takes about 3 weeks to get over. The reaction turns into bronchitis and then most times phenmonia.

I would look at any new items brought into the house and check labels on everything! Clothes, pillows, blankets, rugs, or maybe houseplants, anything.

Check the humidity level of the house too.

Laura

[Lesliean]

Diane, My presenting symptom to the doctor was inability to get a deep breath. First he diagnosed asthma and inhaled steriods and albuterol helped some. Then diagnosed laryngopharneal reflux and pepacid helped some.

Only when I stopped gluten and dairy (they can go hand and hand) did my vocal chords and throat stop swelling. Still on asthma Rx but off pepacid and gluten and dairy now. My reflux and asthma was diagnosed by an asthma specialist. The pulmonologist was not helpful because they didn't do spirometry (check for asthma) or laryngoscope (to see the vocal chord area). He was able to handle the food intolerance issues too.

Good luck,