Joint Inflammation

[MarkR555]

Hi guys, I am a newly diagnosed celiac (gluten free for 3 weeks). I have mostly had GI symptoms which seem to be getting better slowly which is great.

However right now I am suffering from a very painful bout of inflammation in my sacroilliac joint, making it very painful to walk. It's happened 3-4 times before in the last few years mostly as a result of hard impacts - I climbed a mountain two weeks ago which has brought this on. I saw a rheumatologist and had mri's etc last time this happened but to no avail. I was wondering if this could be caused by my celiac disease.

I was wondering if any other people get inflammation in their joints as a result of celiac? I know some people say they get stiff wrists etc when they get gluttened.

Thanks,

Mark

[ravenwoodglass]

Yes some of us do get joint inflammation. Mine was so bad that at one time I was thought to have RA. I have been in pretty much total remission from my arthritis since about 6 months after I went gluten free. If I get CC'd somehow simple asprin takes care of the inflammation and the pain.

Could you have gotten glutened on your trip? Not everything is gluten related but if you got glutened that may have brought this back on. Or could you have strained some muscles climbing? Perhaps cold packs alternating with heat might help if your doctor says that is okay.

[bluebonnet]

yes, i struggle with bone and joint inflammation and pain. it's s.l.o.w.l.y. on the mend. it seems to be noticably aggravated if i get cc'd. have you had your vit. d levels checked? you might be as surprised as i was to find them depleted (even if you take supplements or are regularly outside in the sunshine). you will find many people on here that struggle with bone and joint issues.

mountain climbing sounds FUN!

[dilettantesteph]

I also had bad joint pain pre diagnosis which went away after gluten free. My back used to go out regularly before diagnosis. I've had it so bad I couldn't walk without pain pills. Now it only happens when I get a long term glutening and get lazy about my stretches. What helped me a lot to keep it from going out even pre diagnosis was daily stretching and strengthening exercises. I do leg stretches and sit-ups etc. I combined what the physiotherapist recommended with other things that seemed to help from various exercise classes. If I do them every day, my back doesn't go out even if I do get glutened.

[SaraKat]

Yes, that was my main symptom and that is why I was shocked about the celiac diagnosis. My left lower ribcage/joint was so painful I ended up going to a rheumatologist in mid August and she is the one that discovered the celiac.

I've been on the diet for 1.5 weeks and there is a noticeable difference in the pain. I still feel it, but it is not disabling like it was the last couple months. I was even able to run on the treadmill for a while last week.

[MarkR555]

Encouraging replies, thanks guys.

The inflammation is always brought on by hard impacts / jumping from anything. I got it really bad last year rock climbing on a bouldering wall and jumping down from that. I am only 3 weeks gluten free though and i've had this inflammation problem for years, longer than my GI symptoms so I assume it might take a while to go away if it is the celiac. I am probably being cc'ed occasionally - I live in a shared house and am sharing pots/pans/plates (they are always clean, but still). I am going to buy my own kitchen stuff soon.

Once or twice since I went gluten free i've have bad liquid D in the morning, this never happened to me before. I'm thinking it's a sign i've had some gluten.

[ravenwoodglass]

Once or twice since I went gluten free i've have bad liquid D in the morning, this never happened to me before. I'm thinking it's a sign i've had some gluten.

I agree that at those times you have likely been glutened. It is not unusual for our reactions to become a bit more severe after we have been gluten free for a while. It will take some time for the inflammation to go down, that often takes longer to go away than the GI issues. Hopefully you will heal quickly.

Make sure none of your roommates is using your nut butters, butter, jelly or anything that can be 'double dipped'. Even a crumb will cause a reaction.

[srall]

Yes to the joint pain. I think it's my worst symptom. Or maybe I should say most aggravating. It is getting better on a gluten/soy/dairy free diet. I think I need to be stricter with the soy and dairy though. It's tough going. I'm sure you'll see a vast improvement as you remain gluten free.

[Chakra2]

Some people (like me!) find that nightshades cause joint pain, in addition to gluten. Pain that I had for years and that I always thought was running-related vanished on a gluten-free, nightshade-free diet. I do avoid soy, corn, and dairy too but with accidental experimentation I've found out that gluten and nightshades are the big problems for me in terms of joint pain. And this is pretty unlikely but you might want to read about ankylosing spondilitis too and the other autoimmune arthritises just to be aware of those symptoms. Hope your pain goes away!

Chakra2

[MelindaLee]

Hi guys, I am a newly diagnosed celiac (gluten free for 3 weeks). I have mostly had GI symptoms which seem to be getting better slowly which is great.

However right now I am suffering from a very painful bout of inflammation in my sacroilliac joint, making it very painful to walk. It's happened 3-4 times before in the last few years mostly as a result of hard impacts - I climbed a mountain two weeks ago which has brought this on. I saw a rheumatologist and had mri's etc last time this happened but to no avail. I was wondering if this could be caused by my celiac disease.

I was wondering if any other people get inflammation in their joints as a result of celiac? I know some people say they get stiff wrists etc when they get gluttened.

Thanks,

Mark

Welcome to the club!!!

I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago. Since then, I have went off my arthritis meds. I thought my pain was due to aging...but have found a great releaf since I have been gluten free. I was glutened (my fault) last week, and noticed the joint pain worse than any GI issues. It took longer for that to resolve for me than the GI issues, which were gone within a day.

Hope you are feeling better soon.