Gluten Ataxia

[BamBam]

My family has a genetic familial ataxia, where our hips and legs don't work right, my brother is in a wheelchair - and I am also affected, just not as severe. Anyway, I have read some articles regarding gluten ataxia and wonder if any of you people have any symptoms or know of any other good reports/articles on it. It seems like when I get glutened, and I think I was last night, my legs feel very sluggish and I just have a hard time walking, I trip on my shoes, or over a rug on the floor. But when I am healthy, eating all the right things, my whole body just seems to work better.

BamBam

[Guest nini]

I think I may have this. I've always been "clutsy" and when I get "glutened" I have a really hard time walking and I trip over my own feet. Hmmm. I've never heard of this before, I'll have to ask my Dr. about it. Do you suppose the 34 years of damage I did to my body consuming gluten is repairable?

[fritzicurls]

There is an article about gluten ataxia, celiac and yeast infections on the Denver Naturopath Clinic website. Click on news and scroll down until you get to past newletters. The article is in the 2004 list. It is very interesting and well worth reading. Hope this helps. I hate the sense of imbalance and vertigo which have gotten better since I have been gluten-free.

fritzicurls

[cdford]

After the fatigue and muscle pain of fibromyalgia, this was the next thing to rear its ugly head. I am so in a wheelchair. The longer I go without getting glutened, the better I get. Any contamination and my left side especially does not want to work at all.

[Guest nini]

why the left side??? I wonder. My left side has been in excruciating pain. Up and down my leg, my side and my arm and even my neck... yesterday I could hardly walk because of the pain in my leg.

[BamBam]

My left side is also the weakest - I ate out Wednesday evening, ordered fish, and after I ate a few bites I noticed a fine film on it, and thought it was probably some kind of breading or something. The next day, I could hardly pick up my feet and I was stumbling on my shoes and just felt crummy, plus had a dose of the good ol stomach nausea and several trips to the bathroom. But I also never thought of it until you mentioned it, but my left side is always the weak side. I too, wonder why that is?

BamBam

[cdford]

According to my neurologist, it is normal for the left side to be the first to go. Thank God we found the celiac disease and there is hope for getting better.

[SueC]

I too have weakness in my left side. I don't see to have loss of strength or muscle but my left arm and left leg feel weaker and more tired than my right side..... Does anyone know if there is an scientific explanatin for this. I also feel like I have a hot poker sticking into my shoulder blade. Thoughts anyone..........

Sue

[emeraldskies]

Since I was two years old, I have had ataxia. I have been slamming into everything in my path, stumbling, over- or underreaching, missing altogether, knocking things to the ground, dropping objects, exhibiting a tremor, etc. As a child, I knew I loved science, but I also knew I could never become a neurosurgeon because of my shaky hands. If I take a sobriety test, I will always fail, but not because I had been drinking. I can't walk in a straight line, my body weaves from side-to-side, and I can't touch my finger to my nose without missing a bunch of times first. I also have dysarthria, which in my case means that my voice is very quiet and tends to blend in with other noises in the environment, so it is hard to understand. My handwriting has deteriorated to the point where it looks like it was written by an elderly person. My muscles are weak, and my reflexes have been slow or absent. I have always tried to blow it off, and people have thought I was just slightly clumsy, but my husband knows the truth I need special help getting up and down the stairs, walking across ice, approaching a new environment, etc. I also do have to explain the tremor--most think I am a nervous person if I don't elaborate. Hopefully, I have gluten ataxia and not Friedrich's ataxia because gluten ataxia can have some reversal, and Friedrich's ataxia is degenerative. I don't remember my left side being weaker than the right, other than that I am slightly right-side dominant.

Here are some technical studies about ataxia and celiac disease (in the first link, the main gene associated with gluten ataxia is mentioned, and in the second link, there are brain scans showing cerebellar atrophy):

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This is a less technical description that is easier to understand:

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