Could This Be Celiac?

[Cher18]

I'm 45, and have had serious acne for about 10 years, unable to be treated by antibiotics. I now have problems with tingling (mainly arms,legs and feet), pins and needles and muscle spasms which is being put down to problem with disks in neck. Over the past 6 months, I have developed what I can only describe as severe boils, mainly on thighs and arms. I also have bloating and sometimes look as though I am pregnant ! I have been tested for MS, Rhumatoid Athritis and numerous other conditions but doctors won't test for Celiac as I don't have major stomach problems. My nephew has been diagnosed. Grateful for any thoughts or advice, thanks.

[ravenwoodglass]

It could be celiac. If your doctors absolutely refuse to test for celiac then you do have the option of doing at least 3 months on the diet to see if it helps.

[IrishHeart]

Could be... and many people do not have gastro symptoms, but dermatological, neurological, musculoskeletal symptoms instead.

Did you tell your doctor that your nephew is a Dxed Celiac?

That may persuade him.

[eatmeat4good]

I had severe acne all my life. Accutane twice, antibiotics constantly for 25 years...and still had severe acne. THEN I developed the true DH rash. The skin form of Celiac. Stinging, hurting, burning, itching, weeping, lesions. It took 7 years to figure out it was DH. And guess what? When I went gluten free, the acne disappeared. It is worth a try. I also had migraines and muscle weakness and bone pain. Neurological brain fog, couldn't think, depressed and anxious. Guess what? All that disappeared too. If your Dr. doesn't think they are related...it doesn't mean they aren't. I had 25 Dr.'s try to treat me and all I got was Adult Acne, Neurotic Excoriation, and Fibromyalgia as diagnoses. Celiac.com saved my life. It is Celiac. And guess what the Dr. said when I presented all the symptoms consistent with Celiac and drew the line to the diagnosis and told him I felt better off of gluten. He said, "yeah, I bet that is what it is." Whatever. Diagnose yourself if the Dr.'s won't...it isn't illegal and it will make you feel better if gluten is causing all of your symptoms.

Iodine also contributes to the problem if what you really have is a variation of DH form of Celiac. For that you have to limit iodine to stop the skin from reacting. To do that you follow the Thyca.com diet until your skin heals....then you can add in iodine again. There is also a form of acne that is caused by iodine and is unresponsive to antibiotics. If this is what you have, the thyca.com diet will help you. Try gluten free and low iodine and you should know something within a month I would say.

[nora-n]

Could also be hidradenitis suppurativa, just use the search on the forum. It is definitely gluten related.

[GFinDC]

If your doctor won't test go a new doctor who will. Ask first if they are willing to do the test. If there is a celiac support group in your area you can check with them for a doctor recommendation. CSA is one group but there are others. Also check the doctors section of the board.

[frieze]

I sm thinking the nephew would be a 2' degree relative, not 1'. The parent that is your sib should be tested (actually both parents) if positive would bring more wt. to bear in trying to get tested...If you feel like a little confrontation, ask the doc to deny you in writing.

[TeknoLen]

I had the pins and needles you mention (my feet and ankles) and also the muscle twitches (left bicep) during my first couple weeks of the GFCFSF diet. I chalked it up to (among several) withdrawal symtoms. Lately, I have not noticed either. Three-month trial diet suggested above seems like a good idea, as does pressing your doctor to run the test. Full-blown Celiac however is not required to benefit from gluten-free diet, I am only gluten-sensitive and I feel better almost every subsequent gluten-free day...

[Cher18]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. It's very frustrating and worrying when the professionals start raising illnesses such as MS. On reading through some of the posts on this site, its reassuring to hear others experiences. When I had my MRI,showing the problems with disks in my neck, it also showed up UBOs on the brain. Luckily, the neurologist was fantastic and went to great lengths to explain the difference between these and MS Lesions, however, did not mention celiac. It seems celiac is not always at the forefront of doctor's minds but it's interesting to read the posts on these here. I will definitely either get tested or go gluten free and see how I feel. It is worth purchasing the Bio-card test? Has anyone used this..may be easier than persuading my doctor ! Thanks again

[eatmeat4good]

If you do go gluten free...please post back how you are doing. It is inspiring for other's and even for us old-timers. I'm hopeful for you.

[Cher18]

Thank you, I have a doctors appointment on Monday...I have printed some info off and plan on taking it with me, in case I need it to support the case for a blood test. Will let you know how things go. I'm not sure how hopeful to be since I have just found out that he is of the optinion my nephew may grow out of caeliac !

[cyberprof]

  On 1/6/2012 at 9:08 PM, Cher18 said:

Thank you, I have a doctors appointment on Monday...I have printed some info off and plan on taking it with me, in case I need it to support the case for a blood test. Will let you know how things go. I'm not sure how hopeful to be since I have just found out that he is of the optinion my nephew may grow out of caeliac !

Cher18, did you know that UBOs ARE symptoms of celiac? Ravenwoodglass and other posters here had them before diagnosis. Maybe someone has a link to a scholarly article that you could show to your doctor.

[Cher18]

Cyberprof, I read about that on this site, which was made me wonder even more. If someone could provide that link, that would be fantastic. What a great site this is...and great people, thank you

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/4/2012 at 9:52 PM, Cher18 said:

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. It's very frustrating and worrying when the professionals start raising illnesses such as MS. On reading through some of the posts on this site, its reassuring to hear others experiences. When I had my MRI,showing the problems with disks in my neck, it also showed up UBOs on the brain. Luckily, the neurologist was fantastic and went to great lengths to explain the difference between these and MS Lesions, however, did not mention celiac. It seems celiac is not always at the forefront of doctor's minds but it's interesting to read the posts on these here. I will definitely either get tested or go gluten free and see how I feel. It is worth purchasing the Bio-card test? Has anyone used this..may be easier than persuading my doctor ! Thanks again

Do go gluten free after all celiac related testing is done. My neuro was also clueless about UBO's and it cost me years of progressively worse neuro symptoms. I will try and find some of the research on UBO's and post a link. They are considered diagnostic of celiac antibodies that have attacked the brain.

It is possible to recover, although some may have some permanent damage. I could barely walk, had trouble with memory and speech and even trouble with swallowing by the time I was diagnosed. Most of my issues fortunately did resolve but I am left with some minor permanent damage because of the very long length of time from first symptoms in childhood to diagnosis in my forties.

[Cher18]

Thank you. I suspect I may have a fight on my hands to get tested, that was why I was considering the home test kit, but I'm not sure if this is any good?

[spacemama]

it maybe krohns, my cousin has it and she gets the boils you mentioned. It is auto-immune for sure.

Tamara

[Cher18]

Thank you for all your help. I had a doctors appointment today and went in armed with all the info I might need to convince him to test. I didn't need it...he listened to my thoughts and blood tests are getting done tomorrow! Will keep you posted of the outcome. Thanks again.

[nora-n]

"the boils" could go away on a strict gluten free diet, since hidradenitis suppurativa does go away on a gluten-free diet and it might be HS. Lots of people do not have any diagnosis for their HS.

[Cher18]

I had my resuls of my test back and they have came back negative for celiac and the other tests that were ran. It is a relief to know one way or the other and at least it's now ruled out. Many thanks for all your help.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/19/2012 at 5:53 PM, Cher18 said:

I had my resuls of my test back and they have came back negative for celiac and the other tests that were ran. It is a relief to know one way or the other and at least it's now ruled out. Many thanks for all your help.

Now is when you give the diet a good strict try for a while. Don't assume that because the tests were negative that you don't have celiac. There are many reasons why false negatives occur in blood or biopsy. Doctors going by my negative blood work cost me many years and almost my life. Give the diet a try you have nothing to lose but your pain.

[BrittLoves2Run]

I had a doctor appointment today and asked to be tested for Celiac. My doctor was very wierd about it stating "That's very unlikely" and "everyone comes in here now thinking they have it. Plus you'd have to have all the symptoms" I said "I DO have all the symptoms" and mentioned that i've had IBS for years.. he changed after that and sent me for the blood work. I really had to push it. Best of Luck!