Other Autoimmune Disorders

[Lauriann]

hi everyone..its been a while since i have visited this site. But i was wondering if anyone else suffers from other disorders. I was just diagnosed with Lups and Sjogren Syndrome and Raynauds on top of having Celiac. I feel like my body is being put through the ringer. I can even begin to tell people how sick i feel everyday...but i was wondering if other people are also effected with disorders..

thanks...Lauri

[Mother of Jibril]

Hi Lauri,

You're definitely not alone... here's another thread about this topic:

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...c=54932&hl=

[flourgirl]

Hi Lauriann. You definitely are not alone here. Many have other autoimmune disorders, they seem to travel in groups (like preditors trying to wear you down). I have Raynauds as well. I was recently tested for Sjogrens. My blood test was negative, but I have all of the symptoms. The Rhuemy doc thought I had it in spite of the bloodwork. I passed on doing a lip biopsy or eye test, simply because it would be a waste of time and money. There doesn't seem to be much you can do for it anyway. (I can't have Prednisone or it's cousins because of allergy). My ANA was still quite elevated...which according to the Rhuemy doc. just indicates autoimmune disorders. She kind of threw up her hands because she is not up on Celiac, and felt she had no help to offer. I'm at the end of my rope with doctors overall at this point. Her advice was......you need to learn to sleep at night and then you'll feel better.

Anyway, I hope you find your answers. My mother (who denies that she could have Celiac) also has Lupus, IBS, Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, on and on. I guess for her it's just one more thing. Her health history puts fear in my heart! But she deals.....so I deal....so we all learn to deal. Good luck and good health!

[cyberprof]

hi everyone..its been a while since i have visited this site. But i was wondering if anyone else suffers from other disorders. I was just diagnosed with Lups and Sjogren Syndrome and Raynauds on top of having Celiac. I feel like my body is being put through the ringer. I can even begin to tell people how sick i feel everyday...but i was wondering if other people are also effected with disorders..

thanks...Lauri

I've had symptoms of Sjogren's for about 6 months now and Reynauds symptoms for a few years that come and go. I have not been tested for either. The Reynaud's seemed to get better going gluten-free. The Sjogren's seemed to come after going gluten-free, but now the symptoms are much less than a few months ago.

My theory is that gluten aggravates the other immune system responses, and going gluten-free may help if you haven't had a lot of damage done already. How long have you been gluten-free? I hope it gets better for you.

One thing my eye doctor told me is to take Flax Oil for the dry eyes and it has really helped. I had been taking a lot of fish oil, but he said that doesn't help, try Flax. So I did and noticed a difference! Take the recommended dose of Flax daily for six weeks, then you can take 4-6 weeks off and start again. Try that. I use Nature Made brand Flax oil that I get at Costco.

Good luck Lauriann (from a Laura Ann)

~Laura

[mslee]

Hi Lauri!

Yes I have SLE Lupus as well as celiac, also allergies, hashimoto's, autoimmune hep & probably raynauds too (waiting on some labs)

Check out the thread Mother of Jibril posted, but yes there are more of us here...when you have one autoimmune condition it is common t o have several. lucky us!

anyways here if you have questions or need to talk

good luck!

[nasalady]

hi everyone..its been a while since i have visited this site. But i was wondering if anyone else suffers from other disorders. I was just diagnosed with Lups and Sjogren Syndrome and Raynauds on top of having Celiac. I feel like my body is being put through the ringer. I can even begin to tell people how sick i feel everyday...but i was wondering if other people are also effected with disorders..

thanks...Lauri

Hi Lauri,

As the others said, if you have one, you are MUCH more likely to develop more autoimmune diseases. I have 6 that I know about: Hashimoto's, asthma, psoriasis, autoimmune hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and celiac disease. I may have Sjogren's Syndrome (I have all of the symptoms and it's associated with RA and autoimmune hep).

Some of the recent theories indicate that celiac disease is literally the mother of all other autoimmune diseases. It works like this: you have celiac disease, maybe from babyhood. Celiac disease causes your intestines to literally leak stuff into your bloodstream that shouldn't ever be there, like viruses, bacteria, even foreign substances like gluten, etc. This puts your immune system into overdrive, it starts attacking everything in sight, including your own organs. Bingo! You have multiple autoimmune diseases.

OK so I simplified it a little. But that's basically what this medical abstract by Dr. Fasano says:

Open Original Shared Link

Hope this helps....good luck with everything!!

JoAnn

[1morething]

I have diabetes and thyroide disease for 27 years now. Last November my Dr. decided to test me for Celiac. Well guess what....another nail in my coffin.... Makes me wonder what else is in store for me with these auto-immune diseases. Why is my body shutting me down....

Oh well, "Live, Love, Laugh" as much and as long as you can...

[chatycady]

Me too. Pernicious anemia, liver trouble. But I'm not giving up. I really believe that if I fix my gut and get it back to normal, I can stop the cycle.

I read somewhere that the autoimmune system is fed through the gut. If the gut is messed up the immune system goes haywire.

Don't ya like my big medical terms!

[Alison]

My mom had polymyalgia rheumatica, an inflammatory muscle disorder (different than fibromyalgia). She tested negative for celiac, but went gluten-free with me the day I got my celiac diagnosis. She no longer has any pain from polymyalgia like she did before and no longer takes any medication for it, unless she has gluten -- then the symptoms come back!

[NeanOf9]

hi everyone..its been a while since i have visited this site. But i was wondering if anyone else suffers from other disorders. I was just diagnosed with Lups and Sjogren Syndrome and Raynauds on top of having Celiac. I feel like my body is being put through the ringer. I can even begin to tell people how sick i feel everyday...but i was wondering if other people are also effected with disorders..

thanks...Lauri

[ann72601]

hi everyone..its been a while since i have visited this site. But i was wondering if anyone else suffers from other disorders. I was just diagnosed with Lups and Sjogren Syndrome and Raynauds on top of having Celiac. I feel like my body is being put through the ringer. I can even begin to tell people how sick i feel everyday...but i was wondering if other people are also effected with disorders..

thanks...Lauri

[ann72601]

hi everyone..its been a while since i have visited this site. But i was wondering if anyone else suffers from other disorders. I was just diagnosed with Lups and Sjogren Syndrome and Raynauds on top of having Celiac. I feel like my body is being put through the ringer. I can even begin to tell people how sick i feel everyday...but i was wondering if other people are also effected with disorders..

thanks...Lauri

I sound like everyone else here with a garden variety of illnesses on top of illnesses too depressing to put in print. I have been doing the GAPS diet for almost 3 months and very slowly starting to make a bit of progress. I was told to think in terms of years, not months and it's proving to be true.

The diet addresses many illnesses and it's aim is to heal the gut. While it's doing that, most other ailments begin to improve. It explains the gut/brain connection to the entire body. It's called GAPS for two reasons, for those of us who fall through the gaps and the title is actually the Gut and Psychology Syndrome written originally as a diet for those who were not able to do the SCD diet, which was based on the work of Dr. Haas who found the original 'cure' for celiac. It's the only thing that's made sense and takes some time to really absorb the content but well worth the read. There's a website: www.gapsdiet.com. I also found a site that has menu-planning for GAPS. www.heartofcooking.com.

I went to the doctor today and learned that my bloodwork has improved in every respect. My blood pressure was down for the first time since January to 124/72!! It's not all wonderful, believe me. I haven't been able to leave the house without an escort since July but I can now see that it can happen one day. Keep looking for answers and don't give up. It's basically a 2+ year plan and take dedication but for some of us, what ARE our options???

I wish you well.