Dq-1 Question

[Gemini]

Did anyone on this forum who was gene tested come back as a DQ-1 or double DQ-1 and then go on to have a positive biopsy? Any info on this would be greatly appreciated!

[MsCurious]

Hi Gemini,

I'm curious about others who have double DQ1 as well. My Dad has double DQ1 subtype 6 and has MAJOR issues with ataxia.. balance issues started about 6 years ago...but they didn't put two and two together, walks with a wide gait, had chronic hives for close to four years and no doctors could relieve them. He is considered by the medical community to be "wheelchair bound" although he gets around with a walker and assistance from my mom, but has falls way too often. There are many other things ... difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, arthritis, joint pain... so many things.

After trying to get doctors to listen and test him, I finally went with him to a doctor appointment and asked if they would test him. When they said no, I said... is it okay if he goes gluten free? The doctor said, well, it certainly won't harm him, but its not going to help either. My dad went gluten free in April, and his chronic hives went away, his gait is more normal, his speech is improved, his strength is better. His doctor was stunned to find that out that his 4 years of chronic hives were gone, and is going to try gluten free on 4 other patients with chronic hives that he hasn't been able to treat successfully.

We saw Dr Joseph Murray at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (head of Mayo's Celiac Research Dept and practicing GI) a couple of weeks ago... who said, almost all people he sees with gluten ataxia are wheelchair bound at their first visit, because this doesn't get diagnosed accurately or quickly and there is about a 6 month window from onset to no reversal of neurologic symptoms. I should add to this that my dad was always VERY athletic, agile, active... and for years... you would never have suspected that gluten was doing its dirty work on him. He is now a very different person from the dynamo that he was. Gluten takes its toll in a very very destructive way. Also, people should be aware that 15 percent of celiacs have digestive issues... 85% do NOT. Digestive issues were thought to be key, but they've realized that the people with digestive issues screamed loudly and that's why they were heard... others didn't have those types of symptoms... therefore didn't/don't get diagnosed.... for a VERY long time... if ever. There are so many doctors that are so clueless. Gluten is a systemic poison...and it doesn't affect just intestines (although that is a primary symptom for me personally... it isn't the case for my dad).

Please...if you or someone you love has symptoms like these... and double DQ1... get them to go off gluten PRONTO! It is pure poison to their system. My dad unknowingly ingested the toxic gluten for 80 years and it wasn't until he'd ingested it for 65 years that symptoms showed up.... damage had been done for years and years. My Mom is diabetic and carries the DQ2.5 celiac gene... I have that from her and the gluten sensitive gene from my dad.... an unlucky combination, but I finally was diagnosed with celiac after many many years, and things have turn around 98%!!! I feel like a different person. It scares me to no end that I could have ended up like my dad in 25 years. Don't let them tell you double DQ1 isn't a big deal...its a HUGE deal. There are studies being done ... and in fact a paper was publish about it, but most doctors don't stay abreast of the research papers like they should. You'll find it if you Google it.

I don't know if ALL of my dad's issues are caused by gluten, but a good chunk of them seem to be directly related. And I know what it does to me, and I have 1 DQ1 gene. Good luck to you... hope you find the answers you seek.

[frieze]

m.hadjivassiliou@sheffield.ac.uk

[MsCurious]

m.hadjivassiliou@sheffield.ac.uk

Thanks frieze... that's the one!