Vitiligo Michael Jackson & I

[EJR]

I have an auto-immune skin disease called Vitiligo. This is the same skin disease that Michael Jackson suffered from. You gradually lose the pigment in your skin and have to avoid very much sun exposure. I have read that Michael also had the auto-immune disease Lupus.

Just wondering if anyone knows if this skin disease is associated with or found in many people who also have Celiac disease / gluten sensitivity / intolerance? The pigment loss seems to have increased over the last year for me.

Joyce

[SGWhiskers]

Type I, II, & III autoimmune polyglandular syndromes

PAS IIIC - Autoimmune thyroiditis with vitiligo and/or alopecia and/or other organ-specific autoimmune disease

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It looks like there are some links between celiac and vitilligo. Vitilligo is also associated with a lot of other autoimmune diseases.

[eringopaint]

My sister-in-law went gluten-free in support of my brother and my nephews, to simplify cooking and keep the kitchen as a safe zone. As a result her vitilago has stopped progressing, her life-long rhuemtoid arthritis no longer bothers her and her Doc just reduced her thyroid med dosage after being at the same level for years & years.

She has been gluten-free for about 3 yrs, maybe closer to 4.

Btw - she never had any stomach issues so never imagined anything would change when she stopped eating gluten.

I think celiac is related to all auto-immune diseases.

Are you following a gluten-free diet now?

~erin

[ranger]

Are there any genetic components to this skin thing? My mother had it and, although she was dxed with chrons, I strongly suspect she was celiac. Me and my sis are celiac.

[EJR]

My sister-in-law went gluten-free in support of my brother and my nephews, to simplify cooking and keep the kitchen as a safe zone. As a result her vitilago has stopped progressing, her life-long rhuemtoid arthritis no longer bothers her and her Doc just reduced her thyroid med dosage after being at the same level for years & years.

She has been gluten-free for about 3 yrs, maybe closer to 4.

Btw - she never had any stomach issues so never imagined anything would change when she stopped eating gluten.

I think celiac is related to all auto-immune diseases.

Are you following a gluten-free diet now?

~erin

Hi All,

Thank you for your replies. Ranger you asked if I am following a gluten-free diet. Yes, I have been on the diet for about a year now but have eaten about 6 slices of toast during that time period because I wasn't sure of what was going on. I had a small bowel biopsy that was negative for celiac (but I had already been gluten free for a few months). I just received gene test results from Prometheus Labs. I have one of the genes associated with Celiac disease (the DQ8 Heterozygous). Apparently about 8% of Celiacs have this gene. I have just ordered tests from Enterolab so will be interesting to see what they have to say.

So far I would say that my vitiligo has still been progressing. It develops so slowly and of course is much more noticeable in the summer when the skin gets a bit tanned. Otherwise my skin is so fair it isn't that noticeable.

It appears that there is an association with Celiac disease and vitiligo although it isn't as strong as some of the other auto-immune disorders. Thank you all again for taking the time to answer my post.

Joyce

[Golden Girl]

Hi All,

When I went for my biopsy the Dr looked at me and said I more than likely have Celiac disease because I have vitiligo. She had said there are studies that have linked them together. As it turned out I do have Celiac disease. I am also hypothyroid. I only wish it could have been diagnosed 30 years ago actually 40 years ago when I was diagnosed with vitiligo. 2 years ago I had 3 mini strokes, veritgo and I was so mal-nutritioned. I feel a lot better gluten free. But I still have some symptoms foot pain and tingling in my finger tips.

Karla