"little Symptoms"

[cO-ol]

Happy New Year everyone!

So, I just wanted to start a thread about the little symptoms. The ones that may annoy you but are far from debilitating, and maybe you didn't realize it wasn't just a quirk of your body till it went away. It may never have occurred to you that gluten was doing it, and you may not ever see it on a Celiac symptom list.

For me, that would be ear itching. It was a "nice" (annoying) reminder to keep my ears clean I guess, because it usually happened when I had a decent amount of wax in my ears (oh, and I seem to grow a crazy amount of wax in my ears too). But on my good days it ain't there!

The scalp itching I recognized as something wrong, but it's a pleasant surprise for that to be a nonissue now.

It's looking like I'll be needing less lip balm in my future. It was coooooold (for Florida, which means 40 F ), and my lips weren't crazy dry like they typically get. This one is really interesting.

[lizard00]

One really strange thing that I have noticed since being gluten-free is that my asthma or 'reactive airway' as the doc called it has all but disappeared. I have had an inhaler since I was 12, but have not filled it in at least 2 years. Never associated the two, but it's been a most pleasant surprise.

[T.H.]

and my lips weren't crazy dry like they typically get. This one is really interesting.

Hey, that's one for me, too! And I've been noticing it in my daughter and son now, when they get glutened. What a weird one, eh?

Let's see, just a couple others I'd share.

- a weird numb spot on my big toe, that everyone attributed to an accident in my youth, completely disappeared.

- Being clumsy! Now, when I get glutened, I get vertigo and other balance issues. My daughter does too. But before, we always used to think we were extra clumsy, because the vertigo wasn't as obvious for most of the time. We'd trip, not judge distance right and smack our hands and feet into things and people. Now, that's gone off of gluten. Very odd to think that being clumsy was a gluten symptom!

-

[kayo]

I had similar little things. My ears no longer itch or are very waxy. I used to need to q-tip them every day they were so itchy. My scalp and skin are less dry. The kp on my upper arms is less severe. My lips are less chapped and dry. I'm no longer a slave to lip balm. My eyes are more moist and I need less artificial tears. One of my punctal plugs fell out and I haven't needed to have it replaced. The weird numb spot between my upper lip and nose is gone. My fingernails are strong and grow like crazy. They're no longer 'bendy' or peel easily. I can breath easier. My sinuses are less clogged. My sense of smell is back too (sometimes I wish this weren't better! ) My voice is more clear and strong. I'm much less hoarse. I also feel less claustrophobic and less anxious and more patient. I seem to be more present and in my body if that makes sense. Less foggy I guess you could say.

[India]

Oooh, it's not just me! I swear my ears had much more wax when I did my gluten challenge but I think the doctors thought I was crazy. It's still not cleared up after a year gluten-free but maybe one day

[sb2178]

Acne about 60% better. Still there, but considerably decreased.

Less painful periods.

[Pac]

some of the "little symptoms" others mention used to drive me crazy, they grew way past being just annoying. Itching everywhere was one of them - I cleaned my ears until they bled, I scratched my calves until there was no skin left (literaly, just big open wounds on both). Clumsiness slowly got me into financial crisis as numbers and value of dropped or broken things rose. Never thought it could be food intolerance.

But to mention some real funny stuff:

It took me about 4 months to realize rice makes me sick because I thought it was normal to get asthma and itchy rash all over when working with flour. Only when other flours repeatedly failed to produce the same effect, I had to admit it's only normal when you are allergic to it.

My feet are somewhat longer and narrower then pre-gluten-free and not flat anymore. I even had to throw away some shoes because they were too short.

I grew half an inch too.

I used to be a night-owl, never went to bed before midnight and never got up before 8am unless I absolutely had to. Now I'm quite the opposite and still not sure if I like it or not.

I needed to get new glasses - with LESS dioptries.

My hearing is better. (I only need to ask people to repeat things once, not twice or three times and then just guess what they might have said)

My voice is better, I can talk longer without losing my voice.

My heartbeat rate is "crazy high" now - about 74/min. It never went over 55-60 since I was about 12. I'm still not sure if this is good or bad sign. Before this always signaled some trouble.

I got normal nails on both little toes.

I have to cut my toe-nails every week and finger-nails every other day. (It sucks)

The annoying ever-growing red vein under my eye is slowly disappearing. I got it removed once before - it grew back stronger. (could have saved $100 if I knew)

My travel bag always contained loads of antihistaminics, asthma inhaler, "B-complex" pills, nivea cream, lip balm, antibiotic cream, tea-tree oil... I threw it all away when I hadn't used any of those for over a year. Now I don't even carry a hair-brush when I need to pack light - my hair got so strong that combing them with just fingers is enough.

I don't have headaches. (I never knew they were headaches. I thought it was normal to "feel" my head.)

My tonsils shrank to less then a half of their pre-gluten-free "normal".

My gums went through a surprising change of color and size. (I had no idea they were swollen.)

My hair stopped growing super-fast, not sure if it is age or gluten-related.

Seems like my resistance to cold, heat, pain, hunger, fatigue dropped to the levels of normal human beings. No more showing off shoveling snow in sleeveless shirt, would freeze now. (yeah, gluten wasn't always bad when my body was still strong enough to fight with it.)

I feel like a liar sometimes - I say something about me and then realize it's not true anymore. So many things changed, including my personality, tastes, and especially all the small daily habbits like (not) eating breakfast or going to bed late.

[scuzy]

I want to comment on the scalp itching symptom that went away. I have been gluten free since August or last year and my scalp had always itched like crazy and I would get pimples and stuff on it. I finally found a shampoo that I could use along with vinegar that would get rid of the symptoms. The other day I was given baby shampoo to try, to see if it had the same effect, my symptoms came back but not as bad. So I decided to try another shampoo(that I had always used before, with symptoms), so that I could compare the ingredients and find out what is making it do that, the reaction was the same mild reaction from the baby shampoo. Then reading this post made me wonder if it was the gluten that was making me have those reactions to shampoo, but why is it taking SO long to fully go away. Because man do I miss regular shampoo... It has gotten less severe, but still VERY annoying and uncomfortable.

[cO-ol]

My acne is better too! My face is super clear (for me) right now! I feel some pimples coming on, but I think they'll be small and few.

I'm having period changes, but I don't know yet what they mean (this month my cramps were light and in my back, like they *used* to be; in recent months I had them in my belly and sometimes they'd be pretty bad). My period was also exactly 3 days; I *hope* that's a good sign. And my cycle was 30 someodd days. If that's going to be how it is on a regular basis, that would be fantastic.

I can sing better. This makes me SOO happy.

I've decreased the typical volume of the stereo in my car, and mp3 player.

[anabananakins]

- Being clumsy! Now, when I get glutened, I get vertigo and other balance issues. My daughter does too. But before, we always used to think we were extra clumsy, because the vertigo wasn't as obvious for most of the time. We'd trip, not judge distance right and smack our hands and feet into things and people. Now, that's gone off of gluten. Very odd to think that being clumsy was a gluten symptom!

Same for me! It's so nice not to feel like I'm going to smash into things all the time. And led to less bruises too.

I stopped being insanely thirsty all the time. I used to want to drink about 6 litres of water a day (I didn't, as the doctor said it was bad and it made me feel spacey, but I was constantly thirsty). Now I'm normal-people thirsty. And no, it wasn't diabetes, though god knows they tested me for it often enough.

My eyes stopped being puffy and the black shadows faded.

The ear wax thing is interesting. I used to complain about my ears feeling gluggy, but now that you mention it, that's not really an issue anymore. Hmmm.

[AzizaRivers]

A few weeks ago I sat through an entire dinner at the crowded hour of my college's dining hall, and I didn't need my inhaler or feel like I was going to pass out! So I guess my claustrophobia is somewhat gluten-related.

I also found my KP to be far less severe...it's nearly gone entirely.

I used to have this shaking thing. My whole body would tremble like crazy under any sort of stress. The good kind included...and no matter how mild, if there was any kind of emotional response necessary, I would start looking as if I were about to go into convulsions. I knew that was a problem but I never thought it was related to my other problems until it disappeared along with them when I went gluten-free.

I've also found my indoor allergies to be much more manageable.

[SaraKat]

Is there a connection with celiac and excessive ear wax? I have always had a lot of ear wax (gross I know) and my Dr said that I just produced more than usual. I never connected it to celiac.

[Looking for answers]

Is there a connection with celiac and excessive ear wax? I have always had a lot of ear wax (gross I know) and my Dr said that I just produced more than usual. I never connected it to celiac.

I had excessive ear wax my whole life until I went gluten free. I mean it was bad...kind of a bright orangey color and thick (grosses me out just thinking about it). My doctor used to have to flush it out regularly for me. Now, I don't have any come out on my q-tip unless I've eaten something I'm sensitive to. I've been told my several homeopathic doctors that excessive ear wax is another way for your body to purge toxins and is directly related to food allergies/intolerances. It my case, this was true.

Funny, it was my excessive ear wax that helped lead me to going gluten free. Years ago I read a book called "The Diet Cure," only to help my dad clear up his diet. In the book it mentioned a wheat allergy and excessive ear wax. That was my first connection with gluten intolerance for me. Shortely thereafter, I kicked wheat, and felt so amazing. I then started eating spelt bread, and it started giving me problems. Then I realized oatmeal was making me sick...it all started coming together. That's when I started doing a lot of research and found this site and learned about gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease. It wasn't long after that my doctor mentioned Celiac Disease and the whole connection came full circle. A good day in my life

[SaraKat]

I had excessive ear wax my whole life until I went gluten free. I mean it was bad...kind of a bright orangey color and thick (grosses me out just thinking about it). My doctor used to have to flush it out regularly for me. Now, I don't have any come out on my q-tip unless I've eaten something I'm sensitive to. I've been told my several homeopathic doctors that excessive ear wax is another way for your body to purge toxins and is directly related to food allergies/intolerances. It my case, this was true.

Funny, it was my excessive ear wax that helped lead me to going gluten free. Years ago I read a book called "The Diet Cure," only to help my dad clear up his diet. In the book it mentioned a wheat allergy and excessive ear wax. That was my first connection with gluten intolerance for me. Shortely thereafter, I kicked wheat, and felt so amazing. I then started eating spelt bread, and it started giving me problems. Then I realized oatmeal was making me sick...it all started coming together. That's when I started doing a lot of research and found this site and learned about gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease. It wasn't long after that my doctor mentioned Celiac Disease and the whole connection came full circle. A good day in my life

Wow, that is crazy!! I have had to go to Dr's to get mine flushed out too! Actually one summer my sister and I were in FL swimming and we both had to go to a walk in clinic down there because the swimming/water in the ear made it ear wax so bad- it blocked it in even more and I could barely hear. I usually have to go every 1-2 years to have this done. I will have to notice if it goes away now that I am gluten-free. My sister is getting tested for celiac at her next appt. I hope her ear wax isn't indicative of the disease too.

[possiblyglutensensitive]

Well, I am going to my doctor tomorrow to ask to be tested, but I have a chronic problem with ear itch. and need to have them flushed too.

[Pac]

I used to have this shaking thing. My whole body would tremble like crazy under any sort of stress. The good kind included...and no matter how mild, if there was any kind of emotional response necessary, I would start looking as if I were about to go into convulsions.

I used to have that too.

[jerseyangel]

I had problems with excessive ear wax also--had to have them cleaned out by the doctor periodically. Since being gluten-free, I have not had to have them cleaned out once; it's been over 5 years.