Joint Pain After Diagnosis

[mogal]

Hello. I was recently diagnosed with Celiac and have been gluten-free for just 3 weeks.

I had no symptoms prior to diagnosis except for rapid weight loss and mild diarrhea which prompted many blood tests, colonoscopy, and eventually enterolab testing.

Otherwise, I felt strong, healthy and no gastro issues. I exercise, take my suppliments (vitD., fish oil in particular that are to be good for gluten-free folks)

Since I've been gluten-free, my hands are swollen, my body joints ache all day and my tummy is crampy or "off" several times a week.

Is this normal withrdrawl?

I felt sooo much better before! The joint aches are enough to make me go back to my pre-gluten-free diet.

Any ideas?

debi

[GFinDC]

  On 1/29/2010 at 2:17 PM, mogal said:

Hello. I was recently diagnosed with Celiac and have been gluten-free for just 3 weeks.

I had no symptoms prior to diagnosis except for rapid weight loss and mild diarrhea which prompted many blood tests, colonoscopy, and eventually enterolab testing.

Otherwise, I felt strong, healthy and no gastro issues. I exercise, take my suppliments (vitD., fish oil in particular that are to be good for gluten-free folks)

Since I've been gluten-free, my hands are swollen, my body joints ache all day and my tummy is crampy or "off" several times a week.

Is this normal withrdrawl?

I felt sooo much better before! The joint aches are enough to make me go back to my pre-gluten-free diet.

Any ideas?

debi

Just stick with the diet, and make sure you are really gluten free. It can take months to get better, as your body needs to settle down and stop making the anti-bodies to self that do the damage. The thing is, those antibodies don't turn off the instant you stop eating gluten. And if you get even a little bit of gluten, they kick back in until they have gotten rid of the offending protein, and part of your intestinal lining as well.

You'll see many posts here advising people to start the gluten-free diet by eating whole foods instead of processed foods. Processed foods are risky in some cases because the may have cross-contamination or have other ingredients added that can cause problems. Plus they usually have food coloring and preservatives that may not be good for your gut while it is healing.

Other foods to avoid are dairy and soy. Dairy because it often is hard for celiacs to digest at first, and soy because many of us have trouble with it.

If you cook all your meals from whole ingredients at home, you also don't have to spend lots of time reading labels in the store. Also, watch out for spice blends, medicines, and vitamins that may contain gluten.

[MelindaLee]

In addition to what GFinDC said, see if it is related to tomatoes or any of the other fruits in the nightshade family. I have often heard of that being related to athritis or joint issues. For me, after 3 weeks, my joint pain was gone and I went off my arthritis medication. But, if I mess up and get gluten, I notice it right away in my joint (among other non GI symptoms) Good luck and hang in there!